The Boy from Buzwah
- Author Name: Cecil King
- Publisher: University of Regina Press
- Publication Date: 2022
- ISBN: 9780889778368 (softcover)
- Author Website: https://uofrpress.ca/Books/T/The-Boy-from-Buzwah
About the Book
Cecil King’s remarkable memoir, from humble beginnings on a reservation to his unparalleled legacy to ensure Indian Control of Indian Education in Canada. “Through my eyes, my community was creative, innovative and self-sufficient. In this remote northern traditional First Nation society, the skills, knowledge and abilities that the community needed to survive were all there. . . . The stories are not just of survival and hardship but of the power of the human spirit and the sheer natural genius of individuals. ” —Cecil King Cecil King grew up in the small settlement of Buzwah, Ontario, situated on Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island. This moving memoir shares King’s life on reserve in the 1930s and ’40s and describes a vibrant community full of interesting characters who shared knowledge, warmth, affection, and humour. King also describes his experiences attending Buzwah Indian Day School and St. Charles Garnier Residential School. After furthering his education, King returned home to Buzwah as a teacher. He quickly became disillusioned with the Ontario curriculum and how inadequately it resonated with on-reserve youth and the realities of Indigenous life. It was then that King began his unparalleled legacy to ensure Indian Control of Indian Education in Canada. King helped create curriculum that connected to traditional Indigenous cultures and established First Nation language courses in elementary and secondary schools. Over the course of his fifty-year career in education, he would found the Indian Teacher Education Program at the University of Saskatchewan, become the first director of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program at Queen’s University, and develop Ojibwe language courses across North America. A remarkable story about a remarkable man, The Boy from Buzwah is a powerful testament to Dr. Cecil King’s work and legacy.
About the Author
Dr. Cecil King was an Odawa from Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island. He spent 60 years in education as a teacher, professor, researcher, consultant and teacher of teachers. Dr. King founded the Indian Teacher Education Program, University of Saskatchewan and was the first Director of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program, Queen’s University. He served as Head of the Indian and Northern Education Program, University of Saskatchewan and the Dean of the Saskatchewan Campus of the First Nations University of Canada. His language was his first love. He taught Ojibwe at the University of Saskatchewan, Stanford University, and the University of Alberta. He has developed Ojibwe Language Programs in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Minnesota, Chicago, and California, and has produced an 8,000 word Ojibwe dictionary. Dr. King was also Professor Emeritus, Queen’s University, the recipient of Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, and the 2009 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education. Dr. King was also been involved in the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre, the Gabriel Dumont Institute, and many other centres of Indigenous learning and study. Throughout his career, Dr. King worked with First Nations across Canada in developing programs and policies aimed at Indian Control of Indian Education. His areas of expertise were Aboriginal Education; Aboriginal History; Ojibwe Language; Aboriginal Teacher Methodology; Policy and Administration of Aboriginal programs; Research Techniques with Aboriginal Peoples; Aboriginal Language Methodology. Dr. King passed away on May 4, 2022, at age 90.