Green River LibGuides: One Book 2024-25: The Power of Story: One Book 24-25: The Power of Story

The Power of Story: On Truth, the Trickster, and New Fictions for a New Era

In The Power of Story, Johnson explains the role of storytelling in every aspect of human life, from personal identity to history and the social contracts that structure our societies, and illustrates how we can direct its potential to re-create and reform not only our own lives, but the life we share. Companionable, clear-eyed, and, above all, optimistic, Johnson’s message is both a dire warning and a direct invitation to each of us to imagine and create, together, the world we want to live in.

-From the Biblioasis Literary Press, Description & Review (cited below)

Featured Book: The Power of Story

Meet the Author

Harold R. Johnson

Harold R. Johnson (1954–2022) was the author of six works of fiction and six works of nonfiction, including Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing My People (and Yours), which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction. Born and raised in northern Saskatchewan to a Swedish father and a Cree mother, Johnson served in the Canadian Navy and worked as a miner, logger, mechanic, trapper, fisherman, tree planter, and heavy-equipment operator. He graduated from Harvard Law School and managed a private practice for several years before becoming a Crown prosecutor. He was a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation.

- Taken from the publisher's website (linked & cited below)

Recorded Talks & Interviews

Written & Recorded Interviews

Harold R. Johnson
A short bio and information about Johnson's book "Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada" from the Writer's Trust of Canada
Turning Pages: Harold R. Johnson on Peace and Good Order
An interview with Johnson, from UMFM, ~30 minutes
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"Writer, activist and former lawyer Harold R. Johnson discusses the case for Indigenous justice in Canada that he makes in his book, Peace and Good Order (McClelland & Stewart). The discussion includes the epidemic of incarcerated Indigenous peoples, the impact on communities and the creation of a "prison culture" that has seeped in to fill the void created when residential schools destroyed Indigenous culture."
The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada: an Interview With Harold R. Johnson
The transcript and audio of a 2020 episode of the podcast "The Trauma-Informed Lawyer"
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Episode Summary: In this episode, Harold Johnson and I discuss his inspiration and motivation for writing Peace and Good Order. Our conversation is real, honest and offers an Indigenous assessment of the impacts that the current criminal justice system has on Indigenous communities, particularly in northern Saskatchewan. We cover subjects including empathy, racism, trauma, prison, redemption, policing, law school and we explore what justice means and Harold argues that in order for justice to be just it must be given back to the communities.
Harold R. Johnson on his Life in Stories
A recorded interview between Harold R. Johnson and Shelagh Rogers from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, ~23 minutes | Embedded in the article "Cree author Harold R. Johnson reflects on life, death and the quest for stories"

Video Interviews & Talks

An Evening with Harold R. Johnson
An hour long talk from the Halton Hills Public Library, ~60 minutes
The Late Harold Johnson Interview, Part 1-8
An interview, from Cree Thunder Entertainment, with Harold Johnson