Rudy Wiebe’s The Temptations of Big Bear is a fictionalized version of the story of the rapid transition in lives of the Indians as the Canadian government made land deals with Indians, who really had little alternative with as the buffalo were disappearing, and the coming of the railroad. The most interesting part of the book was the dry humor in parts of the account representing Big Bear’s point of view. This Indian humor I have run across in several books by and about Native Americans. Overall, as an American reader, the relative peacefulness of relations with the Indians in Canada contrasts with what happened in the USA, although in other areas, such as the destruction of native culture as children were taken away to missionary schools for the 19th century version of cultural reprogramming seems to parallel what happened in the United States.

I saw an interview with the author Rudy Wiebe from Canadian television. That what got me interested in this book.