Treat Them as Buffalo

"Treat Them as Buffalo is a harrowing adrenalin rush, a wild river of a story. My heart clenched in worry for the young narrator, a Métis tribal member named Nikosis, determined to rescue his dear relative at a time of kidnappings and violence. The book is billed as an anti-Western, sidestepping well-worn tropes and caricatures. The author succeeds on all fronts—Blair Palmer Yoxall is a force!"—Mona Susan Power, author of A Council of Dolls

“Blair Palmer Yoxall enters the foray of Indigenous literatures equipped with the oratories of Louis Riel and Métis matriarchies. With excellent control over historical fiction and his inquisitive child narrator, Niko, Yoxall creates a world of Lac-aux-Trois-Pistoles that is rich with verisimilitude and the duelling emotional states of hope and rage. For fans of Blood Meridian and Prairie Edge, Treat Them as Buffalo is a refreshing addition to our canons with its historical weaving that makes so precedent the political issues of Indigenous peoples today.” —Joshua Whitehead, author of Jonny Appleseed and Making Love with the Land

“Treat Them As Buffalo is raw, rowdy, and unflinching in its portrayal of a Métis community under siege amid the tumult of the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Yoxall’s vivid storytelling immerses us in 12-year-old Niko’s world of friendship and feasts, buried secrets and hard truths, trust and betrayal. Brilliantly turning the Wild West myth on its head, the novel refuses to look away from the terrible cost of colonial violence on children and families. Unforgettable.”—Thomas Wharton, author of Wolf, Moon, Dog

“Blair Palmer Yoxall's debut novel is a fierce and beautiful work, a page-turning adventure that is impossible to put down. Yoxall brings to life a world filled with revolution, brutality and madness. It is narrated by Niko, a young Métis child who is coming to understand the violence of his history and also the depth of his own bravery and sensitivity. He is a boy raised by a family of women. And the women are wild with resilience and pride, and are glorious monsters, who terrorize those who try to steal the legacy of their children.”—Heather O’Neill, author of The Capital of Dreams

"Compelling . . . Yoxall’s novel presents one family’s experiences—some cultural elements enduring, some changing, and some lost—at a pivotal time.”

“Stunning . . . In lyrical prose, Yoxall vividly renders a young Indigenous boy’s coming of age. Fans of unconventional westerns like The Sisters Brothers (2011) by Patrick deWitt and Outlawed (2021) by Anna North will appreciate Yoxall’s subversion of western tropes, while fans of Indigenous literary fiction from Stephen Graham Jones, Jessica Johns, and Tommy Orange will celebrate the arrival of a powerful new voice.”

“A lively, action-heavy debut narrated by a Métis boy during a reign of terror in 1885 Saskatchewan . . . A suspenseful, high-energy, ambitious, appealing debut.”