First Nations

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

This is the second book in the Dreams series.

Big Ideas: Aspects of Indigenous Cultures: Spirituality and Ceremony, Aspects of Indigenous Cultures: Sweat Lodge, Contemporary Setting, Diverse and Inclusive Representation: Addiction, Diverse and Inclusive Representation: Depression and Suicide, Diverse and Inclusive Representation: Identity, Social Justice: Family Separation, Social Justice: Intergenerational Trauma, Social Justice: Impacts of Colonization and Colonialism

Additional Information
80 pages | 6.50" x 10.00" | 75 colour illustrations | Paperback

From Shawn Leonard, Indigenous medium and host of Spirit Talker, comes a guide for assembling your unique team of spirit totem animal guides to be your personal guides through your life.

We are deeply connected to the animal nation, and through the four stages of life—Childhood, Youth, Adulthood, and Elderhood—there are four sacred animal totems that guide us energetically using their sacred medicine.

In Walking With Your Spirit Totem Animals, Mi’kmaq medium and host of Spirit Talker Shawn Leonard invites readers on a profound journey into the mystical world of animal totems. His insightful guide reveals how specific animal totems, that are personal to each and every one of us, support us. Leonard intertwines personal anecdotes with spiritual teachings, illustrating how these animal guides have appeared in his own life—his totems are Buffalo/Bison, Eagle, Polar Bear, and Owl—and provided wisdom at each stage.

The book includes comprehensive discussions on the Medicine Wheel and practical tools such as prayers and meditations to help readers connect with their own animal totems. Leonard also incorporates reflections on the connection between pets and their spiritual roles, messages revealed through animal dreams, and encounters with the animal nation in the astral realm.

Additional Information
208 Pages | 5.63 x 8.50" | b&w interior | Paperback 

A pocket-sized comic by Indigenous Voices winner Cole Pauls.

Llege zedle s_on nes_it'in (Tahltan for we see stars only at night ) is a surrealistic landscape of Tahltan shapes, culture and motifs. Originally created for the Nanaimo Art Gallery's group show "Gutters are Elastic" between July 15 to September 23, 2023, Pauls decided to expand the work into a full-length book.

Playing with the connection between land, regalia, performance and heritage, Pauls follows in the footsteps of Tiger Tateishi, Hironori Kikuchi and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas with his dreamlike narrative.

Educator Information
This work was created in the tradition of "silent" (wordless) comics and uses symbols, shapes, and motifs for the narrative.

Additional Information
80 pages | 4.25" x 6.25" | 80 b&w illustrations  | Paperback 

The Indigenous intercultural theology proposed in this groundbreaking work by Dr. Carmen Lansdowne seeks to reframe many of the (often unspoken) assumptions about the field of Christian mission. Dr. Lansdowne searches out answers to the question: If Indigenous hearts are broken by Christianity, what is it in Christian theology that is life giving at all? This book will be essential reading for lay and professional theologians and church leaders; it is also a key contribution to the field of Indigenous Studies, especially as a study of Indigenous-Christian encounter.

Additional Information
256 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

From ground zero of this country's most important project: reconciliation

Niigaan Sinclair has been called provocative, revolutionary, and one of this country's most influential thinkers on the issues impacting Indigenous cultures, communities, and reconciliation in Canada. In his debut collection of stories, observations, and thoughts about Winnipeg, the place he calls "ground zero" of Canada's future, read about the complex history and contributions of this place alongside the radical solutions to injustice and violence found here, presenting solutions for a country that has forgotten principles of treaty and inclusivity. It is here, in the place where Canada began—where the land, water, people, and animals meet— that a path "from the centre" is happening for all to see.

At a crucial and fragile moment in Canada's long history with Indigenous peoples, one of our most essential writers begins at the centre, capturing a web spanning centuries of community, art, and resistance.

Based on years' worth of columns, Niigaan Sinclair delivers a defining essay collection on the resilience of Indigenous peoples. Here, we meet the creators, leaders, and everyday people preserving the beauty of their heritage one day at a time. But we also meet the ugliest side of colonialism, the Indian Act, and the communities who suffer most from its atrocities.

Sinclair uses the story of Winnipeg to illuminate the reality of Indigenous life all over what is called Canada. This is a book that demands change and celebrates those fighting for it, that reminds us of what must be reconciled and holds accountable those who must do the work. It's a book that reminds us of the power that comes from loving a place, even as that place is violently taken away from you, and the magic of fighting your way back to it.

