Introduction, by Morgan Stafford O'Neal

Tales From Moccasin Avenue is an unapologetically eclectic mix. This is not
an anthology designed to pass a university entrance or exit examination;
we are aware of how quickly the covers close on books deemed unworthy
by the academy; however,we also believe that this collection will stand up to critical scrutiny. But these pieces should be read on their own terms, and they should be allowed to defy, avoid, ignore or resist established conventions if they choose to, especially when those conventions have also been called into question by the most forward looking of literary criticism.

I refer here in particular to those border clashes and territorial skirmishes that have over recent decades seriously eroded the boundaries between fact and fiction in the context of literary creation.The modes of expression here often tend in fact more toward an open essayistic literary form than they do to the traditional short story,and in this context some of them, if not quite 'fact ', are 'fiction ' only in a very narrow sense of the word.

Long story short,the originality of each of these contributions reflects the unique experience of being of aboriginal descent in Canada and the various versions of alienation,integration and resistance that constitute this reality.