The Big Times and the Booze

Jordins dream has always been to make it into the National Hockey League. To play with the best of the best and to prove he could do it. His dream is made true when he is drafted with the Nashville Predators and makes it through training camp. Jordin had a very short amount of time to grieve after his brothers suicide; not two weeks later he was moving to Nashville. Up until this point Jordin has lived with billet families, had Terrence to depend on, and, until recently was still in school. Everything is different, nothing is the same.
Nashville is the begging of a new chapter in Jordins life. The idea of having no one to look after him has a tremendous effect on Jordin “here I was living on my own in a condo, with no curfews, no restrictions and a lot of money in my pocket” (pg 124). As a result of this Jordin pretty much does whatever the hell he wants. This is when Jordin literally falls off his rocker and loses control. He is drinking with everyone and anyone. Eventually the fun wears off for his teammates and they stop going on weekend benders with him.
Jordin is turning into his father. He is angry, constantly drunk or hungover and his teammates have started to avoid him because they never know when they'll say something wrong and he's going to snap. He begins taking advantage of his celebrity status by taking women home from the bars and turns into a bit of a man whore. His life is spiraling out of control at a rapid pace.
Jordin can't get a handle on his addiction for alcohol or for cheating on women. His team is starting to depend on him more and more to use his skills but Jordin can't do it. Half the time he's hungover and now he's also getting out of shape. He begins getting penalties just to catch a break. The alcohol has taken over his life completely, he's hiding out in corners of grungy run down bars; and it's affecting his career and playing ability with the Predators. He knows he needs to stop but Jordin has few people left in his life that are willing to put there foot down and get him some help. In the end, I can't help thinking, would the beginning of Jordins NHL career been different if Terrence was still there? Would Jordin feel less pressured to make it to the big times if Terrence wouldn't have left that note? Would he have gotten a handle on his addiction sooner?

Guilty or not? Who did the crime and did they do their time?

Chapter 15 Guilty, raised the question who killed who, on page 175 Brayford accused Corrigan of being the true murder of Shelley Napope, Brayford said "I put it to you that the girl (Shelley Napope) didn't get stabbed to death, she got strangled, and it was your hands that were around her neck. And the reason you were doing it was because she said she was going to charge you with rape. Isn't that correct?" and before that Brayford accused him of killing Janet Sylvestre because witnesses said that they saw him with her at the bar the night she died (Corrigan said he was and then he said he wasn't in Saskatoon the night she died).
Although when they took Crowford in and question Mason, Mason had a different story. " Mason admitted to have taken Janet Sylvestre to his house were John Crowford proceeded to rape and beat her unconscious, whereupon the two me took her from the house and driver out into the country. But then Mason changed his mind." pg. 138
On page 207 the last section the continues on to page 208 Crowford said that Corrigan was the one who killed Shelley not him, according to the text Corrigan took Shelley in the bush stabled her, the went to the car and told Crowford and then Crowford went and stabled Shelley several more times to make sure she was dead.
So basically, it were peoples words against each other and there was really no evidence beside verbal for these murders. Although when Crowford did take the stand to defend him self and proceeded to say he didn't do these thing after he had admitted it, and again later admitted it again it is hard not to think he is the one to blame for all the deaths including Janet's and Shelley's.
Although the question still stands that should Corrigan and Mason also be arrest for accessory, rape and maybe something more. I don't believe that these two men should have gotten away with what they did so easily and their involvement in what happened to these girls as well as others should have been push aside and ignored. This book did have justice but not all the justice that should have happen, happen and bad people got away. I am not sure who is to blame for Shelley's or Janet's deaths all I know is that one man go what he deserved even though some got away. Although there maybe more bodies and more villeins then we know but we don't know where they are and who committed the crime.
What do you think is any of this possible?

War Changes People

 Elijah and Xavier used to have  morals when they killed an animal. Once Elijah started killing other humans he lost his morals. He started taking personal items from the dead bodies. He shows no remorse when he kills. I think that Elijah has gone crazy and feels nothing anymore and can kill very easily. Xavier sees that Elijah has changed since they've been at war and is worried about him. Xavier still has a hard time killing and is concerned that he is going to have to do something about Elijah. Elijah also speaks good english and even acts as if he is a white man. Xavier does not like the way Elijah is acting. I think that Xavier will do something to Elijah, maybe even kill him.

How War Will Change People

Xavier and Elijah went off to war as nice young fellas then all has changed. The war turned elijah into a crazy savage man, stealing things off of dead bodies during the war. But Xavier has more morals than that of his cousin. He won't do anything like that, I wouldn't either. Personally I think it's nuts how everyone can change so fast with something like war. People have a weird way to follow what other do during certain situations. Wars will always have this affect on young people or most young people that is. For Elijah that is the case, he loses his mind and smiles while he kills. To me that's not normal at all but is understandable to me throughout the hardships of war especially during such a short time like "three days".

