Praise for
MEDICINE
WALK
“An essential read. . . . Superbly written.”
– NOW magazine (NNNN)
“Richard Wagamese has become a master. This brilliant novel is his heart song, his crowning achievement thus far.”
– Joseph Boyden
“Richard Wagamese’s novel renders the Canadian wilderness with staggering insight and beauty. The same can be said for his understanding of the fragility, wildness and resilience of the human heart. Magnificent.”
– Lisa Moore
“A deeply felt and profoundly moving novel, written in the kind of sure, clear prose that brings to mind the work of the great North American masters, Steinbeck included. . . .”
– Jane Urquhart
“[A] touching story about relationships, reconciliation, hope and heartbreak.”
– CBC.ca
“Wagamese is one of Canada’s best writers. . . . [He] exhibits profound sympathy for the human condition and deep faith in the redemptive thrust of the story. . . . Medicine Walk is a spiritual biography that transcends time and place, history and heritage to speak to all with hearts to hear.”
– Guelph Mercury
ALSO BY RICHARD WAGAMESE
FICTION
Keeper’n Me
The Terrible Summer
A Quality of Light
Dream Wheels
Ragged Company
The Next Sure Thing
Indian Horse
Him Standing
NON-FICTION
For Joshua
One Native Life
One Story, One Song
POETRY
Runaway Dreams
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
© 2015, Text by Richard Wagamese
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. (800) 520-6455
Published 2015 by Milkweed Editions
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Cover photo/illustration by Michael Watson
Author photo by Linda McRae
15 16 17 18 19 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit www.milkweed.org.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wagamese, Richard.
Medicine walk / Richard Wagamese. — First edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-57131-931-9 (ebook)
1. Storytelling—Fiction. 2. Fathers and sons—Fiction. 3. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 4. Indians of North America—Fiction. I. Title.
PR9199.3.W316M43 2015
813'.54—dc23
2015002682
Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Medicine Walk was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.
For my sons,
Joshua Richard Wagamese
and Jason Schaffer.
Contents
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Acknowledgements
Let the snake wait under
his weed
and the writing
be