ON POTATO MOUNTAIN BY VANCOUER LAWYER BRUCE FRASER PROBES THE SHADOW LINE BETWEEN THE SPIRITS AND REALITY, BETWEEN WHITE MAN’S JUSTICE AND A CIRCLE OF ELDERS.
Noah, the adopted Native son of a white ranching family is caught in the middle of his parent’s war. Educated in Victoria he returns to manage the family’s ranch. Charged with the murder of his father he is tried by a white jury and later by a Native circle of elders who are also defending the land against the incursions of stranger. In the surprising conclusion Noah hears the truth.
After practicing law for 45 years in the courtrooms of BC and the Supreme Court of Canada, representing Native clients and ranching in the Chilcotin- Cariboo, Fraser, who is Chair of the Access Pro Bono Society (which provides free legal advice in 87 clinics throughout British Columbia) has used his experience and powers of observation to write a murder mystery focusing on the Chilcotin, with a reverence for its majesty and charm and the spirit and independence of the people who inhabit this remote region, which is filled with expansive lakes and towering peaks and ranches and ranges.
Bruce Fraser QC is the author of “The Partner” which won The Advocate 2009 short story contest and his article on Dugald Christie was published in the Nov 2007 edition of The UBC Law Review. Ten percent of the royalties from the On Potato Mountain will be donated to Access.