“I am the Cougar,” says Michael J. Isaac. “The ghost cat story is one in which I have lived.” How The Cougar Came To Be Called the Ghost Cat, written by the Mi’kmaw author, is a wonderful modern day story about loss of identity and the desire to be accepted. The cougar had to learn to live within a world by giving up parts of who he was in order to be accepted. Isaac grew up in the Canadian school system where he was discouraged from speaking his Mi’kmaq language. Like the cougar, he found it to be an alienating and painful experience that left an impact on him all his life.

Beautiful intricate illustrations by internationally renowned Maliseet artist Dozay Christmas add to this rich story. Isaac wanted it in both languages for Mi’kmaq speakers and non-speakers to enjoy. The English text is first in order to draw the non-speakers into the story and encourage them to read the Mi’kmaq as well. Isaac tested it with several audiences including his own fifth grade students and it met their approval. Elders told Isaac that more relevant stories like this are needed to relate to today. Isaac is presently working on a facilitator’s guide to use in the classroom. This is a great book for all ages and comes highly recommended through strong endorsements from youth and elders.

— Catherine Martin, Atlantic Books Today, Spring 2011

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 An Artful Allegory: “How the Cougar Came to be Called the Ghost Cat/Ta’n Petalu Telui’tut  Skite’ kmujewey Mia’ wj.”  Written by Michael James Isaac; illustrated by Dozay (Arlene) Christmas.  Roseway Publishing, Black Point, NS. Bilingual (English and Mi’kmaw). $12.95.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines an allegory as “the representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.”  In his allegorical children’s  book  How the Cougar Came to be Called the Ghost Cat,  Listuguj First Nations (located in Quebec)  author Michael ‘Mickey’ James Isaac (now an elementary school teacher within the Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board)  powerfully alludes to his own experience growing up in the Euro-Canadian school system through his utilization of a cougar to represent himself; artist Dozay (Arlene) Christmas, a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), brings Isaac’s allegorical story to life through her vibrant illustrations. “Dozay has created and displayed her artwork at galleries and exhibits across the Maritimes, Ontario and the US.”

In much the same way as Mickey Isaac’s title character Ajig (the cougar) is ordered by Raven not to speak nor eat like a cougar,  becoming “gentle so that when you play with other animals, you will not hurt them.”Young Mickey Issac was forced to give up his Mi’kmaq language when he was an elementary-aged student. Why? Because, in his own words, Isaac states that “I had to stop speaking Mi’kmaq  because it frightened the non-Mi’kmaq children and staff of St. Ann’s Elementary School.”  Mr. Isaac rightfully argues that “like Aijig, the Mi’kmaq had to be civilized to the ways of Euro-Canadian society in order to be accepted. How the Cougar Came to be Called the Ghost Cat is about losing identity, having to sacrifice parts of yourself so that you may be accepted. The loss of identity and sacrifice of self is part of a struggle that continues to this day.”

Just as Aijg finds it difficult to fit in upon his return to “the forest where cougars live,” many First Nations’ peoples find it equally challenging to fit back into their own society after having been assimilated by the Euro-Canadians. In his book, Isaac writes that “the cougars were quick to notice that Ajig looked like them but did not act like them. The cougars laughed and made fun of him, and told him to go back to where he had come from.” According to Mickey Isaac, “living in two worlds has a price. Often that price is the soul and the feeling of never completely fitting in. The desire to be welcomed and respected for our differences is the wish of all human beings. When people lose their identity, they disappear and fade away,” just as Ajig does when he becomes the Ghost Cat.

         Roseway Publishing’s parent company, Fernwood Publishing, prides itself on printing “critical books for critical thinkers.” Children’s book or not, Michael James Isaac’s How the Cougar Came to be Called the Ghost Cat delivers!–JM Heap, Amherst Daily News Book Review, 10 December 2010

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 What does a cougar cub do when he finds himself to be the only cougar in the forest?

That is the dilemma facing Ajig, the main character in a new illustrated children’s book by Michael Isaac entitled How the Cougar Came To Be Called The Ghost Cat.

Isaac, originally from Listuguj First Nation and now teaching at the elementary level for the Victoria School Board on Cape Breton Island, wrote the book based on how he felt when attending school and having assimilation to another culture forced upon him. It is written in both English and Mi’gmaw. It is illstrated by artist Dozay (Arlene) Christmas, originally of Tobique First Nation and now of Membertou First Nation near Sydney.

In the book, Ajig is told by Raven that the other animals are afraid of him and that to fit it, he has to stop acting like a cougar. But Ajig gets lonely, being the only cougar, so Raven tells him how to get to the forest where other cougars live. Ajig soon finds he doesn’t really fit into either world now. That is when he decides to become the Ghost Cat.