Leading Through the Fire

After Theo Fleury won the Stanley Cup with the Calgary the Franchise in Calgary was in rebuilding mode the next season. Cliff Fletcher Calgary's General manager went to Toronto and that's when calgary went south.The flames lost Lanny Mcdonald to retirement,then on pg 110 the trigger was pulled and sent Doug Gilmour,Jamie Macoun,Ric Nattress,Rick Wamsley and Prospect forward Kent Manderville,and in return from Toronto the Flames got Gary Leeman,Michel Petit,Jeff Reese,Craig Berube and prospect Alexander Godynyuk.When Cliff Fletcher left Calgary he wanted his players and he took the character out of Calgary and took his players and made a team in Toronto.Theo Fleury said it was a terrible trade and after Calgary lost their core they really needed a leader and while trouble times were brewing in Calgary and with several new coaches over the time like Brian Sutter and Theo was in Calgary they had a different perspective compared to how Theo played hockey. When Calgary was hiring coaches the coaches teached to play defensively and play games that were 1-0 or 2-1 because the coach thought defense first and just dumped the puck in the offensive zone and get back for defense and back check.The flames played this style at the time because the team was young and inexperienced players so they would do defensive drills and watching film. Theo was used to high pace short practices where offence was number one and it was a big change for Theo and he did not like the coaching he was getting. During games Theo took it upon himself that he would have to score and win the games for the flames and that is exactly what he did.It was not the same without the Cup team fr Fleury the passes he would make would be good passes but having inexperinced players the other guys couldnt score off the oppertunitys and would be in the wrong positon. Theo drank and did more drugs because of the stress in his life about his childhood and how the team was doing.But then the most shocking trade happened in Calgary if you want to know what happened you will have to read my next blog.

By HC

Three Day Road Writing Style

       The use of flashbacks and foreshadowing in Three Day Road help add a idea of time to the story. Joseph Boyden tells the story through his characters having flashbacks or telling stories of their past. He uses foreshadowing to set the tone of the book.  Xavier tells a story about the time he and Elijah were canoeing the same river and there was a huge forest fire. To survive the fire, they had to go up to their heads in the cold river to be safe from the smoke and fire. When the fire ended the landscape was completely changed and the boys found a charred burnt, smelly moose which they had to eat to survive. The fire symbolizes and foreshadows the war. War turns the landscape into and burnt field of mud and leaves death everywhere it goes. It is out of control destruction just like a forest fire. Everything that seems useless in this book actually has a deeper meaning.

Playing on the best team, on the overlooked line.

In the 1996 the first World Cup of Hockey was held. It was a change from the Canada cup to a cup were European countries the Americans, and Canada were to play in a tournament for the world cup of hockey. Theo Fleury was very excited. Theo Fleury was put on the team but put on the fourth line with Steve Yzerman and Rod Brind'Amour, Rheo thought they were the best line on the team but they were used sparingly because they had some of the greatest hockey players on the team at the time like Gretzky, Messier, Eric Lindros.  A theme was significant in this passage and it was that if you get played a lot or not very often is that you play every shift like its your last, you give it your all and you always try to prove that you belong to play more and more. "And when your your name gets called you you go out and play your shift to the best of your ability." page 134. Theo was constantly trying to prove himself in the league and was often looked over so he had to work extra hard and put in that extra effort to succeed and be noticed.  When Theo saw the talent and the ability of all of the great players he was playing with he also realized within himself that he needed to improve and he would improve. If you want to be noticed and have your talent recognized or more appreciated, keep on working at it no matter what!

The Blaming of an Entire Race #3

In the book “Just Another Indian” the sister of the victim Eva Taysup, Bev Taysup states on page 109 that even though she knew it was wrong; she held an entire race responsible for what happened to her sister, even though she knew it was wrong. When an event occurs that people consider to be racist it can mean that people over time can gain a stereotypical view of an entire group based on the events that have happened to them. If a person is scorned enough they may possibly gain the racist view if a certain race is constantly behind the pain and suffering. Although the person may feel that somewhere behind all the pain that the blame or view is wrong to them it is easier to hold an entire race responsible then to believe that certain individuals are plain evil and dark inside.

