Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City

How did the Indian Act of 1876 and the numerous treaties between Indigenous communities and the British Crown (and eventually the Canadian federal government) play a role in the long-term marginalization, violence, and poverty faced by Indigenous communities? How do these pieces of legislation still impact Indigenous peoples in Canada today?

What was the Indian Residential School System in Canada, and what were the short- and long-term impacts of this system on Indigenous children and Indigenous society more broadly? How is the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) related to residential schools? To what extent was the TRC successful in helping Indigenous communities heal from the impacts of residential schools and raise broader Canadian public awareness about the horrors that took place at residential schools?

How does the Canadian federal government continue to fail Indigenous children? Why have education leaders not implemented the recommendations from numerous consultant and government reports that would help address the large education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children? Do you believe this gap will ever be closed? Why or why not?

What role did the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council (NNEC) play in the deaths of Jethro Anderson, Reggie Bushie, Robyn Harper, Kyle Morrisseau, Paul Panacheese, Jordan Wabasse, and Curran Strang? Do you think Talaga should have placed more blame on the NNEC? Why or why not? How do you think the author would respond to your argument?

Throughout Seven Fallen Feathers, Talaga documents Indigenous belief systems and spirituality (e.g., visions and dreams, sightings of wolves, the Anishinaabe Prophecy of the Seven Fires) when discussing the searches for missing Indigenous children. How did these cultural belief systems impact the searches for the seven fallen feathers? Why do you think Talaga devotes so much of her book to discussing them? What does the refusal of the Thunder Bay’s police to consider discoveries from these belief systems in their investigations indicate about the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the police?

Why do Indigenous communities mistrust the police and Canada’s judicial system in Canada? Do you consider this mistrust justified? Provide support for your argument, using examples from the text and independent research.

How can the public be informed about structural racism and systemic injustices in ways that lead toward meaningful change? Do you think Canada (and other Western countries, including the US) will address the wrongs of colonialism and achieve a more equitable society?

Talaga documents several instances in which the Canadian government tried to acknowledge its mistreatment of Indigenous communities, including the federal government’s apology for the Indian Residential School System in 2008; the Canadian Human Rights Tribunals (CHRT) ruling to provide equitable education, healthcare, and social services to Indigenous children in 2016; and the 2015 inquest’s 145 recommendations on how to repair the education and justice system in Thunder Bay. Have these measures reduced inequality and injustices against Indigenous communities in the short term? Do you think they’ll have any long-term impacts? Why or why not?