Chanie Wenjack’s particular story involved a noble attempt to flee the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont., by following the railroad tracks to the family home from which he was taken. He didn’t know how far away his family actually was — 600 kilometres in Ogoki Post, Ont. — and was found dead of starvation and exposure on those same railroad tracks on Oct. 22, 1968, 50 years ago. From opener “The Stranger” through to Secret Path’s ascendant finale “Here,” Downie assumes Wenjack’s voice while Lemire’s textless graphic-novel pages bring his hopeless journey to visual life. And while one rock star’s concern isn’t going to cure the ills of Canadian history, at least he’s doing the job our historians neglected to do.

Source: thestar October 21, 2016 11:03 UTC