About the Author

Ila Bussidor was born in 1955, a year before the relocation. She lived in Churchill until moving to Tadoule Lake in 1973, and is a former Chief of the Fort Churchill Sayisi Dene Band.

Ustun Bilgen-Reinart is a freelance writer, journalist and broadcaster with a special interest in Aboriginal and development issues. She has produced numerous documentaries for CBC radio and television programs, including Morningside, Ideas and The Journal.

Reviews

"Larry's Party was a pleasant evening out. A Red Sea Rising is a great way to remember the disaster that was. But the real Manitoba book of the year is Night Spirits . . . Ila tells stories that leave you gasping for breath. . . . Her intensity can be frightening, but it is never as frightening as the story she has to tell. This book is a Canadian holocaust memoir. Along with journalist Ustun Bilgen-Reinart, Ila Bussidor has put together a story of government carelessness and insensitivity (which has been followed with years of denial and whitewash), heartbreaking suffering and incredible strength."-- "Winnipeg Sun"

"Night Spirits is a story of an incredible journey toward healing not yet finished. . . This is a must-read book, ... well-constructed, well-written and difficult to put down. It is, however, a disturbing book to read because such vivid stories of personal pain and despair will haunt you. All of the contributors, more than a dozen, are to be respected for their sheer honesty and the authors commended for their exceptional, compelling way of telling the story. ... This is an important book that will make a significant contribution to the history of native peoples."-- "Winnipeg Free Press"

"Although it would be understandable, these people rarely send time on exercises in self-pity. Non-Aboriginal people and the Canadian government are not constantly used as whipping posts for their ills. Despite the dysfunctional familal situations these individuals find themselves in, a strong sense of love of family still shines through, making their stories of loss and abuse all the more tragic. Instead, the sense of being down but not out permeates several narratives. As Bussidor concludes in the book, the 'Sayisi Dene have survived the twentieth century. [They'll] be here to greet the twenty-first.'"-- "The First Perspective"