pbA subversive novel by acclaimed Cree author Darrel J. McLeod bbiibbiMamaskatch, Peyakowibb, infused with the contradictory triumph and pain of finding conventional success in a world that feels alien.bp p1989 James, a talented and conflicted Cree man from a tiny settlement in Northern Alberta, has settled into a comfortable middle-class life in a trendy neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is living the life he had once dreamed of--travel, a charming circle of sophisticated friends, a promising career and a loving relationship with a caring man--but he chafes at being assimilated into mainstream society, removed from his people and culture.p pThe untimely death of James's mother, his only link to his extended family and community, propels him into a quest to reconnect with his roots. He secures a job as a principal in a remote northern Dakelh community but quickly learns that life there isn't the fix he'd hoped it would be His encounters with poverty, cultural disruption,