The Boy from Buzwah - by Cecil King (Paperback)

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. Cecil King grew up in the small settlement of Buzwah, Ontario, situated on Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island. King shares memories of life on the reserve in the 1930s and '40s and describes his experiences attending Buzwah Indian Day School and St. Charles Garnier Residential School. But 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. Over his sixty-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."--

Book Synopsis

A powerful memoir from an Indigenous educator.

"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.

Review Quotes

"Cecil King has written a remarkable memoir of his early life and his over sixty-year-long career as an Indigenous educator. The teacher, respected community leader, and post-secondary professor and administrator, argues most convincingly for a system of First Nations education that incorporates fully Indigenous history, culture, and present-day realities. I love Cecil's book!"--Don Smith, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Calgary

"Cecil King's book about his experiences in a day school, residential school, the bureaucracy and institutional development on Indigenous education presents an important perspective in the debate on educational change in the past half-century. His personal perspective and his use of Ojibwe as part of this history introduces a new qualitative dimension to this debate."--Keith Goulet, former Minister of Northern Affairs for Saskatchewan

"Cecil King's memoir is an important contribution to the Indigenous literature, documenting early life on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, disclosing the enduring roots of Odawa tradition, chronicling the re-emergence of Anishnawbe culture and the rise of Indigenous activism, particularly in the important area of Indigenous education."--Hon. Leonard S. Tony Mandamin IPC, Justice in Residence, Faculty of Law/Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta

About the Author

Cecil King is an Odawa from Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve and a retired Professor Emeritus of Queen's University. He served for more than sixty years as an Indigenous educator. He currently resides in Saskatoon.