Jessica Jerome

C'est le début du mois de juillet, et pour Matthew et sa tantine, cela signifie une chose : c'est le temps de la cueillette de foin d'odeur. Cette année, le jeune cousin de Matthew, Warren, y va aussi, et ce sera la première fois qu'il se rend au littoral où pousse le foin d'odeur. Grâce aux savoirs mi'kmaw traditionnels de Tantine et aux doux conseils de Matthew, Warren découvre la variété d'utilisations du foin d'odeur — comme médecine traditionnelle, offrande sacrée, ingrédient de purification par la fumée — ainsi que l?importance de ne pas cueillir plus que nécessaire pour ses besoins. Une fois le trio de retour chez Tantine, elle montre aux garçons comment nettoyer et tresser le foin. Cette histoire touchante sur les cadeaux que nous recevons de la Terre Mère et comment les cueillir avec respect offre une perspective réfléchie sur une tradition autochtone vénérée.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

This book is available in English: Sweetgrass

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 8.00" | Paperback

 

A modern story of traditional Indigenous knowledge that follows a young boy and his Auntie as they gather and braid sweetgrass, one of the four sacred medicines.

It's early July, and for Matthew and his Auntie that means one thing: time to go sweetgrass picking. This year, Matthew's younger cousin Warren is coming along, and it will be his first time visiting the shoreline where the sweetgrass grows.

With Auntie's traditional Mi'kmaw knowledge and Matthew's gentle guidance, Warren learns about the many uses for sweetgrass—as traditional medicine, a sacred offering, a smudging ingredient—and the importance of not picking more than he needs. Once the trio is back at Auntie's house, she shows the boys how to clean and braid the grass.

From the duo behind the bestsellers The Gathering and The Sharing Circle, this heartfelt story about the gifts we receive from Mother Earth and how to gather them respectfully offers thoughtful insight into a treasured Mi'kmaw tradition.

Sweetgrass grows in wet meadows, low prairies, and the edges of sloughs and marshes. It grows from Labrador to Alaska, south to New Jersey, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, and Arizona. Widely used by North American Indigenous Peoples from many different Nations, it is also considered one of the "four sacred medicines" by many Plains Indians.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

This book is part of the Indigenous Knowledge Series.

This book is available in French: Foin d'odeur

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 8.00" | Paperback

"My son, you do not need black hair, brown skin, or brown eyes like me to pray and practice your culture. You will learn the songs and the drumming in time. The Creator's plan was to give you everything that makes you who you are, and you are perfect to me just the way you are! Always remember that, no matter what anyone else says to you. We need to pray for those children too, my son, as hard as that may seem. But remember, you are exactly how the Creator planned you to be, and I will love you until the end of time."

As a Mi'kmaq child, Richard Pellissier-Lush grew looking different than other the other Indigenous children. He didn't feel he fit in with the non-Indigenous or the Indigenous children he knew. But his mother continually reminding him that he was part of the Creator's plan empowered him to embrace his culture no matter what he looked like. Her chorus of encouragement stayed with him through his childhood and helped make him the man he is today.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Paperback