Review of A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer

Leung-Pittman, Emily

English

Scholars Commons

The Goose
Volume 16 | No. 2 Article 26
2-14-2018
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a
Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby
with Mary Louisa Plummer
Emily Leung-Pittman
University of Toronto
Part of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America
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Cet article vous est accessible gratuitement et en libre accès grâce à Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Le texte a été approuvé pour faire partie intégrante
de la revue The Goose par un rédacteur autorisé de Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Pour de plus amples informations, contactez
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Recommended Citation / Citation recommandée
Leung-Pittman, Emily. "A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary
Louisa Plummer." The Goose, vol. 16 , no. 2 , article 26, 2018,
https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol16/iss2/26.
Navigating Violence, Addiction, Poverty, 
and Disability 
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography 
of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by MA-NEE 
CHACABY with MARY LOUISA PLUMMER  
University of Manitoba Press, 2016 $24.95 
Reviewed by EMILY LEUNG-PITTMAN 
A Two-Spirit Journey is the 18th release in 
the Critical Studies in Native History Series 
produced by the University of Manitoba.  
The autobiography is an as-told-to narrative 
that combines Western social science 
methods and Indigenous oral history 
traditions. By undertaking this project, 
Chacaby sought to help her children, 
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren 
understand their histories and her own, and 
also to share her extraordinary life story 
with a wider audience.  
From the start, Ma-Nee Chacaby and 
Mary Louisa Plummer are precise in their 
storytelling and carefully avoid suppressing 
ambiguity and nuance. Instead, the authors 
employ a flexible, relational method in line 
with traditional Indigenous knowledge 
production, as in this passage:  
 
My grandmother always called me 
‘Ma-Nee.’ She liked that name 
because it sounded like the name of 
a French artist who my grandfather 
admired. Today I believe she must 
have meant Manet or Monet. More 
than anything else, though, my 
grandmother said she named me 
after a beautiful miinikaa (place with 
many blueberries) as I had been 
born in the blueberry season. (7) 
 
A Two-Spirit Journey is not a 
biography for the faint of heart. By the 
second page of the book, Chacaby has 
already recounted the tribal violence that 
orphaned her kokum (grandmother) as a 
young child. In subsequent chapters, she 
weaves together her experiences of child 
abuse, incest, and bullying; extreme sexual, 
physical, and psychological violence; racism, 
poverty, and homelessness; and alcohol 
addiction. From childhood though 
adulthood, Chacaby survives repeated 
violations by people in positions of trust, 
from her step-father to her first and second 
husbands to the predatory men in the 
Alcoholics Anonymous chapter in Thunder 
Bay.  
Despite the severity and frequency 
of harms recounted, the book remains 
accessible to survivors of related 
interpersonal traumas. Chacaby’s humility, 
matter-of-fact storytelling voice, and 
uncommon hunting and trapping skills 
evoke compassion and respect. Moments of 
normalcy in Chacaby’s childhood provide a 
reprieve for the reader. Chacaby also 
acknowledges the kindness of 
acquaintances and strangers in her life, 
such as the taxi drivers who intervened 
when she was brutally attacked after 
coming out as gay in Thunder Bay.  
Through its winding narrative, the 
book does away with the trite question of 
why women stay in abusive relationships 
and replaces it with more fundamental and 
practical sites of inquiry and action. For 
instance, where have families, 
communities, and governments failed 
indigenous children, not only within, but 
also outside residential schools? Under 
which circumstances are communities 
unable to help children experiencing abuse? 
When is leaving not an option for abused 
women and under which circumstances do 
abused women leave? And, where do 
individuals find strength in communities 
experiencing high levels of violence, 
1
Leung-Pittman: A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer
Published by / Publié par Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2018
neglect, and poverty? For Chacaby, 
returning to spiritual teachings and being in 
the bush are lifelong healers and sources of 
medicine. 
Disability is a significant element of 
Chacaby’s life journey, alongside long-term 
mental health sequelae derived from her 
traumas. When doctors deem her legally 
blind, Chacaby is barred from driving, loses 
her community outreach job, becomes 
severely depressed, and almost relapses 
into alcohol abuse: “I felt like I was losing 
my identity, my hard-won independence, 
and my financial security, all in one go” she 
explains (135). In later life, Chacaby also 
suffers from endometriosis, arthritis, 
glaucoma, cataracts, and PTSD, which 
require surgery, residential treatment, and 
long-term counselling.  
 The book’s subtitle, The 
Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree 
Elder, seems to privilege the “lesbian” 
component of Chacaby’s life over a whole 
range of other complex identities that are 
not mentioned. Since the word “lesbian” 
itself is not a stable term or concept, I 
would have liked Plummer to discuss how 
Ma-Nee understands and uses the term, 
how this editorial choice was made, and 
how the reader might situate the book 
within the canon of queer scholarship. I am 
similarly curious about where this text falls 
within critical disability scholarship.  
Each of the eleven chapter titles lists 
the time period in which its contents take 
place—e.g. “First Discoveries, Joys and 
Sorrows: Early Childhood in Ombabika 
(1952–1958).” Aside from chapters three 
and four, each chapter also includes a place 
name to frame its contents. However, 
several chapters seem somewhat 
awkwardly titled—e.g. “Living and 
Parenting in Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. 
Marie before Sobriety (1970–1975)”—
which takes away from the authentic voice 
otherwise emanating from the 
collaboration.  
In the afterword, Plummer does well 
to describe the book’s contribution to the 
literature and the benefits and drawbacks 
of as-told-to Indigenous accounts. However, 
the afterword is missing an explanation of 
how Plummer came to befriend Chacaby, 
which is striking given the non-Native 
scholar’s thorough discussion of relational 
Indigenous paradigms. 
A Two-Spirit Journey is a vivid work 
for students and researchers seeking to 
understand intersectionality and Indigenous 
ways of knowing. It is also a gift for public 
health and social service professionals 
looking to understand social determinants 
of health within Canada’s diverse 
population. Yet, exposure to stories like 
Chacaby’s should also be a mandatory part 
of provincial and territorial school and 
university curricula, replacing outdated 
history textbooks and enabling the next 
generation to understand their place within 
a complex settler-colonial landscape.  
In a culture that dehumanizes 
indigenous peoples and the poor, this 
memoir forces the reader to confront racist 
and classist stereotypes and begin the 
emotional labour required for 
reconciliation. Chacaby’s book is a triumph, 
providing a bridge across social divides with 
its searing humanity. 
 
