Following the Good River

Based on recorded interviews and journal entries this major
biography of Cecil Paul (Wa’xaid) is a resounding and timely saga
featuring the trials, tribulations, endurance, forgiveness, and survival
of one of North America’s more prominent Indigenous leaders.

Born in 1931 in the Kitlope, Cecil Paul, also known by his Xenaksiala
name, Wa’xaid, is one of the last fluent speakers of his people’s
language. At age ten he was placed in a residential school run by the
United Church of Canada at Port Alberni where he was abused. After three
decades of prolonged alcohol abuse, he returned to the Kitlope where
his healing journey began. He has worked tirelessly to protect the
Kitlope, described as the largest intact temperate rainforest watershed
in the world. Now in his late 80s, he resides on his ancestors’
traditional territory.

Following upon the success of Wa'xaid's own book of personal essays, Stories from the Magic Canoe,
Briony Penn's major biography of this remarkable individual will serve
as a timely reminder of the state of British Columbia's Indigenous
community, the environmental and political strife still facing many
Indigenous communities, and the philosophical and personal journey of a
remarkable man.

Wa'xaid passed away at the age of 90 on December 3, 2020.