She scarcely dares to believe what she is thinking.

Could it be that Indians are in trouble? That they are getting in the white people’s way? Could there be someone somewhere — this all-powerful government, for example — who wants to exterminate the Indians?

The idea is so frightening that at first she can’t bear to think it. She suddenly feels cold in the overheated chapel. But she saw those two officials tiptoeing out, their heads down, sneaking guilty looks at the crowd. They looked just like dogs who have stolen a piece of meat while the hunters were cutting up a moose carcass.

This time the officials from the ministry have stirred up a hot wind of anger inside Manie. She’s ashamed that she has given in for so long.

And that’s when she decides to go on the warpath. She knows the road will be long and difficult because the greatest opposition comes from her own people. They must be convinced. But Manie is stubborn, and she is already preparing her arguments.

That night she takes me into her confidence.

“Nipishish, our people have always been independent and self-governing, proud of our history and our origins. We have never needed anyone to tell us what to do, what to think and how to live — especially the whites. We live freely, according to our own laws and traditions, on the land that was left to us by our ancestors and that we want to leave to our children. It hasn’t been easy, but we have always managed to prosper and flourish. There is no reason to stop now. What is happening? Has Kitchimanitou abandoned us? Have we been taken in by the whites? They set their snares and seize us by the neck like hares. And the more we pull, the tighter the noose becomes.”

Then she adds, “Nipishish, we must regain our freedom at all costs. I don’t know what I am going to do or how, but I will not sleep in peace until I have found a way to get us out of this.”

• • •

As for me, I liked Poné’s story. He’s a wise man. It’s true that we are all important, ants as much as humans, the small and the mighty, the rich and the poor, Indians and whites. The land is here for everyone…but the reality is completely different.

I don’t understand the whites, and they don’t try to understand us, either.

4

SAM BRASCOUPÉ IS Manie’s older brother. He’s different from the other men. He’s traveled to many places — not just because his hunting trips take him far away but because he went abroad during the war.

Sam learned a lot in the army. He loves engines, and he soon became an apprentice mechanic. He’s the only Algonquin we know who can repair a broken-down engine, so there’s a big demand for his services. Ever since he got back from the war, he’s worked as a guide and maintenance man at the Club du Rosaire. It’s a private hunting and fishing club for the priests, the big bosses of the forestry company and their American guests.