The actions performed by John Crawford not only were unbelieveable, but they stripped away a woman who was unfortunate enough to get into his car. Grief is a very powerful emotion it can cloud even the strongest of minds. When grief or loss happens it is not uncommon for a person to look at all those that they believe could have prevented their grief or helped end the wondering involving a loved one's disappearance. A Lot of factors contribute to the solving of the John Crawford case that raised a lot of worries and anger for the familie of the deceased. Claims in the case that lead to the hatred that brewed in Bev included police involvement in solving the case, lack of media attention and of course the actions of the perpetrator himself. Bev and the others families felt that due to the race of their deceased that the media and police decided that it wasn’t worth covering or solving the murders as to compare if the victims had been of white race. Overall Bev was able to recognize that her mass racism was wrongly placed she still felt that blaming an entire race for the actions of one was a coping mechanism that she could healthily use.

Effects of war.

 The war has traumatizing effects on Xavier. He has lost a leg and has now became addicted to morphine. His aunty was believed to be dead and Xavier has come home to die. War is an awful experience, seeing people die next to you and killing people because you're told to. These days war is not as up close and personal, back then war was up close in the trenches and you saw your enemy getting killed just a few meters in front of you. Watching someone get shot or blown to pieces scares you for life and will never be able to let that go. Then comes life long injury Such as losing a limb. Xavier has lost a leg and now is unable to walk without a crutch and is no longer  able to do the stuff he used to do before the war. Morphine was used to numb the pain and Xavier became addicted. He only has a little bit of morphine left, just enough to last him 3 days. Once it is gone he will most likely die. War is an awful place with a lot of long lasting effects.

You never know who is hurting

When Jordin Tootoos brother Terence committed suicide it comes as a massive shock to the everyone including the people whom are and have read this book. There were absolutely no signs that Terence was hurting and that he was thinking about suicide. Terence was always the strong one he was the one whom took the heat for Jordin,  sent there parents money, lied to there parents so they could stay down south and was the one whom helped and made Jordin tough. Terence was a true leader and a true protector of Jordin and hours before he committed suicide he was happy and out partying. Terence was also extremely tough and Jordin says that "Terence was a survivior." (page, 102). This situation just goes to show that you truly never know whom is hurting and on the edge of taking there own life. For example Jordin writes "I was with him until the bitter last hours before he took his life, and I never knew he was hurting inside because he never showed it."(page 100) Furthermore this quote also proves that Terence was too strong and because of this strength no one ever knew he was hurting inside and as a result he paid the ultimate price. The lesson to be learned from this tragedy is that you can never truly know whom his hurting as many people are too tough for there own good and are willing to take there weaknesses and pain to the grave.

Suicide

I believe that suicide is selfish. Why? Because after you are gone the only people hurting are the ones around you. Jordin is feeling the same way about his brother. When his brother took his life he wasn't the one hurting after or for years to come… His face and friends are the people suffering. Even the police were suffering because now the Jordin’s parent want to sue them. I can see where they are coming from about the police not following the rules and having to have a sober person awake to take the intoxicated person. But at the same time I see how the police wanted to keep it on the low side. Either way you can't blame anyone for the reason someone killed himself. There is always more to the story then just one scene.

Overcoming childhood problems

       As Theo Fleury was young and just starting out in his hockey he had a coach that sexually touched him inappropriately. If you were put in Theo Fleury shoes would you keep trying to be a hockey player and still try your best on the ice? would you let what was happening at night bother you while on the ice?

If I was in his shoes I would not be able to play on the ice because of what was happening at night would bother me and i would be scared that it would happen at night over and over again. As a young boy and getting treated so good as a hockey player and just starting his career. His parents never helped him much because his dad was a drunk and is mom was a jehovah witness he never had christmas or a birthday party and he had a lot of anger built up over time. He let most of his anger out during hockey that's why he hit so hard and could shoot the puck so hard. He got sexually touched by his coach might of made him strong because that gave him more anger and he built up more anger within himself.

The First 47

     Merely within the first forty seven pages of my book All The Way by Jordin Tootoo we learn that this memoir is going to bring us to understand things about Jordin that we ultimately have to factor into our own understanding of him as a person. "During the year that Terence was playing in The Pas and I was playing in Spruce Grove, his coaches started asking about me." (pg. 40) With this quote I believe that one is able to understand the rate of Jordin's abilities on the ice were becoming increasingly prevalent, even for a young kid. During the beginning of this book we learn how Jordin grew up, and it was not a pleasant thing to wrap your head around. Jordin grew up with a sister Corinne and a brother Terrance, both older, they looked after Jordin, kept him safe from their alcoholic parents. Terrence eventually began having to send them money just to keep them out of his and Jordin's lives. As a young kid Jordin left home at a young age to go play hockey in many different places. I think with his home life seeming so unstable he could not  wait to leave and i think that that plays a factor in the way his life ended up going and changing and what allowed Jordin to follow form his own person, straight from the bottom up. Sure we see inevitable bump hitting and issues that seem unbeatable but looking through all of that we can see a man that is going to begin his career and become something great out of nothing, because he is strong and having the experiences, with minor hockey, billet families, drinking, hate, meeting new people.

