Bev Sellars’ book They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School (Talonbooks) is one of three books shortlisted for the prestigious 10th annual George Ryga Award.
Sellars is Chief of the Xat’sull First Nation at Soda Creek and launched her book last May at the St. Joseph’s Mission School reunion.
“Connecting the dots of what happened there and how it affected me in later life meant I ended up with a big stack of little stories,” Sellars said at the May book launch. “I showed them to my husband Bill and he was absolutely stunned at what I had written.”
The award was created in memory of B.C. playwright and novelist George Ryga’s commitment to social justice and his contributions to Canadian literature.
This award is given to B.C. authors who have not only emphasized social justice but have also demonstrated exceptional literary skill in their works.
In May, Sellars said residential school stories have been swept under the carpet for too long.
“I’ve done my duty and I tell people now it’s time for them to write their stories. There are so many more stories that need to be written.”
The winner of the George Ryga Award receives a commemorative bust of Ryga, plus advertising for the winning book.
“We’re excited with the range and quality, compassion and depth of this year’s short-listed books,” says Okanagan College professor and George Ryga Award committee member, Norah Bowman-Broz.
In her book Sellars recalls the experiences of three generations of women forced to attend St. Joseph’s Mission School.
She returned to the First Nations community of Soda Creek after an extended period of “visiting other territories.”
While she was away, she earned a degree in history from the University of Victoria and a law degree from the University of British Columbia, and she served as adviser for the B.C. Treaty Commission.
She was first elected chief in 1987 and has spoken out on behalf of her community on racism and residential schools and on the environmental and social threats of mineral resource exploitation in her region.
The other shortlisted books are as follows.
Adrienne Fitzpatrick’s The Earth Remembers Everything (Caitlin Press), a fictional narrative based on the Prince George author’s travels to some of the most violent sites in history, including Vietnam, Japan, Poland and historical First Nations areas.
Gillian Wigmore’s Dirt of Ages (Nightwood Editions), a poetry collection by another Prince George author is written from the perspective of a meth dealer and highlights the destruction of the natural environment and the social complexities in a pulp mill town.
The 10th annual Ryga Award will be presented Thursday, March 20 at 5:30 p.m. at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus.