“It’s time for us to say that we need each other. We have to gather our forces. There are so few of us and we are so far away from each other.”

“Manie’s patient work is finally bearing fruit,” says Sam. “More and more of us have come together. We’re tired of being led by the nose by the ministry, the missionaries, the forest companies, the police. But our worst enemies are those among us who think of nothing but money and who are prepared to disown their own people. They don’t realize that they are also disowning themselves. By granting favors to one or the other, the ministry is dividing us so they can rule us better. But we cannot give up. Little by little, our circle is growing. We are like the tortoise. We will move ahead slowly, but we will go a long way.”

“We are not demanding a lot,” Manie adds. “We want respect and the right to live in peace. You will help us, Nipishish. We need someone like you who speaks all three languages, who knows the city and the customs of the whites. You know deep inside yourself what we want. Your father, Shipu, knew it, too. He saw the threat before we did. He was dangerous to them. He is no longer here to speak on our behalf, but his blood runs in your veins.”

“We’ve been fleeing the reserve,” Charlotte says. “There is too much alcohol, too much violence. The men get drunk and they can’t control themselves anymore. They have had to stop hunting and fishing, and those are the only things they know how to do. They think there is no future for them. They feel useless and ashamed…”

Frank and Nancy are listening to us. Suddenly, Fred says in a strong voice, “No one is listening to us. No one is taking us seriously. The whites are wrong, and soon we will take them out in one final blow that they will remember for a long time. Enough of this servitude! Enough of living under the laws of foreigners!”

Sam gets up and puts a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Let’s go to bed,” he says.

3

ALL THE OTHERS are in a deep sleep, but I am awake, waiting patiently for first light. This morning I have to go out to pull up the net.

I feel as though I’ve lived through several years in just one day. I know Manie is counting on me to take up her cause. But I just want to live in peace, find a job, a place for myself. And to marry Pinamen. I want to have children, teach them to speak our language, to fish and hunt, to share with our fellow creatures. That’s my dream.