EMILY LEUNG-PITTMAN has a graduate 
specialization in Ethnic and Pluralism 
Studies from the University of Toronto. Her 
research examines the intersections 
between gender, race, colonialism, and 
health. She has lived and worked in sub-
Saharan Africa, Europe, Australasia, and 
North America. 
2
The Goose, Vol. 16, No. 2 [2018], Art. 26
https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol16/iss2/26


A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer

Wilfrid Laurier University

The GooseVolume 16 | No. 2 Article 262-14-2018A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of aLesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacabywith Mary Louisa PlummerEmily Leung-PittmanUniversity of TorontoPart of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Literature in English, North AmericaCommons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, and the Place and Environment CommonsFollow this and additional works at / Suivez-nous ainsi que d’autres travaux et œuvres:https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegooseThis article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Goose by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Cet article vous est accessible gratuitement et en libre accès grâce à Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Le texte a été approuvé pour faire partie intégrantede la revue The Goose par un rédacteur autorisé de Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Pour de plus amples informations, contactezscholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended Citation / Citation recommandéeLeung-Pittman, Emily. "A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with MaryLouisa Plummer." The Goose, vol. 16 , no. 2 , article 26, 2018,https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol16/iss2/26.Navigating Violence, Addiction, Poverty, and Disability A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by MA-NEE CHACABY with MARY LOUISA PLUMMER  University of Manitoba Press, 2016 $24.95 Reviewed by EMILY LEUNG-PITTMAN A Two-Spirit Journey is the 18th release in the Critical Studies in Native History Series produced by the University of Manitoba.  The autobiography is an as-told-to narrative that combines Western social science methods and Indigenous oral history traditions. By undertaking this project, Chacaby sought to help her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren understand their histories and her own, and also to share her extraordinary life story with a wider audience.  From the start, Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer are precise in their storytelling and carefully avoid suppressing ambiguity and nuance. Instead, the authors employ a flexible, relational method in line with traditional Indigenous knowledge production, as in this passage:   My grandmother always called me ‘Ma-Nee.’ She liked that name because it sounded like the name of a French artist who my grandfather admired. Today I believe she must have meant Manet or Monet. More than anything else, though, my grandmother said she named me after a beautiful miinikaa (place with many blueberries) as I had been born in the blueberry season. (7)  A Two-Spirit Journey is not a biography for the faint of heart. By the second page of the book, Chacaby has already recounted the tribal violence that orphaned her kokum (grandmother) as a young child. In subsequent chapters, she weaves together her experiences of child abuse, incest, and bullying; extreme sexual, physical, and psychological violence; racism, poverty, and homelessness; and alcohol addiction. From childhood though adulthood, Chacaby survives repeated violations by people in positions of trust, from her step-father to her first and second husbands to the predatory men in the Alcoholics Anonymous chapter in Thunder Bay.  Despite the severity and frequency of harms recounted, the book remains accessible to survivors of related interpersonal traumas. Chacaby’s humility, matter-of-fact storytelling voice, and uncommon hunting and trapping skills evoke compassion and respect. Moments of normalcy in Chacaby’s childhood provide a reprieve for the reader. Chacaby also acknowledges the kindness of acquaintances and strangers in her life, such as the taxi drivers who intervened when she was brutally attacked after coming out as gay in Thunder Bay.  