Kukum

Based on the life of the author's great-grandmother, this novel tells the story of Almanda Siméon, a young orphan who makes a life-altering choice after falling in love with a young Innu man. She decides to leave her settled existence behind and share in the nomadic life of his Pekuakami Innu community. Fully embracing their customs, Almanda learns their language and their deep connection to the land, becoming one of them and finding a freedom she had never known. Her personal journey of love and adaptation is an intimate portrait of a woman caught between two worlds.

Unfolding over a century, Almanda's story becomes a witness to the profound and devastating changes imposed upon the Innu. As outside forces encroach upon their territory, the traditional way of life that Almanda came to cherish is threatened by the loss of their land and the confinement to reserves. This novel is a moving account of one family's resilience, an expression of the importance of ancestral values, and a chronicle of the end of a world. It explores the enduring need for freedom that nomadic peoples feel to this day.