sports

Jimmy’s grandfather, Keb Wisting, one of 10 remaining Alaskan natives whose first language is Tlingit, is ready to die. No one knows for sure, but he must be at least 100 years old. Jimmy, a talented high school basketball player and a shoo-in for the NBA, has suffered a terrible logging accident and will never play again. He’s convinced his so-called accident was actually not accidental and yearns for revenge. Old Keb is determined to lead Jimmy along a path that will take him back to his ancestors, teaching him the healing ways of carving a very unique canoe and returning with him to Keb’s birthplace, an area now in conflict with both the U.S. government and corporate interests. An excellent portrayal of native Alaskans, this has been likened to a wonderful blend of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and John Nichol’s The Milagro Beanfield War, with dashes of John Steinbeck thrown in. – Sue Fleming