Book Review: The Good Path

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The Good Path:

Ojibwe learning and activity book for kids

By Thomas Peacock and Marlene Wisuri

Afton Historical Society Press

127 pages (sc)

$17.95 (US)

The book The Good Path is many things: It is an introduction to the history, culture, and oral storytelling of the Ojibwe people. It teaches the nine values of the Ojibwe. And it is a tool to get young people to go beyond simply reading the words on a page; to get them to think about, and apply what is written in the book to the world.

While it may seem difficult to believe that all this can be accomplished by a book of 100 or so pages, The Good Path does it.

Each of the nine values of The Good Path-Honor the Creator, Honor Elders, Honor Women, Honor Our Elder Brothers (the plants and animals), Be Peaceful, Be Kind to Everyone, Be Moderate in Our Thoughts, Words, and Deeds, Be Courageous, and Keep Our Promises-are dealt with in the nine chapters of the book. Lessons about the values are intertwined with a story that begins with Ojibwe creation stories and ends in the present day.

In between is a history of how the Ojibwe people migrated westward from their home on the East Coast of North America in response to the Seven Fires Prophesies, and of how the Ojibwe people were affected by European contact, which brought disease and death, Christianity, alcoholism, boarding schools, and a loss of connection to Ojibwe culture, language and traditions.

The book stresses the importance of staying on the good path for the Ojibwe people, using history to illustrate how the people have always suffered whenever they've strayed off the path.

The book ends on an optimistic note, however, pointing to a resurgence in interest in Ojibwe language, culture and tradition among the younger generations, and a return toward the values of the good path.

Each chapter begins with a quote from author Thomas Peacock, where he shares a special experience he has had relating to the chapter to come, and ends with an activities page that asks the reader questions about what they have just read, and serves as a jumping off point for additional learning, providing suggestions of activities the reader can do to learn more about both the history and value covered in the chapter.

The book contains a number of photographs and illustrations, including historic photographs of the Ojibwe people.

In writing the text for the book, Peacock, a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and an associate professor of education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, captures the story of the Ojibwe people, and The Good Path, and conveys them in a way that is easy to follow for young readers, but at the same time, not too simplistic for older readers. And the activities at the end of each chapter are effective.

In the end, The Good Path is a good book because it does what all books designed to teach should do-it makes the lessons interesting, it gets the reader involved, and it encourages them to think. You can't ask much more of a book than that.

Review by Cheryl Petten