Through its winding narrative, the book does away with the trite question of why women stay in abusive relationships and replaces it with more fundamental and practical sites of inquiry and action. For instance, where have families, communities, and governments failed indigenous children, not only within, but also outside residential schools? Under which circumstances are communities unable to help children experiencing abuse? When is leaving not an option for abused women and under which circumstances do abused women leave? And, where do individuals find strength in communities experiencing high levels of violence, 1Leung-Pittman: A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa PlummerPublished by / Publié par Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2018neglect, and poverty? For Chacaby, returning to spiritual teachings and being in the bush are lifelong healers and sources of medicine. Disability is a significant element of Chacaby’s life journey, alongside long-term mental health sequelae derived from her traumas. When doctors deem her legally blind, Chacaby is barred from driving, loses her community outreach job, becomes severely depressed, and almost relapses into alcohol abuse: “I felt like I was losing my identity, my hard-won independence, and my financial security, all in one go” she explains (135). In later life, Chacaby also suffers from endometriosis, arthritis, glaucoma, cataracts, and PTSD, which require surgery, residential treatment, and long-term counselling.   The book’s subtitle, The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, seems to privilege the “lesbian” component of Chacaby’s life over a whole range of other complex identities that are not mentioned. Since the word “lesbian” itself is not a stable term or concept, I would have liked Plummer to discuss how Ma-Nee understands and uses the term, how this editorial choice was made, and how the reader might situate the book within the canon of queer scholarship. I am similarly curious about where this text falls within critical disability scholarship.  Each of the eleven chapter titles lists the time period in which its contents take place—e.g. “First Discoveries, Joys and Sorrows: Early Childhood in Ombabika (1952–1958).” Aside from chapters three and four, each chapter also includes a place name to frame its contents. However, several chapters seem somewhat awkwardly titled—e.g. “Living and Parenting in Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie before Sobriety (1970–1975)”—which takes away from the authentic voice otherwise emanating from the collaboration.  In the afterword, Plummer does well to describe the book’s contribution to the literature and the benefits and drawbacks of as-told-to Indigenous accounts. However, the afterword is missing an explanation of how Plummer came to befriend Chacaby, which is striking given the non-Native scholar’s thorough discussion of relational Indigenous paradigms. A Two-Spirit Journey is a vivid work for students and researchers seeking to understand intersectionality and Indigenous ways of knowing. It is also a gift for public health and social service professionals looking to understand social determinants of health within Canada’s diverse population. Yet, exposure to stories like Chacaby’s should also be a mandatory part of provincial and territorial school and university curricula, replacing outdated history textbooks and enabling the next generation to understand their place within a complex settler-colonial landscape.  In a culture that dehumanizes indigenous peoples and the poor, this memoir forces the reader to confront racist and classist stereotypes and begin the emotional labour required for reconciliation. Chacaby’s book is a triumph, providing a bridge across social divides with its searing humanity.  EMILY LEUNG-PITTMAN has a graduate specialization in Ethnic and Pluralism Studies from the University of Toronto. Her research examines the intersections between gender, race, colonialism, and health. She has lived and worked in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Australasia, and North America. 2The Goose, Vol. 16, No. 2 [2018], Art. 26https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol16/iss2/26

https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1444&amp;context=thegoose

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer

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