I was shocked and saddened to learn that the Gwich'in leader, writer, musician, and photographer Robert Arthur Alexie Jr. is dead. A few years ago, Theytus Books re-released his 1992 novel Porcupines and China Dolls. I read it and I was devastated, heart-smashed, and absolutely in awe of his writing.

Dramatic, raw, merciless, Porcupines and China Dolls is not a book you coast through. It is about our history and what happened to "The People", as Alexie writes, when the Europeans arrived. The story reaches into the past, but the past is the present.

The focus is on forty year old James Nathan, a funny guy, a charmer, and a Survivor of residential school. He was a porcupine, like all the boys who on their first day at residential school had their hair sheared off. The china dolls are the girls who had their hair cut into a short Prince Valiant style. Their language, culture, and spirituality were forbidden and the punishment for practicing any of those elements was severe, even at the age of five. One day watching TV, Jake, James' best friend, sees the priest who sexually abused him. Will Jake disclose what happened to him? Will he get the help that will lead to healing? Will James share his own story? The book concludes with a masterfully wrought community healing workshop.

I recall a Survivor, Elder Reg Crowshoe, speaking at the Alberta gathering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in March. He said "We may be through with the past, but is the past through with us?" In Porcupines and China Dolls, Alexie says no. For those who may think it's time to "get over it", this novel lays out the trauma and the scars that are generations old and why it will take generations. It is a bracing read. Alexie, and it is hard to use the past tense, was a fine writer with a great ear for dialogue and a deep compassion. It is clear from his writing that he loved the land. Richard van Camp called his writing hard but good medicine.

I met Robert at another TRC event, the northern gathering in Inuvik. He was President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council. The first thing I noticed was that he carried himself so well. He stood tall, even though he had about four heavy cameras strapped around his neck. He was friendly, funny -- even on first meeting he teased me -- and he was humble.

Last Monday, his family confirmed that he was found dead on the Dempster Highway outside Fort McPherson, NWT. He was my age, 58. My condolences to his family and friends and to the Gwich'in People. I am sorry for your loss. And ours as readers.

--Shelagh

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Richard Van Camp is a storyteller and best-selling author, and a member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Click here to listen to Richard's reflections on the significance of Robert Arthur Alexie's novel Porcupines and China Dolls.