Pete Enzoe and Mindy Willett, photography by Tessa Macintosh,
The Caribou Feed Our Soul (The Land is our Storybook Series)
Fifth House/Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2010.

Rating: E*

The Caribou Feed Our Soul is the sixth book in The Land is our Storybook Series. In this book, Pete Enzoe welcomes us to his home in utsël K’é, Northwest Territories. He acquaints us with this northern Chipewyan community by providing information about the population (320), the social services in the area, and historical details dating back to 1821. Pete and his family become the focus of the book when he talks about his nephew, his grandfather, and his auntie. Many memories and activities tie into hunting caribou or fishing with family members. Information is presented visually through colour photographs of the town and a labeled map of Canada. Sidebars contain traditional stories important to the community, background information about the formation of the Indian Brotherhood, and a small glossary entitled Our Words.

This book, which reads and looks like a personalized scrapbook, took the authors several years to create. The photographs are explained, the information is presented in small blocks of text, and the top of the pages are decorated to resemble a border of fringe. Working closely with Pete in his community enabled the author and photographer to create a memorable and meaningful experience for the reader.

Students studying northern Native communities will find these books a rich source of information. Pete’s respect for nature and his dedication to preserving his communities’ way of life is evident in this book. This is a recommended non-fiction series for every Canadian library.

Tanya Boudreau
Vol. 16, number 4
April 2011

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.