Awards

•  Winner of the 2024 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction.

Additional Information
384 pages | 5.14" x 7.92" | b&w photos throughout | Paperback

Winter Count draws inspiration from the Plains First Nations practices of recording significant events each winter, a visual reminder that helps structure histories and traditions passed down to future generations. This handsome volume explores how winter has long shaped Indigenous, Canadian settler, and northern European art, uniting different cultural perspectives through such diverse topics as storytelling, effects of light, physical adaptation, and community and isolation.

Presenting a selection of works spanning from the early 19th century to the present day — including artists such as Kenojuak Ashevak, J.E.H. MacDonald, Claude Monet, Kent Monkman, Megan Musseau, and Jin-me Yoon — Winter Count features approximately 170 plates, along with illustrated essays by curators from the National Gallery of Canada. The result is a book that invites readers to see winter anew — not as a season to be endured, but as a source of invention, connection, and mutual respect across time and place.

Educator Information
Dual-language: English and French

Additional Information
304 pages | 9.00" x 12.00" | Paperback

A bold, provocative collection of essays exploring the historical and contemporary Indigenous experience in Canada.

With authority and insight, Truth Telling examines a wide range of Indigenous issues framed by Michelle Good’s personal experience and knowledge.

From racism, broken treaties, and cultural pillaging, to the value of Indigenous lives and the importance of Indigenous literature, this collection reveals facts about Indigenous life in Canada that are both devastating and enlightening. Truth Telling also demonstrates the myths underlying Canadian history and the human cost of colonialism, showing how it continues to underpin modern social institutions in Canada.

Passionate and uncompromising, Michelle Good affirms that meaningful and substantive reconciliation hinges on recognition of Indigenous self-determination, the return of lands, and a just redistribution of the wealth that has been taken from those lands without regard for Indigenous peoples.

Truth Telling is essential reading for those looking to acknowledge the past and understand the way forward.

Reviews
“With blistering clarity, Michelle Good exposes the contradictions at the heart of Canada, but also imagines beyond them, setting out a specific vision for an Indigenous future governed by us. Good’s essays, woven with personal testimony, are deeply researched and traverse great swaths of history and policy; they are also very rousing and moving. No Canadian can feign ignorance of the Indigenous struggle when this book is within arm’s reach.” — Billy-Ray Belcourt, author of A Minor Chorus

"Good reminds us what the truth in Truth and Reconciliation actually requires of all of us: Indigenous peoples and Canadians. Addressing storytelling and historical myth-making, this book would have changed my nineteen-year-old world had it been available and rendered normative for my teachers. Good’s work is formidable, elemental and reminiscent of Cardinal’s Unjust Society. This work, should be required reading for every Canadian. Smart, generous and insightful. 'There is no such thing as Crown Land. It is all Indigenous land.' Good writes. This truth resonates. Serves notice: it is time." — Dr. Tracey Lindberg, Law Professor, author of Birdie

“Truth Telling is at once heartfelt, instructive, and authentic, expertly exploring the key issues that have shaped the Indigenous reality in Canada.… This collection is an indispensable resource.” — Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

“As Canadians search for a national approach to reconciliation... this book reminds us of how we arrived at this moment.…[and] is the kind of reference that will help us navigate our fraught journey.” — Dr. Eldon Yellowhorn, Professor of Indigenous Studies, Simon Fraser University

“Truth Telling is a powerful, urgent, and necessary book that gets to the heart of true reconciliation and maps a course for achieving it. Bridging personal stories and lived experiences with sharp historical analysis, Michelle Good’s writing is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Honest, forthright, and powerful, Truth Telling offers insights and analysis that every policymaker and politician—indeed, any person who calls Canada “home”— can and must read. Urgently.” — 2023 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy Jury

Educator Information
Truth Telling is a collection of essays about the contemporary Indigenous experience in Canada.

Additional Information
232 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" | Paperback

The thrilling third entry in the high fantasy saga that started with BookTok sensation A Broken Blade.

A new king is on the throne and the rebellion lies in ruins. Keera spends her days drinking and her nights avoiding the strange dreams that have haunted her since she returned from the capital.

