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Seven Fallen Feathers

Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City
Feb 28, 2018
Tanya Talaga won the C$25,000 RBC Taylor Prize, which honors the best in Canadian nonfiction, for for her book Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City. In its citation, the jury said: "Talaga has written Canada's J'Accuse, an open letter to the rest of us about the many ways we contribute--through act or inaction--to suicides and damaged existences in Canada's indigenous communities. Tanya Talaga's account of teen lives and deaths in and near Thunder Bay is detailed, balanced and heart-rending. Talaga describes gaps in the system large enough for beloved children and adults to fall through, endemic indifference, casual racism and a persistent lack of resources. It is impossible to read this book and come away unchanged."