     In these first few pages I was able to get a taste of what a different life, full of different hardships feels like. The way the book is written is enticing because it is from the view of someone that has had experiences that have made him strong and unbreakably formed. 

Checkmark...thank you for posting in a timely manner!

I have read the blogs to this point. It seems that all of you have found a way to connect to your books (that makes me happy!). Remember to include a quote somewhere in your response (and the page number). There is quite a selection of blogs to comment on. Remember that Blogger is an app (on iphone at least) whcih you can access anywhere you have your phone.

Three Day Road

      I was hoping Three Day Road would be strictly war based but it needed up being very slow in the beginning. And i was getting rather bored until finally the book gets into intense itno war scenes about brutal deaths. And as a reader you see how characters differ before war and into war. Xavier has morals and is not fond of killing people he is actually scared. Elijah on the other hand is brutal and enjoys killing he tends to smile after he has taken a life. i find it interesting to see how characters react and change behaviour but mainly the war atmosphere really pulled me into this book.

Why Xavier wont kill we don't know!

What grabbed me into the book most so far was how Xavier didn't want to kill anyone when he is in a war. He is in the middle of a war what else would he do? Kill or be killed, that how it is in war. So why couldn't he kill anyone? I think he has to many morals and self control to be a savage and kill without even feeling for it. Personally I could only do that if i needed to protect my friends and family and that would be the only way id be able to kill. Which would be the situation in a war, I would protect my brothers in arms with my own life. Xavier has a weird way of thinking of this war Id say. Since he won't kill he shouldn't of even went to the war in the first place in my opinion anyways. It's a good book overall but the beginning is rather slow and confusing. A great book though!

Just Another Indian

This book will make one think deeply about voices from the bottom of your heart. This book states that young, Native women from broken homes and who sometimes prostituted themselves are basically ignored by their nation and nobody cares about them. It tells about kidnapping and murder of First Nations women, and nobody cares enough to look for them. The killer had killed before, yet he was given a light sentence. There was a lack of media coverage and nobody cared to let people know what happened to the girls who went missing. The killer sought Native prostitutes because white prostitutes may have been undercover policewomen and the police rarely hired Native women. The slowness with which the Mounties sought this man may have led to more deaths and abuse of Native women. I think the book sheds a bad light on Canada. I think that the police not talking about who's gone missing and keeping it quiet without any warning of the cases for everyone to watch out, made everything worse. More murders started happening, because the guy was seeking for attention and the police wouldn't give it to him. Police are putting more people at risk and i feel like they actually aren't doing their job, just saying they're going to do something but cover it up and it not be resolved. My concern is did they ever actually care and are they just being sexist , because its young indian girls nt white young girls.

Overcoming Adversity

The book Playing With Fire by Theo Fleury is a story about his life. Throughout the book we see Theo overcome adversity time and time again as he works his way up to the NHL. The main theme we see throughout the book is "overcoming adversity". On page 30, Theo wrote "Graham cultivated a relationship with Sheldon and me by isolating us from our families and from other players". On page 31, Theo wrote " I feel badly about it now, but i was to involved in my own shit to worry about what was happening with anyone else. I was just trying to survive." This connects to the theme because it shows us the adversity he was going to be facing in Graham and how his mindset was changed. Theo went into survival mode and did what he thought was necessary to make it through his difficult time. The conflict he faced early on in his life affects him throughout his life and gives him lots of identity problems. Theo faces many adversities through his life and this is just one of the many he has to overcome.

The development of Theo Fleury

The significance of a character development is very important and Theo Fleury is a great example of both a good and bad character development. THe conflict Theo is faced is making it into a league where he is viewed too small for and seems to have almost everyone against him, and very few people believing him. Somebody by the name Grahm James takes a chance on him in the WHL and tells Theo he'll be able to get him into the NHL. But it came with a price. Theo was being sexually abused by Grahm which i felt developed him badly, introducing him to alcohol, he than became a progressing alcoholic. Away from the sexual abuse, Theo was playing the best hockey he as ever played despite all of the doubt and hate he was facing about his size. He was developing every day, he was the young small hockey player to this hockey player who was setting records, impressing scouts and teams. "Id led the team with 61 goals and 68 assists for 129 points, fifth best in the Western hockey league. This passage showed that he was making his mark in the WHL. But he was partying every night and he was starting to experience with drugs. If it wasn't for Grahm he may not have made it to the WHL than eventually the NHL but he also may have not developed to be an alcoholic or druggy, this goes to show that a character development isn't always good, it can have it's consequences.

Is it racist, is it sexist or is it both? And is getting the man more important then protecting the public?