Keera’s family in Myrelinth won’t let her go without a fight. With new intelligence about the magical seals left behind by Keera’s ancient kin, the Light Fae, she rallies to face her demons and unleash the formidable powers she inherited from her people. But a shocking truth is hiding in plain sight, one with the power to unravel the entire rebellion...

The pivotal third installment in the Halfling Saga will upend everything Keera thought she knew about her enemies . . . and her allies.

Reviews
"Gripping and fierce. This is much-needed fantasy with its fangs honed sharp by the power of resistance. Melissa Blair has built a tremendous world."—Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

Educator & Series Information
Young adult/new adult fantasy series recommended for ages 18+.

The third entry in the Halfling Saga, the epic tale of a deadly assassin with a mysterious past, set in a lush fantasy world of Mortals, Elves, Halflings, and Fae, A Vicious Game is perfect for readers who enjoyed the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and other romantic fantasy books, especially those seeking LGBTQ+ romance or BIPOC representation.

Additional Information
448 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

My name is Corinne George. I am Wet’suwet’en with Gitksan lineage from the Gidimt’en (Bear) Clan. This is my truth, and through sharing my truth, I strive for ongoing healing and to continue the journey of reconciliation. As a Wet’suwet’en woman born and raised on what is now known as the “Highway of Tears,” it was not uncommon to receive inferior treatment. There were even times when I was overtly targeted. It has been very common for people to outwardly refuse to acknowledge my existence as a human being. I was always afraid to share my truth because I did not want to be stigmatized. I am the daughter of a residential school survivor and a WWII veteran. As a result of colonization, I have encountered incredible levels of trauma. I need to acknowledge and speak my truth. As I share my pain and experiences, I have gathered self-awareness and every time I speak about my trauma, I heal a little bit more. I do not deserve to be treated like I do not exist. Despite the historical impacts of colonization and trauma, my connections to my ancestral ways and my identity have been critical. This is how I survived and how I strive to thrive.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 16+.

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.10" x 7.50" | Paperback

A poignant and inspiring memoir of the people and challenges that shaped the life and career of Canada's most decorated Indigenous athlete.

Over the course of his incredible career, Bryan Trottier set a new standard of hockey excellence. A seven-time Stanley Cup champion (four with the New York Islanders, two with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche), Trottier won countless awards and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was named one of the NHL's Top 100 Players of All Time.

Trottier grew up in Val Marie, Saskatchewan, the son of a Cree/Chippewa/Metis father and an Irish-Canadian mother. All Roads Home offers a poignant, funny, wise, and inspiring look at his coming of age, both on and off the ice. It is a unique memoir in which Trottier shares stories about family, friends, teammates, and coaches, the lessons that he has learned from them, and the profound impact they have had in shaping the person he has become.

Some of the incredible characters featured in the book include Trottier's father Buzz; legendary Islanders coach Al Arbour; teammates Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy; and the Penguins' Mario Lemieux, to name but a few. He'll also talk about the high school English teacher and guidance counsellor who helped him develop self-confidence and encouraged him as a writer: Governor General's Award–winning poet, Lorna Crozier.

All Roads Home also includes a Foreword from bestselling author Jesse Thistle (From the Ashes) and two very special Afterwords: one from Trottier's daughter, Lindsy Ruthven, and the other from his life-long friend, beloved hockey great Dave "Tiger" Williams.

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.16" x 7.95" | Paperback

Human Stories series by Jason Bone Oshkaabewis (Helper/Writer) and Midewid (One Who Works With the Sound of the Drum), Ron Indian-Mandamin. Baagak (The Flying Skeleton) is a Being known by many. With Tellings of Baagak by Keith Berens, Isaac Murdoch, and more.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for grades 10 to 12.

This book is Volume 1 in the Human Stories series.

Additional Information
96 Pages | Paperback

Sewing new understandings.

Indigenous beadwork has taken the art world by storm, but it is still sometimes misunderstood as static, anthropological artifact. Today’s prairie artists defy this categorization, demonstrating how beads tell stories and reclaim cultural identity. Whether artists seek out and share techniques through YouTube videos or in-person gatherings, beading fosters traditional methods of teaching and learning and enables intergenerational transmissions of pattern and skill.

