Dreamspeaker is a novel by Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 author Anne Cameron

Anne Cameron

Anne Cameron , August 20, 1938 in Nanaimo, British Columbia) is a Canadian novelist, poet, screenwriter and short story writer. Much of her work is inspired by Northwest Coast First Nations mythology and culture....

 also known as Cam Hubert. It was first published in 1978 by Clarke, Irwin & Company.

It centers on the life of an 11-year-old boy, Peter Baxter, who is committed to an institution for delinquent boys. He ran away and met a First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 man. The story won the Gibson Award for literature.

In 1979 a television film was made starring Ian Tracey

Ian Tracey

Ian Tracey is a Canadian Leo- and Gemini Award-winning actor. Over the years, Tracey has participated in over seventy films and television series. Tracey has starred in series like Da Vinci's Inquest and Intelligence, both CBC television series produced by long-time colleague Chris Haddock...

 as Peter Baxter, directed by Claude Jutra

Claude Jutra

Claude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....

. The film won seven Canadian Film Awards.