In the book people are looking at the racist aspect and not the sexist one, in chapter 11 the factors of this come forward as well as the aspects why weren't police warning and protecting the public. A passage on page 122 tell the story of the sexist part of what happens in the book.

"The police are statutory obligated to prevent crime, and, at common law, they owe a duty to protect life and property. The police force failed utterly in their duty to protect the plaintiff and other victims from a serial rapist know to be in their midst by failing to warn them so that they might have had the opportunity to take steps to protect themselves... The conduct of the investigation and, in particular, the failure to warn was motived and informed by the adherence to rape myths as well as sexist stereotypical reasoning about rape, about women, and about women who were raped..." pg. 122

Chapter 11 is all about how police failed to protect Theresa Kematch from getting raped and it gave an example of another time were police did not warn women of a rapist in the area even though they knew there was a serial rapist in the area and how he was committing his crimes. In both these example the police failed to warn and protect women because they were afraid that the criminal would flee.
So there are several factor that come in to play in Crawford's case: public safety, sexist and racist factors as well.
 I want to know is it more important to police to get the man the to protect the public, I do understand by getting the man the police are protecting the public by getting him off the street but is it still right when they basically see a women get raped or they know it will happen again and they are not warning people. What is the priority of the police?
As it was said in the book "had she been a white women, would the police have permitted John Crawford to take her to such a place and subject her to potential danger?" pg. 120 This is a deep question but I don't know the answer to this if they would interfere if it was a "white" women it is a racial aspect but if they would't it would be a sexist factor. (Did anyone wonder if it was a man being raped would they interfere would things have gone fast and would it get more coverage. (has actually happen but the guy that actual killed his victims too)) The fact of it is rapist aren't on media often and they aren't really talked about them even if they murder, it doesn't seem like a priority.
The fact is that there is a racist factor for media but when it came to the police is it also a sexist or did they do what they did to be able to get their man fast to protect women in the long run even though they might have allowed a few women to have a bad experience. there is no real answer in the book for these question but they are important ones.

One Man One Story

The significance of character development is noticeable throughout the entire book. You are learning how Fleury coped with his pain, whether it was with alcohol, drugs or plain out hiding it. You learn that he goes out drinking every night but it’s not because he likes to be drunk it's because it helps take the sexual abuse pain away from Graham and the parent problems he had when he was living at home. The drugs do the same but make him feel a lot better. While the alcohol and drugs hide the mental pain he deals with physical pain by just ignoring it which he gets by with but some things he shouldn’t hide like his stomach cramps which were actually symptoms of Crohn’s Disease (page 114-115) and how he tore his knee part and hid it (page 91-94). Hiding these things is bad in my opinion because if you don’t let something like your knee heal it is only going to get worst and worst and take longer to heal. That being said if you hide something like stomach cramps for all he knows it could have been cancer and if he would’ve pushed it aside it may have been too late to survive. If you were in the NHL or another big national sport would you have hidden pains and injuries so you could continue playing?

~BW

Overcoming The Fire

The theme in 'Playing With Fire" was how to overcome obstacles and continue moving forward. How this theme really came alive was when Theo was living at home with an alcoholic father who spent all their money on booze,while his mother was so cooped up on drugs and having to live with two other brothers Theo was more of the father to his two brothers. While Theo was living at home he played hockey in Russell.Theo was the smallest player on the team but his speed is what made him a step ahead of the other players.Another good example is when Theo was playing under Graham James and since it was to far to go home every night he would stay at James's house and at nights James would try touch Theo and would try cover up with sheets so James would have no way to touch Theo. After doing this for so long Theo wouldn't get much sleep so it was affecting his play but after dealing with this for so long finally it stopped once he got back from the trip to disneyland he was free from James. Then when Theo was going to be drafted he was be judged on how short and was so small that he would not make it in the NHL. But on pg 49 the Calgary flames choose Theo round eight and the hundred and sixty six pick was drafted to the Calgary flames. When Theo went to his first training camp with the flames and he was told by the scout just because you're smaller than everyone use your speed. During the practice Theo used his speed and got on all the defenders heads because we he would use his agility and speed to get around the defenders. Even though Theo didn't make the team he made great impression on the team and then later that season he got called up to play and helped the Calgary flames win there first Stanley Cup.

