The Sayisi Dene still carry the scars of the near genocide they faced. In Night Spirits, Ila Bussidor turns the clock back to tell a story that has to be told. She tells it, hoping it will help heal her people so they will be able to move forward. Using deeply personal stories and historical fact, the book puts into sharp focus the plight of the Sayisi Dene. Bussidor shares her own story, as well as stories from those who lived it.
Elders talk about how life was before the relocation.
The relationship they had with the land west of the Hudson Bay, where the boreal forests meet the barren grounds, and with the caribou, that sustained them since time immemorial. With heartbreaking accuracy, Bussidor and others who lived to tell, open and share the quick decent of the Sayisi Dene when they were moved to Camp-10 and Dene Village. The reader witnesses helplessness, hopelessness and despair that slowly permeated the once proud and self-sufficient people. It is deeply powerful, tragic and honest. Words cannot properly express the sadness and heartbreak when reading this book.