In Bead Talk, editors Carmen Robertson, Judy Anderson, and Katherine Boyer gather conversations, interviews, essays, and full-colour reproductions of beadwork from expert and emerging artists, academics, and curators to illustrate the importance of beading in contemporary Indigenous arts. Taken together, the book poses and responds to philosophical questions about beading on the prairies: How do the practices and processes of beading embody reciprocity, respect, and storytelling? How is beading related to Indigenous ways of knowing? How does beading help individuals reconnect with the land? Why do we bead?

Showcasing beaded tumplines, text, masks, regalia, and more, Bead Talk emphasizes that there is no one way to engage with this art. The contributors to this collection invite us all into the beading circle as they reshape how beads are understood and stitch together generations of artists.

Reviews
“An evocative, aesthetically gorgeous book that is rich in knowledge, relationality, and experience. Curated with care, rooted in artistic practice and lived experience, and embodying a polyvocal, collaborative spirit, it immerses the reader in the world of Indigenous beadwork on the prairies. Bead Talk carries teachings about decolonial love, healing and medicine, cultural knowledges, political and theoretical modes of action, gendered experience, and more. I can’t think of any other book like this—it is a gift!” — Aubrey Hanson

Educator Information
Contributors: Ruth Cuthand, Dayna Danger, Sherry Farrell Racette, Marcy Friesen, Felicia Gay, Franchesca [Fran] Hebert-Spence, Audie Murray, Cathy Mattes.

Table of Contents

Foreword – Brenda Macdougall

Who We Are

Introduction – Carmen Robertson, Judy Anderson, and Katherine Boyer

Part I: Conversations

1. Mentoring/Beading – Ruth Cuthand and Marcy Friesen

2. mîkisistahêwin (bead medicine) – Judy Anderson and Audie Murray

3. Parallel Lines Move Along Together: A Beaded Line that Connects Me to You – Katherine Boyer and Dayna Danger

4. The Power of Gathering: Revisiting the Seeds of Ziigimineshin – Franchesca Hebert-Spence and Carmen Robertson

5. Beads, Blood, and Curating Ruth Cuthand’s Art – Felicia Gay and Carmen Robertson

Part II: Essays

6. “Until We Bead Again”: The BU Beading Babe and Embodying Lateral Love and Generous Reciprocity – Cathy Mattes

7. Visiting Kin: Indigenous Flatland Beading Aesthetics – Carmen Robertson

8. If the Needles Don’t Break and the Thread Doesn’t Tangle: Beading Utopia – Sherry Farrell Racette

Afterword: Spreading the Bead Love Far and Wide

Additional Information
240 pages | 6.00" x 8.50" | 62 colour illustrations | Paperback 

Returning to his favourite setting of Fort Simmer, Northwest Territories, Richard Van Camp brings his exuberant style to a captivating teen novel that blends the supernatural with 1980s-era nostalgia to reflect on friendship, tradition and forgiveness.

For as long as Lawson can remember, his life in a small Northwest Territories town has revolved around “the Treaty” between the Dogrib and the Chipewyan, set down centuries ago to prevent the return of bloody warfare between the two peoples.

On the Dogrib side, Lawson and his family have done their best to keep the pact alive with the neighbouring Cranes, a family with ancestral ties to a revered Chipewyan war chief. But even as Lawson and his father dutifully tidy the Cranes’ property as an act of respect, their counterparts offer little more than scowls and derision in return, despite the fact that both families are responsible for protecting the treaty.

Worse still, it seems that one of the Cranes’ boys is doing all he can to revive the old conflict: Silver, fresh out of jail, has placed himself in the service of a cruel, ghoulish spirit bent on destroying the peace. Now it's up to Isaiah Valentine, a Cree Grass Dancer, Shari Burns, a Metis psychic, and Lawson Sauron, a Dogrib Yabati—or protector—to face what Silver Cranes has called back.

This latest feat of storytelling magic by celebrated author Richard Van Camp blends sharply observed realism and hair-raising horror as it plays out against a 1980s-era backdrop replete with Platinum Blonde songs and episodes of Degrassi Junior High. Unfolding in the fictional town of Fort Simmer—the setting of previous Van Camp stories—Beast delivers a gripping, spirited tale that pits the powers of tradition against the pull of a vengeful past.

Educator Information
Young adult fiction.

Additional Information
312 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

When matriarchs begin to disappear, there is a choice to either step into the places they left behind, or to craft a new space.

