From Lishamie is an exploration of Alber Canadien's early years. From growing up in a traditional Dene camp in the village of Lishamie located on a large island on the north side of the Mackenzie River, to his experience in the French-speaking Fort Providence Residential School to him singing with The Chieftones opening for the Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis at Madison Square Gardens in New York City, we travel through his experiences.

Albert invites you into the traditional lifestyles of the Dene people. He gracefully carries you into his land and shows you how they caught fish, how they hunted, how they cooked, and he shares his Grandfather's stories. It was a happy time, where everything was done according to the natural law of the land, until one day he was abruptly taken away. At the tender age of seven, Albert was placed in a French-speaking Fort Providence Residential School, where his life was structured right down to going to sleep, waking up, going to church, learing, working, and eating. A clock and someone else's rules now governed and forever changed his life.

About the Author:

Albert J. Canadien was born on the land near Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, when most of the Dene people still lived in permanent traditional villages. He was taken to the residental school at the age of seven and, for the next several years, came home only for summer holidays. Albert studied management at the University of Lethbridge and became a certified member of the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada. During the Berger Inquiry, he served as chief of the Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation in Fort Providence. As a civil servant in the Northwest Territories, Albert worked as a settlement administrator, an assistant to the clerk of the legislative assembly, the director of the language bureau and most recently the director of official language in Yellowknife. Albert was an original member of the Chieftones (Canada's All-Indian Band). He began writing in 1995 and is now working on his second book.

Retailers: Please note that Theytus titles can be viewed at www.theytus.com and that all Theytus titles are available through Sandhill Book Marketing in BC.