The Outside Circle

Pete is moved to Drumheller Medium Security, where a quiet year unfolds. The passage of time is depicted through alternating illustrations showcasing the prison in different seasons and Pete engaging in a variety of activities. After a year has gone by, Pete is transferred to the Stan Daniels Healing Centre in Edmonton to begin the In Search of Your Warrior Program.

At the center, Pete joins a circle of men sitting on cushions. Elder Violet, leader of the program, introduces herself and announces that each day will start with a purification smudge. On day two of the program, Violet encourages the men to close their eyes and visualize themselves as part of an Indigenous tribe, back before the European colonization. Back then, Indigenous communities thrived and lived in harmony with the land. Violet then asks the men to picture the ensuing years: The once-thriving tribe has been decimated, with many members lost to “lack of food and smallpox” (49).

Once the men open their eyes, Violet leads them in a role-play exercise to revisit the harsh realities of history. In this exercise, they take on the roles of different members of an Indigenous tribe and are confronted with the stark truth of their new existence: They are granted a mere five dollars in exchange for their ancestral land, forbidden to go beyond the boundaries set by European settlers, and made to give up their weapons.