SERUM MEINE Bi rio review Khot-La-Cha; The Autobiography of Chief Simon Baker. Douglas & Melntyre. $22.95 NOTHING IS harder to write well than autobiography. The most inter- esting people, even good story- tellers, when they sit down to write “the story of my life,” either become “so modest and self-effacing they end up self-erasing (leaving out the good PCy REN mE ahr Mea age 2M" AOR RAN MGS OF PURI A YAIR ADT Ia ROLE NS Re LC OT TL, SYN 2 oie of our Elder stuff) or ponderously self-important bores. What makes Squamish Nation Elder Chief Simon Baker's autobiog- raphy a delight to read is that he avoids both pitfalls by collaborating with Professor Verna J. Kirkness, who edited and organized his remi- niscences, allowing him to ailk about What is important: without geting bogged in the welter of details that acerue in alife of more than 80 years. Kirkness. a member of the Cree Nation as well as Professor Emerita of the UBC Faculty of Education, does u fine job of invisible editorial stage-management, $0 the reader has a sense of sitting on the porch, listen- ing while a respected Grandfather tells stories in which memory and observation mix and are transformed into that most elusive commodity we call “Wisdom." Chief Simon Baker has been a familiar public figure for many years, not only on the North Shore, but internationally. When he jokes about being “the last of the famous North: Shore NEWS photo Mike Wakelisid : CHIEF SIMON Baker jokes about being “the last of the famous “North: Shore: indians” in Khot-La-Cha: the Autobiography of : Chief Simon Baker, ; Published by Douglas & Melatyre. regres Tenants Boning! SST Bees SER ONES aaa: Coes he Angels i in Outfield id (new) BLING Fiver Wild 6. Only You (new) ree ge AGE AERN: feaant Dange a Ti ce CAITICS'; | MPAA ' THEME " AVERAGE | RATING ‘ PAUSE TE Tg a __Drama ee a aes Bae ACK Yee PG Core Indians” there's a painful truth behind the smile. The current generation of Native leaders, the Elijah Harpers und Ovide Mercredis, have risen on a wave of political activism that has been swelling since the 1960s, re- evaluation of Western society. For most of Chief Baker's life, just being “a famous indian” as been a victory against lone odds. A born leader and) instinctive activist for justice in his youth, (when he was [4 he organized a labor strike at Lytton Residential School, demanding that Native boys) who “worked like men” be “fed dike men“ and won), in later life Chief Baker never missed an opportunity to grab the spotlight, to sing, dance, tell a story or make a speech, not for per- sonal glory, but simply to remind Canadians and the rest of the world that his people had not just conve- niently disappeared. His has been a restless and excit- ing life, from childhood dominated by his grandmother Mary Capilano to raising a large family of his own, run- ning businesses like the Big Chief drive-in in Squamish and the Khot- GAPS La-Cha shop where local Native - artists could sell their work, and at times a hard one. Chief Baker is can- did about his young manhood as a hard-working, hard-drinking long- shoreman and now seems almost amazed himself at the sheer warrior stamina he and his friends possessed in their youth. The mark of a great man is not just his dogged achievement of self-satis- fying goals, or even the status, the ‘respect’ and public prominence accorded to him as an Elder and councillor of his people. It is his sin- cere concer for others and the wis- dom to accept change in them and “himself; to gracefully lay down_ his lacrosse stick when he slows down, to quit drinking when his wife says “when,” und to always seek new chal- lenges rather that subside into a . youth-deprived bitterness. In the end, success is always posthumous: if those you - leave behind can describe you as “he man with a kind heart” in any language. you have the finest epitaph any man can aspire to. + COARSE LANG. SEX & VIOLENCE - NUDITY Much Lots er ese aye ‘Mild “ENTER TO WIN! RADIAT EAS PRON, We make 3 you look good, Since 1 28 67TH ANNIVERSARY No fine print and no gimmicks! 1/3 OFF ALL SUNGLASSES © Not all models may be in all stores at all times, however we'll special order any model of these brands at these savings! , Profan Lau JREN ® EYEWEAR une al "$99 Not av ailuble at Wi arehouse & Drug Stores! pirit © Mode! # DR 6302 |. Reg.$214.00 . Half Moon | Model # DR 5459 _ Reg.$189.00. 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