Review of STEALING by Margaret Verble

 4 Stars

This is a heart-breaking novel about the mistreatment suffered by Indigenous children in religious residential schools.

Kit Crockett, a Cherokee girl living in Oklahoma in the 1950s, is sent to a Christian boarding school.  Forcibly removed from her family when she is nine years old, she is subjected to prejudice and abuse.  Writing is a mode of survival for her so she keeps a journal chronicling her life at the school.  She also flashes back to the events that led to her being sent to the school. 

Kit is the narrator and she has a very distinct voice.  As would be expected from someone of her age, her perspective is sometimes naïve:  she admits to not understanding everything that happens.  Her narration also has many digressions; these create suspense as the reader wants answers to questions which she does not always immediately address. 

She is a fully developed character.  She is inquisitive, intelligent, independent, and resourceful.  Strong-willed, she is determined to survive in the school.  She thinks of her ancestors whose struggles help her be resilient and hopeful:  “our people walked the Trail of Tears.  We all were strong enough to survive anything anybody threw at us.”  Whereas others give up hope, “I’ll just put one foot in front of the other until I get to where I have to go. . . . Those that gave up hope and stopped on the road died in the snow.”  She is also determined to leave a written record of what happens at the school.  Kit is also lonely; her home with her father is in the country, and she is the first child to be picked up and the last to be dropped off by the school bus.  When she befriends Bella who lives in a nearby cabin, it is obvious that she craves affection and attention. 

It is Kit’s description of mistreatment that horrifies.  Cultural eradication is obviously a goal of the school since the Indian children have their hair cut and are given new names.  They are given the harshest chores and are kept apart:  teachers “really don’t want the Indians here to pair off.  They either think we’ll be a bad influence on each other or are trying to turn us white by keeping us apart.”  Sexual abuse occurs, and one of the girls makes a horrifying discovery on the school grounds.  I was interested to read that the book was actually written 15 years ago, but the First Nations boarding school scandal in Canada in 2021 lead to its publication.

The novel is very critical of religious bigotry.  Kit’s paternal grandfather is a preacher but Kit’s father says he “’wasn’t trying to save anybody’s soul, although he claimed to be doing that every day.  He was just trying to have power over people.’”  One of Kit’s uncles says that “self-righteousness is just another form of hate, one that’s taught in church.”  The most evil characters are those who consider themselves people of faith.  For instance, Mr. Hodges, the director of the school, uses Christianity to justify unconscionable abuses.  The murder of a woman of mixed race is considered justifiable homicide with no penalty, whereas the killing of a churchgoing white woman, though she is a hypocrite and absolutely unChristian in behaviour, is voluntary manslaughter. 

The title of the book is perfect.  Kit believes that “my whole life had been stolen from me” and mentions that “Mr. Hodges and the other people running this place . . . are stealing our lives.”  But stealing also means sneaking and there are indeed several characters who behave in a sneaky way.  It is the religious authorities who steal with impunity; one of Kit’s aunts says, “’A lot of people want to believe in preachers, Kit.  So it’s easier for them to get away with stealing and lying than it is for most folks.’” 

This book is by an American author but it mirrors a dreadful chapter in Canadian history.