”We need more texts that are culturally relevant to our students–stories that they can relate to and assist in their continued development of both the English and Mi’gmaw languages,” said Isaac in a press release.

In the book itself, Isaac offers a further explanation in a section called About the Story.

”Living in two worlds has a price. Often that price is the soul and the feeling of never completely fitting in. The desire to be welcomed and respected for our differences is the wish of all human beings.”

Although the book reflects Isaac’s experience of assimilation at school, that theme of the book is universal and speaks to every child who finds himself or herself marginalized or forced to change who they are in order to conform to a societal norm. How the Cougar Came To Be Called The Ghost Cat is published by Roseway Publishing and available at bookstores throughout the Maritimes or from the publisher’s website at http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/roseway at a cost of $12.95 plus shipping. It is also available through Chapters.ca. A video about the book can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/IsaacBook

—By Tim Jacques, Campbellton Tribune, Dec. 3, 2010

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The publication of Michael James Isaac’s new book was a landmark event for the Mi’kmaq culture, for Roseway Publishing, for the illustrator and for Isaac himself. How the Cougar Came To Be Called the Ghost Cat / Ta’n Petalu Te–lui’tut  Skite’kmujewey Mia’wj is Isaac’s first book. It is Roseway’s first children’s book. It is illustrator Dozay Christmas’s  first children’s book, and this beautiful and colourful  book makes a significant contribution to the body of children’s stories available in Mi’kmaq.

  At a recent event at the Mic–mac  Native Friendship Centre, Isaac read his book in English and Kirsten Denny accompa–nied  him in Mi’kmaq. It is a beautiful language, fluid and melodic, and the readers did full justice to the story of Ajig, a young cougar who strays deep into the forest. Unable to find his way home, he looks to other animals and birds to help him. They become friends, and Ajig learns to adapt to his new home, putting aside his cougar nature so he can fit into the world of his new friends.  

When Isaac went to school at Listuguj First Nation in Quebec, he and his classmates were taught in English.

 Banned from using his lan–guage,  Isaac gradually lost the ability to speak it. Today, he understands Mi’kmaq but speaking it remains difficult.

 “It is slowly coming back,” he said in a telephone interview from his home in Cape Breton, “but I need to re-learn the spoken words. There’s still a way to go to recover my fluency.”

 In the story, Ajig finally realizes that a part of himself is locked away, tucked far down inside. He decides to go back and find others like him.  But the other cougars don’t see a brother in Ajig. They see someone who has changed, someone who is no longer one of them, and Ajig is caught between two worlds, forever yearning to belong and never quite fitting in.  

The story of Ajig the cougar is a story of lost identity, of giving up part of yourself to fit in. It is a story taken from Isaac’s own lived experiences.

 But it is not just for small children, says Isaac. Children of all ages relate to Ajig. They understand his dilemma as he struggles to find where he belongs.  

Isaac speaks passionately about his community and the need to promote and preserve all that is good about his cul–ture. He came to Cape Breton as part of the Tribal Police Force, policing the community in which he lived. “It was difficult,” he said. “It is hard to be effective without proper resources and funding.” He saw his community “as a large family. I never took anything personally and would discuss problems when things calmed down.”

  When the tribal police force was dismantled at the end of the 1990s, Isaac turned to education as a way to contrib–ute  to his community. He be–came  a teacher. And while he was working on his masters degree in education at St. F.X., he was given an assignment to write a children’s book. He looked to his lived experiences for inspiration and the result is How the Cougar Came To Be Called the Ghost Cat / Ta’n Petalu Telui’tut Skite’kmuje–wey Mia’wj.

  He used the book in his classes, reading it to all grade levels. One day, a new author visited the school and Isaac listened and was inspired. “I knew my book was just as good,” he said.

  Last Christmas, he sent the manuscript to Roseway Publishers,  and the rest, as they say, is history. Isaac feels that publishing his book in two languages is an important step. “We need our own stories,  where our children can see themselves. They need to see themselves in the curriculum.”

  “Kirsten is part of the first cohort of immersion students in Eskasoni,” says Isaac. He believes that a strong founda–tion  in their first language gives young people confidence and a strong sense of identity.  

And Isaac has every reason to be proud. How the Cougar Came To Be Called the Ghost Cat / Ta’n Petalu Telui’tut Skite’kmujewey Mia’wj is an engaging, fanciful story which is brought to life by Christ–mas’s  beautiful illustrations.  The theme is timeless and it speaks to children across cul–tural boundaries. They will all see themselves in Ajig as he struggles to find his place in the world.

—Judith Meyrick is a freelance writer who lives in Halifax.

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