Though much of what Richard writes wouldn't be classified as genre fiction, many of his short stories and his novel, The Lesser Blessed, have elements of magical realism that spring from his Aboriginal heritage. He is also an avid fan of Fantasy and SF books. For this reason I have included his comments on how the writing of Native people can affect the Fantasy and Science Fiction genre.

C: Do you believe that First Nations people are interested, or would be interested in Fantasy and SF books that contain elements of First Nations culture and feature First Nations characters? R: Absolutely. But I want to let you know that I personally don't use the term First Nations, because that term excludes the Métis, non-Status people, the Inuit and children who were adopted out and are trying really hard to reclaim their identities. That's why I love the word Aboriginal: it includes everybody.

I just finished writing an article for Spirit Magazine. In the article I said that for every love scene written in Aboriginal literature there are probably about five rape scenes. I wrote that this is the time in our history to reclaim both our sensuality and sexuality, and it's also the time to reclaim our imaginations. This is where Fantasy, Science Fiction and speculative fiction come in. I know Sherman Alexei is really great at writing speculative fiction. And then there is Daniel Heath Justice who has done great work for Fantasy and your own work as well. Canadian author Thomas King used Magical Realism in his last collection of short stories, which I feel is his best work yet. The book is called, A Short History of Indians in Canada.

C: So you do feel that many Aboriginal writers do use magical elements in their writing, but they haven't been recognized as writers of the F/SF genre by their readers.

R: That's true, isn't it? Why do you think that is?

C: (Laugh.) I was just going to ask you that same question.

R: I think the big reason is a lack of access to publishers. Kegedonce is a small press. They do the best they can, but 2008 is so much about accessibility. If Aboriginal books aren't on store shelves, if Daniel's fantasy series, for example, has to be special ordered every time, it isn't going to work. A lot of people don't know about these books. And if they don't know about the books they can't order them. If they don't order them, then the trilogy won't find its way into classrooms, airport book racks, gift shops, etc, etc.

So the way to learn about these books is by word-of-mouth. And word-of-mouth in a genre that isn't already getting the attention it deserves, hurts the publisher, the author and the fans of the genre. 

C: So you think that Aboriginal people are interested in the F/SF genre?

R: I do. I do a lot of traveling. It seems that in every community I visit there's at least one sci-fi buff. Many people go to movies and watch shows like Star Trek on TV. I'm a huge Star Wars fan myself. And I have a lot of friends who are Aboriginal who are into the role-playing games. And this all speaks to the number Aboriginal writers out there working on SF and Fantasy manuscripts.

C: Maybe we have to create an Aboriginal role-playing game, then?

R: Yes! 

C: Why aren't more Aboriginal writers writing genre, of any kind, rather than concentrating on the literary fiction market?

R: Good question. I think there probably a lot of shoebox novels of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Magical Realism, whatever, under a lot of beds in Aboriginal country. However, it all goes back to the problem of finding agents and publishers in Canada willing to publish those books. It's intimidating to seek markets in the US or elsewhere. They seem so far away. And, unless you have something magnificent, like Dragonlance or Lord of the Rings, these publishers aren't willing to publish an already marginalized voice in today's market. So, it comes back again to accessibility.

I think people like yourself, Daniel Heath Justice, Gerry William, who wrote The Black Ship and The Woman in the Trees, you are all trail blazers. It's only a question of time before someone makes it big and that will open the way for the rest of us.

You published with Theytus, the oldest Aboriginal publisher in Canada, right? How did your books do?

C: Well, we are speaking of about twenty years ago when I published those fantasies. At the time, they received good to great reviews, were used in Native studies programs internationally, but there were problems with marketing. The first book sold out its print run, but when there was a change of staff and vision for the publisher, my second didn't do quite as well.

R: You bring up an important point. I don't think Aboriginal publishers know how to market genre books. And a lot of universities and creative writing academies won't touch genre writing of any kind. Which is a shame, because genre writing can be such a lucrative industry to get into, if you have the right product. 

C: I agree it is a shame. Probably many of the younger Aboriginal readers and writers would prefer to read and write genre fiction.

R: I agree. But there are almost no mainstream publishers in Canada or the U.S. who will take a chance of publishing Aboriginal genre fiction.  

C: Every editor I have interviewed tells me that they will publish anything that is well written that has a "good story." And yet these same publishers have very few minority authors on their book lists. What constitutes a "good story" and are there cultural differences that make an Aboriginal "good story" un-publishable in the mainstream?

R: Well, there are certainly cultural differences.  I teach Creative Writing with an Aboriginal Focus at the University of British Columbia. My students come from all across Canada. And one of the things you learn right away in my class is that not all Aboriginal nations are the same. Not all of us use sweet grass, sage, ratroot, use the sweat lodge or go on vision quests.

Going back to an earlier point, a lot of Aboriginal authors don't know how to access the right publisher and a lot of publishers don't know how to access the right market for Aboriginal books. What makes a great story is when you can see yourself in the characters of a story and the plight they are up against. In the Dragonlance or Lord of the Rings books, or Daniel's work, it all comes down to the indigenous voice while facing the encroachment of man. That's the common theme in the Lord of the Rings and Daniel's The Way of Thorn and Thunder, the universal theme that all people of whatever culture can identify with is, the encroachment and assimilation is coming to your community, so what are you going to do about it?

C: By publishing with a small press like Kegedonce, do you worry about being ghettoized?

