Old Moccasins: And Other Stories

A darkly funny, deeply human portrait of life, love, and survival on a northern reserve where hope and hardship walk hand in hand.In linked tales set on the Rabbit-Skin River Indian Reserve, a remote northern community of 500, we follow Jimmy Whiskey-Jack—an unscrupulous but lovable schemer—and his cheerful sidekick, Chubby Larue, as they stumble from absurd escapades like inheriting a hearse into the heart of life on the rez. Around Jimmy orbit unforgettable figures: Auntie Gertie, the tough, tender matriarch; Father Binette, the well-meaning priest; Isaac Rat-Skin, the last medicine man; Ida Scow, the no-nonsense band manager; and Chief Truman Two-Faces, whose antics skewer colonial bureaucracy. At Effie’s Café—the community’s beating heart—gossip flows, love endures, and resilience reigns. Both humorous and haunting, Old Moccasins captures the spirit, struggle, and enduring strength of life on the Rabbit-Skin River Reserve.