| Page | Term | Description |
| Dedication | Skeleton Fixer | The “skeleton fixer”, also referred to as Shuuwimuu Guiguikuutchah and The Old Badger Man, is a character from Native American folklore and oral tradition. The story of skeleton fixer is told at Laguna and Acoma pueblas. He is able to bring people back to life by putting their bones back together. Reed could be using this as a metaphor for the reconstructing of history and the power of words to create things, important themes in Flight to Canada. This could also be a nickname, in which case he is referencing a real-life friend, based on this character. Ultimately, only Reed knows what this means for sure.
We found that two other poets, Simon J. Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko, referenced this figure in their work. However, both of these authors published their work after Ishmael Reed published Flight to Canada. This would imply that Reed is referencing the figure without referencing Ortiz or Silko. Ortiz, Simon J. Woven Stone / Simon J. Ortiz. Tucson : University of Arizona Press, 1992. Print. Swann, Brian. Smoothing the Ground : Essays on Native American Oral Literature / Edited by Brian Swann. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1983. Print. |
| Epigram | “Evil dogs us.” | |
| Epigram | James Bertolini |