The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testi..., Kent Monkman
The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testi..., Kent Monkman
List: $33.00 | Sale: $23.10
Club: $16.50

The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: Vol. 2
A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island

Author: Kent Monkman, Gisèle Gordon

Narrator: Gail Maurice

Unabridged: 14 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/28/2023

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

From global art superstar Kent Monkman and his long-time collaborator Gisèle Gordon, a transformational work of true stories and imagined history that will remake readers’ understanding of the land called North America.

For decades, the singular and provocative paintings by Cree artist Kent Monkman have featured a recurring character—an alter ego of sorts, a shape-shifting, time-travelling elemental being named Miss Chief Eagle Testickle. Though we have glimpsed her across the years in films and on countless canvases, it is finally time to hear her story, in her own words. And, in doing so, to hear the whole history of Turtle Island anew. The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island is a genre-demolishing work of genius, the imagined history of a legendary figure through which profound truths emerge—a deeply Cree and gloriously queer understanding of our shared world, its past, its present, and its possibilities.

Volume One, which covers the period from the creation of the universe to the confederation of Canada, follows Miss Chief as she moves through time, from a complex lived experience of Cree cosmology to the arrival of European settlers, many of whom will be familiar to students of history. An open-hearted being, she tries to live among those settlers, and guide them to a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all beings and the world itself. As their numbers grow, though, so does conflict, and Miss Chief begins to understand that the challenges posed by the hordes of newly arrived Europeans will mean ever greater danger for her, her people, and, by extension, all of the world she cherishes.

Blending history, fiction, and memoir in bold new ways, The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle are unlike anything published before. And in their power to reshape our shared understanding, they promise to change the way we see everything that lies ahead.
 
This audiobook features two versions of the The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island, Volume Two. The memoirs are read by Gail Maurice, Cree/Michif translator, actor, writer, filmmaker, director, and one of the inspirations for Miss Chief Eagle, with the introduction read by the authors. The first version is read as the abridged standalone memoirs, excluding endnotes. It is immediately followed by the second version which includes the full unabridged book, including endnotes inserted in situ, read by co-author Gisèle Gordon. This audiobook comes with a supplemental PDF which includes images of the paintings included in the physical book, as well as a note on the use of Cree in the text, and a Cree glossary.

About The Author

KENT MONKMAN is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist. A member of Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba, Canada), he lives and works in Dish With One Spoon Territory (Toronto, Canada).Monkman’s painting and installation works are held in public collections of institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Denver Art Museum; Hirshhorn Museum; National Gallery of Canada;  Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; Art Gallery of Ontario; and La maison rouge, Paris. GISÉLE GORDON is a settler media artist and writer based in Dish With One Spoon Territory (Toronto, Canada). Her solo work includes the feature-length documentary, The Tunguska Project (Best Feature Length Film at the Planet in Focus Film Festival, 2005), the video installations Crosscurrent (2013 Moscow Biennale), and The Land that Dreams.Gisèle Gordon and Kent Monkman’s collaborative art practice spans three decades. Their work together includes the sound and light installation Iskootao (Nuit Blanche, 2010) and over a dozen short films that have screened at TIFF, Sundance, and Berlin. Gordon wrote the narrative text for Monkman’s Being Legendary exhibition and co-wrote, with Monkman, the exhibition text for Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience (nominated for the 2017 Ontario Association of Art Gallery Awards for Curatorial Art Writing).


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jayme on January 02, 2024

As suspected, this was a much more difficult read. While the first volume managed to maintain an element of lightness through Miss Chief's brand of horny humour, I think that mainly worked because of the element of distance from that historical period (pre-confederation). But with this volume coveri......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on February 18, 2025

This volume covers the formation and expansion of so-called Canada, the Red River Resistance, decimation of the bison and acts of genocide against the Cree, residential school and generational trauma, told through the story of the women of one family. Miss Chief, who can observe and comfort but seld......more

Goodreads review by Danika at The Lesbrary on April 13, 2024

I really liked this; I just wanted even more. I know it's unreasonable, because there is far too much to cover in two volumes. This volume has a little more of a narrative: it follows a family through several generations, which is a good illustration of intergenerational trauma. Both volumes also in......more

Goodreads review by Connor on February 13, 2024

The first volume spanned from the beginning of time (askiy) to the creation of the Canadian confederation. Volume Two navigates through the unfortunate narrative of Canadian history from the confederation era to the present day. In this poignant exploration, the focus is on a single family's saga, a......more

Goodreads review by Luke on January 29, 2025

Ending felt rather weak but tbh I have no fucking clue how one writes a satisfying conclusion to the horrors of Canadian History so props to you KM......more


Quotes

Finalist for the VMI Betsy Warland Between Genres Award

"Long a persona stalking the paintings of provocative Cree artist Kent Monkman, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle steps off the canvas to tell her own story—and that of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island—in a two volume collaboration with Gisèle Gordon. Lavishly illustrated with Monkman’s paintings, The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle is at once (and seamlessly) a unique story of an even more unique deity, an exposition of nêhiyaw (Cree) beliefs and a primer in nêhiyawêwin (Cree Language), and a deeply researched history of contact, colonization, and resurgence. A full-blown remediation of the politically-charged and erotic world of Monkman’s paintings, these books educate, inspire, entertain, and leave the reader breathless."
—Steve Collis, 2024 VMI Betsy Warland Between Genres Award judge