katherena vermette: real ones

Award-winning author katherena vermette discusses her new novel, a heartrending story of two Michif sisters who must face their past trauma when their mother is called out for false claims to Indigenous identity.

In , we meet June and her sister, lyn. Lyn has her pottery artwork, her precocious kid and the uncertain terrain of her midlife to keep her mind, heart and hands busy. June, a Métis Studies professor, yearns to uproot from Vancouver and move. With her loving partner, June decides to buy a house in the last place on earth she imagined she’d end up: back home in Winnipeg with her family.

But then into lyn and June’s busy lives a bomb drops: their estranged and very white mother, Renee, is called out as a “pretendian.” Under the name (get this) Raven Bearclaw, Renee had topped the charts in the Canadian art world for winning awards and recognition for her Indigenous-style work.

The news is quickly picked up by the media and sparks an enraged online backlash. As the sisters are pulled into the painful tangle of lies their mother has told and the hurt she has caused, searing memories from their unresolved childhood trauma, which still manages to spill into their well curated adult worlds, come rippling to the surface.

katherena vermette speaks with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, host of CBC Radio’s COMMOTION, about real ones, an energetic, probing and ultimately hopeful story that pays homage to the long-fought, hard-won battles of Michif (Métis) people to regain ownership of their identity and the right to say who is and isn’t Métis.

Q&A and book signing to follow. Books available for purchase.

Ticket registration for this event is required: Free tickets for this event are available to book via Eventbrite.

About this event’s guests:

katherena vermette

Elamin Abdelmahmoud

Read more:

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This event is part of our signature Salon Series, where we host local and international authors, artists and thinkers in conversation about their new books and big ideas.

It is also part of our Indigenous Celebrations series, generously supported by TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment.

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Note: This is an in-person event at The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, the premiere event space for Toronto Public Library's cultural and heritage programming, located on the second floor of the Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street).

Arrive early, meet people. The talk starts at 7 pm, but doors open at 6 pm. Come early so you can chat with your fellow literature lovers, and make new friends. We'll have a bar with a selection of beer and wine, as well as snacks, available to purchase (only debit and credit cards accepted).

Reminder! We oversell these events to make sure that the most people have an opportunity to attend. Tickets are only guaranteed until 10 minutes before the show starts, at which point we will start opening up available spots to the rush line.

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Accessibility at Toronto Public Library:

Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Please call or email us if you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation to participate in this program. Please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. At least three weeks’ notice is preferred. Phone 416-393-7099 or email [email protected].

Host or Publisher Toronto Public Library