R: Oh no, not at all. Let me tell you about the success I've had with publishing with Kegedonce. When you publish with Kegedonce, you are actually entering into a partnership on an equal playing field. I was able to choose my cover and I worked very closely with my editor and publisher-Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm. Kateri is a world-class editor. We are going into the third print run of my book and it has also been translated into German with Afbau Taschenbuch. Germany's largest broadcaster is going to broadcast the entire translation this year. I am so thrilled to have published, Angel Wing Splash Pattern, with them. Yes, they are a smaller publishing house, but they are mighty. The difference between Kegedonce and a larger publisher is that Kegedonce works very hard to enter their author's work for awards and they work very hard on getting their authors books tours. The success just keeps on building. Angel Wing Splash Pattern is their best seller and I'm very proud of that.

C: Getting back to works of genre fiction, Kateri did mention to me during our interview, that Daniel's fantasy trilogy had gotten off to a slower start than she'd hoped. Do you have any thoughts on why this might be, since you said earlier that you felt Aboriginal people were ready for genre fiction with Aboriginal protagonists. Is it the high cost of publishing in Trade format or is it the stimulation from other media sources that is the problem? 

R: Well, let me ask you, where have you ever seen Daniel's book in any bookstore?

C: Good point. Kateri did say it was on Amazon.

R: But being listed on Amazon isn't the same. You need foot traffic visibility. Unless we, as Aboriginal, people see it, we won't buy if. It teacher-librarians don't know about it, they won't order it. Until someone sees it, they probably won't order it. So it goes back once again to accessibility. Like most people, I don't buy books on line. Everything I buy, I discover by foot.

C: Mmm. And that of course brings up another controversial issue, where to shelve such books, in Native studies or with the F/SF books.

R: Exactly. What moves quickly in Aboriginal literature is moved by word-of-mouth. A lot of universities, colleges and high school lit programs are keeping Aboriginal literature afloat with course textbooks and required readings. I'm grateful to the academics out there who require their students from all different walks-of-life to read our work.

Let me tell you a little story. About ten years ago I was in Yellowknife after a big cultural celebration. I was gassing up at the community gas station, Winks, when I saw Susan Power's book, The Grass Dancer, in trade paperback. I grabbed that book right away, went home and started reading. I don't think I left the house for two days while I read that book. And I was so filled with light and gratitude at Susan Power for her amazing ability to capture the matriarchal voice in her community through several generations. That's my wish for every Aboriginal author out there, to have their book available in gas stations, airport bookshops, libraries, universities Chapters-any bookstore, so they can impart that sense of glory to their readers.

Every Aboriginal person I know is looking to read about themselves in literature, because for so long we haven't seen ourselves portrayed as human beings in literature. When we were growing up the curriculum in our schools was planned by people who had never visited our communities. Let me give you an example. In Fort Smith when I was in high school we learned about cattle, and we didn't have cows or horses in our hometown at all. That has changed in recent years and we now have the Denekedeh Curriculum. We can now see ourselves in our learning institutions and what we are there to learn.

So, the second any student in school senses that they aren't going to need what they are being taught, we've lost them. And this is the beauty of Aboriginal literature. It helps them stay connected to school and to learning. I also edit comics for the Healthy Aboriginal Network. We've sold over fifty thousand copies of the suicide prevention comic Darkness Calls alone. Why? Because students are seeing themselves in the characters, the artwork and the story. These are culturally relevant stories. And that is good medicine.

So I think we have to give a lot of credit to Kegedonce and Theytus for publishing Aboriginal authors like yourself, Daniel and Gerry, because they took a chance on these authors who are so skilled at writing genre fiction. Now it is up to the authors and the publishers, working together, to market these books in a way that can reach a larger audience. How that's done? Entering your book into awards, selling translations overseas, selling North American rights so it reaches audiences down in the States, going on book tours, Goodminds.com, TV, radio, Internet, whatever you have to do to get the word out there. There are ways to market yourself effectively on line now, but it's up to the author to do the work, just as it is the publisher.

C: Do you think the younger writers coming up are able to utilize these tools more effectively than older writers have?

R: Oh, absolutely. For example, it's really easy now to create an event on Facebook and invite everybody in your network to show up at an event three days from now, and it's amazing how many will show up. You couldn't do that five years ago. I do it all the time for my readings now.

C: Where do you see Aboriginal writing going in the future?

R: I think it will come down to this. It will take only one of our Aboriginal authors to hit it big in genre writing with a major publisher. Once that happens there will be a call for even more writers who are Aboriginal and who can write in that genre. Let me offer an example. The same year Harry Potter hit it big, a major Canadian publisher asked me if I had any fantasy novels featuring a young protagonist and his buddies who were Aboriginal. At that time I didn't and still don't, because that isn't my voice, but it was obvious to me that the word was out. If you had it; they would buy it, because the market was that hot. All it takes is one, but until we have that one, it's a waiting game. Between now and then, for those of you reading this working away on your manuscripts, make this the very best story that you can create with your voice, your knowledge, your culture, your way. Use this time to focus on writing the very best possible fiction you can.

Last year in Canada there were about ten thousand books published. That's about eight thousand too many, in my opinion, because the market is already over-saturated. The difference between us as Aboriginal authors and those others comes down to voice. So, if we are publishing genre fiction in our Aboriginal voice, it will all come down to great story telling. We just need to be ready when the time comes.

C: Thank you very much, Richard, for doing this.

R: Mahsi cho! Thank you very much!