By: Hunter C

Just a Little Guy

There is a theme going on throughout the story that is to overcome your challenges and it keeps getting built on. At a young age Fleury had almost no support from his parents, they would never watch any of his games. His Dad was a drunk and never home. His Mom never thought he should play hockey because she thought he was just going to get hurt. These few Fleury fought against in his younger years playing hockey. I know what it feels like to have parents not agreeing with what you choose to do in sports and it really puts you down. Later on when he moves into junior league he has to live with his head coach who is a pedophile and does stuff to every night. This is very difficult to get by because he had to live with it for two years. This would affect you physically because you would stay up to try to stop anything from happening and would get sleep deprived. You would also be affected psychologically because you would be constantly thinking about what your coach would try to do that night and how you would have to stop it. When Fleury gets drafted to the Flames he doesn’t get to play right away so he is sent to the IHL (international hockey league) and he thinks he never got to play because he was too small. He was 150lbs 5’9” while most of the other people were 220lbs 6’2”.  Since Fleury thinks this way he goes on the off-season and gains 30lbs and with that he loses most of his speed. When the next season comes around he gets told to get to the gym and lose some weight so he has the speed and agility again. Fleury made the wrong decision and I know if I would have put on 30lbs to be on the team I would be devastated to find out I need to take it all off again. Even though Fleury had to go through all these difficulties Fleury said that he just turned most of it into anger and rage for the ice.

~BW

All The Way

From the start of the book All The Way by Jordin Tootoo he talks about how tough the life is up north. Jordin is a kid that made it out of a house full of booze and parents that were drunk most of the time. But he didn't just get out he is on his way to blow everyone minds. This is why I believe that the way you grow up helps form who you will be in the future. For example Jordin grows up in the north where it survival as soon as you walk out of the town and if you don't know what your doing then you can consider yourself done. The hockey up there didn't really have much for rules so it was a lot rougher then we know as of down here. I believe that is why he is as tough as he is. Jordin also I believe is his biggest motivator. He pushes himself to get out of his home town and do good in hockey. His main reason he pushes himself is because of his parents and how they treat him after they have been drinking. He also knows he has the talent to go far and possibly be the first of his kind to play in the NHL. From just the start of this book what I believe is starting to really show and that is that there is a difference between strong and tough. Jordin is the definition of tough. Mentally and Physically.

An Eerie Truth: The MO Blog #2

In the eyes of the court the death toll for John Crawford’s killing spree in the early 1990’s was three. Three beautiful First Nations woman who never had the chance to say goodbye to those that they loved such as mothers, fathers, brothers and children. Those who of which still have regrets in not being able to protect those that they loved and will never be able to hug, speak and cherish; in this life.

Looking at the woman he murdered we shall look at the characteristics that defined these women.

• Shelley Napope- A ward of Social Services, a runaway, a high school dropout and only 16 the year of her murder. A young First Nations woman, who was trying to make herself better but my a chance of misfortunate events hoped in the vehicle of a stranger that was John Crawford.
• Calinda Waterhen- A First Nations woman age 22, ex-psychiatric patient, constant alcohol abuse, an absent mother and happened to get into the wrong vehicle at the wrong time; yet another unfortunate event.
• Eva Taysup- A struggling mother of four, a First Nations woman age 28, lost her children to the care of other family members, liked to party, happened to get in the vehicle of a serial killer.

As we can see with the ages and race a pattern is shown, the woman did not surpass the age of 30 and were of First Nation descent. All the woman he prayed upon were fans of alcohol and were under the influence when he picked them up. The woman that John looked for were the easiest targets. He didn’t want a challenge he wanted someone he could easily overpower, these women were helpless the time that they entered his vehicle and unprepared for the brutalities that they were subjected to. Out of all the woman that John chose he picked the ones he probably thought no one would want or the ones he thought wouldn’t be missed. This to John meant he would be free to do these brutalities time and time again without having interference from police or anybody else that would have standed in his way.

The Land

                       Jordin Tootoos sheer mental and physical toughness stems from the land the Inuit live on. The land the Inuit live on is barren and desolate and the definition of inhospitable. The land has very little vegetation and is completely empty and is intimidating as hell to look at and go out on let alone to live and hunt on. There are no roads, no lifelines and no help unless you are in the community itself and you are as isolated as you can be out on the land. For example Jordin talks about how people whom come up north to visit and see and hunt on the land do not leave without guides as there are no lifelines out on the land and any mistake our loss of direction can be fatal.This is the kinda place where if you are not properly prepared you will die. If you do not know your way around and are not physically and mentally tough enough to handle the weight and adversity the place will throw at you than you will die. You have to be keep going through anything and prepare for anything out here or you will die and this deadly but beautiful land is where Jordin Tootoo draws his toughness and his spirit from. His ancestors have lived and hunted here for thousands of years in a land where a mistake or a poor hunt can mean starvation and even extinction for your family and your people. This desolate deadly place allows Jordin too think of his own experiences out here on this barren terrain and his ancestors experiences back in the day on the land and use his experience and his toughness to drive him and his toughness. If you can survive fighting against the land in order to obtain food and water and survive on the land then you can survive and win a fist fight or make a big hit in a hockey game or play through a hangover or even all three at the same time. The land and what you have to do out there too just survive let alone thrive means that you can easily thrive in a situation such as hockey and you can take the toughness you gained from being on the land and use it in a hockey game to thrive and excel. The toughness required to play hockey is nothing compared to the toughness needed to survive on the land so as a result of this the toughness Jordin Tootoo is way tougher than his competition from his experience on the land and can keep going through things that would break and kill any person whom does not have a harsh land and a history of thriving on it to drive them and teach them.

