Goodbye Buffalo Bay

Publisher's description (Theytus Books, 2008): 
Drama and humour combine in Goodbye Buffalo Bay by award-winning Cree author Larry Loyie. The sequel to the award-winning book As Long as the Rivers Flow. Goodbye Buffalo Bay is set during the author's teenaged years. In his last year in residential school, Lawrence learns the power of friendship and finds the courage to stand up for his beliefs. He returns home to find the traditional First Nations life he loved is over. He feels like a stranger to his family until his grandfather's gentle guidance helps him find his way. New adventures arise; Lawrence fights a terrifying forest fire, makes his first non-Native friends, stands up for himself in the harsh conditions of a sawmill, meets his first sweetheart and fulfills his dream of living in the mountains. Wearing new ice skates bought with his hard-won wages, Lawrence discovers a sense of freedom and self-esteem. Goodbye Buffalo Bay explores the themes of self-discovery, the importance of friendship, the difference between anger and assertiveness and the realization of youthful dreams. Larry Loyie is Cree.

Author Biography (Theytus Books, 2008): 
Author Larry Loyie was born in Slave Lake, Alberta. He spent his early years living a traditional Cree life and treasures the lessons he learned from the elders. He went to residential school from the age of 10 to 14, then began his working life. Larry returned to school later in life to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a writer. He received the 2001 Canada Post Literacy Award for Individual Achievement (British Columbia). In 2003, Larry was the first First Nations writer to win the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction for his first children’s book As Long as the Rivers Flows.

Constance Brissenden, BA (University of Guelph), MA (University of Alberta, theater) wrote a number of books with her partner, Larry Loyie. A nonfiction writer and editor of more than 14 books of history and travel, she was a writing instructor in Simon Fraser University's Writing & Publishing program for 18 years. In 1993, Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden launched the Living Traditions Writers Group to encourage writing in Indigenous and other communities. A lifelong freelancer, Constance Brissenden continues to write, edit and teach writing and theater.

Resource format: Novel

Age recommendation: Grades 4 - 7

Keywords: reconciliation, Residential School, history, Cree, isolation, language, colonialism, history, glossary, St. Bernard Richard, Buffalo Bay, kokum, grandma, story, family, traditional, grandfather, lessons, firefighter, medicine, skating, kinship, friends, abuse, adolescent, emotions, anger, friendship, survival

Year of publication: 2008

Publisher information: Theytus Books