Indigenous Studies Community Book Club pick is Tom Wilson’s ‘Beautiful Scars’
Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home is a first-person account of music legend Tom Wilson's discovery in his early 50s that he was adopted and that his ancestry is Mohawk. (José Crespo photo)
A story detailing a music legend’s exploration of his Indigenous identity will be the focus of the Fall 2024 McMaster Indigenous Studies Community Book Club.
Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home by Tom Wilson is a first-person account of Wilson’s discovery in his early 50s that he was adopted and that his ancestry is Mohawk.
The book club, which is now in its second year and being cohosted by Indigenous Student Services, is open to all students, staff and faculty. It is part of an effort to bring the campus community together, spark conversations about the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada and explore themes of Truth and Reconciliation.
While the book club is an opportunity to bond over the written word, it’s also an opportunity to create deeper understanding at a community level, says Adrianne Xavier, an assistant professor in the Indigenous Studies Department who helped develop the book club.
“It’s part of an effort to build relationships and connections — connections across the campus community, and connections to Indigenous culture through the stories and work of talented Indigenous authors,” says Xavier.
“I hope that eventually all students, staff and faculty will have taken time at least once to be part of this great experience.”
Beautiful Scars
Wilson’s story is a local one, with the Junkhouse and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings frontman’s memoir detailing his life growing up on the East Hamilton Mountain. He still calls Steeltown home and has several ties to McMaster, including connecting with students through Indigenous Student Services in recent years.
In 2020, he established the Tom Wilson Indigenous Scholarship Award in Honour of Bunny Wilson. It supports students entering McMaster who identify as Indigenous and demonstrate financial need.
The scholarship bears the name of Bunny, the woman who raised Wilson and who he has said, “brought honour, love, respect, and light back on the culture [he] was introduced to later in life.”
In 2022, Wilson donated his archive of music, photos, drawings, two paintings, notebooks and other items to the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections at McMaster University Library. Two of Wilson’s pieces of art are displayed in Mills Memorial Library.
Supporting Truth and Reconciliation
Xavier will host two book club discussions, on the following dates:
- Tuesday Oct. 29, 2024 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
- Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Assistant professor Jarita Greyeyes, the newest faculty member of the Indigenous Studies Department, will host the book club in the Winter term, with discussions centred around another book, which will be announced later this year.
McMaster students, staff and faculty are invited to register for the book club.
Participants can participate either in person or online. All in person discussions will be held in LRW 1811. A Zoom link will be provided ahead of each discussion date for those attending virtually.
The first 100 registrants are eligible to receive a free copy of Beautiful Scars: Steeltown Secrets, Mohawk Skywalkers and the Road Home. Participants will receive an email confirmation when books are available for pickup.
The book can also be purchased directly from GoodMinds, a First Nations family-owned business, passionate about Indigenous education.