Suicide is Selfish

A significant event that affected Jordin and his entire family took place on page 97 of All The Way My Life on Ice. Jordan's older brother, Terrence committed suicide. Why did  he do it?

Throughout the story we really get to know the type of person Terrence is through Jordins eyes. No seriously, he talks about him a lot! On almost every page, there is a mention of Terrence, up to this point at least. Terrence was Jordins big brother, his role model and his best friend. The brothers left home at a young age, though they were usually in different places, they always stayed in contact. They would talk every night and when they did get together Terrence always looked out for him. Terrence always made sure Jordin went to school when Jordin was younger and they got a chance to live together. He was the strong one, that looked after the family and sent money home to his parents. When they were children and being verbally and physically abused Terrence tried to take the blame, instead of Jordin. When there dad would go on a Bender Terrence would be the one to go find him.

Why am I telling you all this? I want you to see how the Tootoo family viewed Terrence. He was strong and independent, he was always there when someone needed him, he was the golden child and a role model to so many people; including his younger brother Jordin. However there is one significant problem with being viewed as the “strong” one. You don't want to put your problems on others because you’re the “strong” one. You don't want people to see you as weak, because you’re the “strong” one that everyone depends on. This leads to the strong person feeling like they never have anyone to talk to, then it's just a downward spiral to depression, and, if no one notices, suicide. Jordin said on pg. 100 “ I was with him until the bitter last hours before he took his life, and I never knew he was hurting inside because he never showed it.” That's the problem with strong people and people who hold up a brave front, you never know if there hurting. In the end suicide is selfish because know one ever knows why they did it or what they were thinking; they just blame themselves for not seeing the hurt in the person that took there life sooner.

Intensity Breeds Presumption

With Jordin's courageous story just starting out, it's already clear that he was different than a lot of kids around Preeceville. He was completely independent at a young age, he excelled at hockey in an age bracket well above his own, and he was intense.

His whole life in Rankin had been intense. Intense weather, intense training and playing hockey with his older brother, intense parents, and an intense schedule to continue the trend once he left his hometown.

He is not just a fighter, he is a warrior. With all of this going on in his younger years, his wit is razor sharp and his fits are rock solid. He develops such a deep defense system, he believes there is no such thing as weakness for him. Which is where his drinking starts becoming a problem.

He believes he is invincible, so the drinking won't affect him. In fact it makes him more invincible. He feels good when he fights but he feels great when he drinks because it adds to his image. He can party with the big boys and then go out and play better than them any day of the week. That's how his brain works.

And he truly believes he has no weaknesses. It's not an arrogance that will go away if someone shows him up. To his very soul he believes that, because of how he was raised, (in the blowing snow, -40° at best of times, with abusive parents and an older brother with friends who liked to knock him around), he is tougher than anyone he will meet. It will be interesting to see how that mentality both helps and hinders as I continue to read.

The Reaction Of A Few

In the story “Just Another Indian” a huge piece topic that was and still is discussed was the lack of involvement from police, and media in regards to the murders. In involvement to this lack of service many individuals believed that the race of the ladies who were murdered and raped by John Crawford played a part in the media's coverage and police involvement. Many claims have been made that the race of the First Nation ladies stories we're not seem as important in the eyes of those who could have helped solve or let others know that a murderer was loose in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Many of the losts family member’s believe that of the ladies who suffered at John’s hands maybe could have had their lives spared if they had been informed of the killings of other First Nations woman. In one case in the book the Saskatoon police couldn’t keep surveillance all night on John Crawford as their was more pressing cases to be taken care of. In the time that the police had left John Crawford at home with his mother another First Nations woman had met an untimely demise. It is believed that the murder would have been prevented if even one policeman had stayed behind and watched John to insure in the time the police left John that no other lady would suffer by his hand. Another case occurred when the police were following John and allowed a First Nations woman to get into John Crawford’s mother's car. The police had John as a suspect for the cases of murdering the First Nations woman, but still let another woman go with him which resulted in a rape and severe beating.

If an issue of race was a problem for the police involved in the case they should have taken themselves away from the case and let those who had no biases help solve the crimes of those murdered.

Why is it Just another Indian?

Topic 5
What does it say? 
1: "He once told an addictions counsellor that his most meaningful religious beliefs were the traditional Native ones.
"I don't feel so alone when I offer up a token to the Indians' god," he said in 1992." pg. 50

2: "...it was the death of her younger sister that solidified her conviction that Native people are consider inferior in Canadian society." pg. 75

What does it mean? 
Quote one make me think because he enjoyed First Nations culture, that is the reason he had targeted Native women. Maybe being with a First Nation women made him feel less lonely. As for the killings it seemed his first two were not on prepose but later it became something he just did with no remorse. With serial killer pick there victims based on a certain aspect it could be something as simple as the way the victim where their hair. In this case it was a racal factor.

Quote two shows the reason why the book is call Just Another Indian, it is a constant theme in the book that the death or a missing First Nations women isn't that big of a deal so it is not on the media or else where. It is mostly swept under the radar of the people.

Why does it matter?
These two quote might have a link of why Crawford did what he did, he felt a link to First Nation culture and felt like he wasn't alone when taking part in it, this was probably the main reason why he targeted First Nations women. The when he started to kill them he didn't think it matter because it seem like no one cares that they are gone so he kept on doing it with no care of ever getting caught.

So far in this book there is a racal barrier/ factors, the media didn't report on what happen to these girls, there was actually very little media coverage at all, although the police try to find the killer at a fairly fast rate really compared to some crime they found their man very quickly. Did what happen matter or did it not really this book really gives both sides of the view but i have to say these First Nation women's death didn't see to matter, if it would have been "White" women there would have been more coverage.

Just another Indian, Blog:1

Let's start off in the beginning. With page one. One of the themes in this book is respect. If there was respect in this novel, I am almost certain that there wouldn’t even be a need for this novel. Because the murders in this story wouldn’t have happened.The passage on the first page quotes “He wore cowboy boots to boost his stature, and he was rarely seen without his buckskin knife with its gold handle and oriental decorations. He craved respect, but on the street he was known as a man who could neither hold his liquor nor back up his bravado with his fists”. This quote shows how the character Bill Corrigan wanted respect but did nothing to earn it. He feels just because he is large and feared he should be respected. Bill isn’t the killer in the book. But the way he acted showed that he also had no respect for woman, in my opinion this makes Bill Corrigan just as guilty as John. Respect is a huge theme in this book because it ties closely to racism, and racism is the main theme. All the woman in this book so far were killed because they were native and noone seemed to mind. If there was respect for women of different races this story would be different.

Why we Are the way we Are

     One of the key ideas is to understand how family environment and traditions form the basis of our personal and national identity. In the book All The Way My Life on Ice by Jordan Tootoo we truly begin to understand that concept. The way you are raised and the environment you are raised around has a lasting impact on who you become. Jordan's parents were both alcoholics, it was a common disease plaguing Rankin Inlet. This caused Jordan and Terrance to believe that alcoholism was a normal thing. They constantly saw there parents getting drunk and so they never saw a problem with picking up a bottle and getting wasted.
     Jordan grew up in a culture where playing in -40°C was normal and beating the living hell out of someone who disrespected you was second nature. When he started living with billet families he took this mentality with him; because that is how he was raised. Jordan fought with people on the ice, he was constantly slashing guys and dropping his gloves. Jordan fought in school when he experienced racism and big talkers who wanted to bully him. The idea to fight through every problem he has came from the environment he grew up in at Rankin Inlet and the family life he grew up in with alcoholic and abusive parents. He ended up finding out that life wasn’t the same outside of Rankin Inlet. When he went to play in Spruce grove he said himself “I ended up fighting a couple of guys, and all of the parents got wound up. After the game, I got a call telling me I was suspended for five games.” He eventually learned things were not as easy as they were back at home. Jordan had a very strong will to keep following the beliefs he had grown up with, to keep playing hockey how he had always played he; but he knew he had to change or he was never going to get anywhere. The outside world had rules and regulations and people are racist and biased. Being strong and a fighter are different than physically smashing anyone up that looks at you wrong. The beliefs of his past created his identity but the experiences of his past gave him the will to be a fighter; and to change and push forward in order to keep following his dream.

Welcome!!

Welcome back to Blogger! Use this platform to respond to your novel and respond to others as well. Write 4 blog posts from different places in your novel. Write about different topics; move beyond lower level "summary" writing to more evaluative and analytical responses (you are being assessed on QUALITY!). Remember to check your mechanics and sentence structure. Provide evidence (quotes, text to text, text to self, and text to world connections). If ever at a loss of something to say, refer to the Blogging instructions or the Say Something handout (thick questions). Respond to the 4 posts written by others, not necessarily others in your group; responses will likely be shorter than original posts (they still require evidence and connections).