Helen Knott’s bestselling debut memoir, In My Own Moccasins, wowed reviewers, award juries, and readers alike with its profoundly honest and moving account of addiction, intergenerational trauma, resilience, and survival. Now, with her highly anticipated second book, Knott exceeds the highest of expectations with a chronicle of grief, love, and legacy. Having lost both her mom and grandmother in just over six months, forced to navigate the fine lines between matriarchy, martyrdom, and codependency, Knott realizes she must let go, not just of them, but of who she thought she was.

Woven into the pages are themes of mourning, sobriety through loss, and generational dreaming. Becoming a Matriarch is charted with poetic insights, sass, humour, and heart, taking the reader over the rivers and mountains of Dane Zaa territory in Northeastern British Columbia, along the cobbled streets of Antigua, Guatemala, and straight to the heart of what matriarchy truly means. This is a journey through pain, on the way to becoming.

Through writing, reflecting, and dreaming I found my way to the real lessons.
I found permission to become whoever I needed to be.
I found permission to live a life and not just endure it.
I found permission to belong deeply to myself.
I found permission to lay to rest the sorrow of the women before me and to cultivate joy for us in its place.

Awards

• 2024 BC Book Awards - The George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature winner

Reviews
“In enchantingly vivid language and with a compelling narrative arc, Helen Knott’s new masterpiece is a memoir of grief and joy, loss and rediscovery, flight and return and, above all, a paean to the beautiful, eternal, soothing and all-encompassing power of matriarchy.” —Gabor Maté MD, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

“Knott lays out that which all Indigenous women know and feel on a cellular level—we are only here because of the women, the matriarchs, the warriors, the survivors, the courageous ones, the fierce ones, the loving ones who came before us. Beautifully, tenderly Knott maps out for the reader the intrinsic way Indigenous women lift up, celebrate and support one another. Even when no one else does. We always have each other. We see each other. We are each other’s medicine. And there is no greater gift. These are the stories Indigenous women must tell—the journeys, reclamation and place of matriarchs. Present in Knott’s words are paths to reconciliation for everyone.” —Nahanni Fontaine, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

“Becoming a Matriarch is a vivid, lyrical exploration of womanhood, loss, grief, and eventually, self-love, braided together with radiance and wisdom. Knott brilliantly uses memory as a tool for self-exploration and growth. The land, dreams and body are in constant communication: ‘My body knows the mountains and rivers and berry bushes that it comes from.’ Throughout the book you can’t help but ask yourself, what does it mean to come from strong women and still allow yourself space to be loved? Becoming a Matriarch teaches us that joy can exist inside the cracks of the most tumultuous times in our lives and love can still bloom if we let it.” —Chelene Knight, author of Dear Current Occupant and Junie

“Becoming a Matriarch is a feast of remarkable, colourful, deep and profoundly raw storytelling. Helen Knott is one of the greatest Indigenous literary artists of our time.” —Brandi Morin, author of Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.18" x 8.00" | Paperback

In this engrossing graphic novel, teen hockey player Chase learns more about himself and his identity in the face of prejudice and homophobia.

Thirteen-year-old Chase’s life and identity should be simple. He’s the goalie for his hockey team, the Eagles. He’s a friend to Kevin and Jade. He's Kookum's youngest grandchild. He’s a boy. He should like girls.

But it’s not that simple. Chase doesn’t like girls the way that the other boys do. It’s scary being so different from his peers. Scarier still is the feeling that his teammates can tell who he is—and that they hate him for it. If he pretends hard enough, maybe he can hide the truth.

Real strength and change can’t come from a place of shame. Chase’s dreams are troubled by visions of a bear spirit, and the more he tries to hide, the more everything falls apart. With the help of an Elder, and a Two-Spirit mentor, can Chase find the strength to be proud of who he is?

Between the Pipes explores toxic masculinity in hockey through the experiences of an Indigenous teen.

Reviews
“Highlights the importance of community and cultural connection as roots for embracing one’s identity.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The authors deftly confront multiple layers of intolerance exacerbated by toxic masculinity. Ojibwe artist RL uses saturated full color (with well-placed, empowering rainbows) to capture Chase’s self-empowering journey. The result is a compelling, hope-giving antidote against potential at-risk suicide among 2-Spirit/Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ youth.” — Booklist

“This hopeful...story offers valuable insight into Chase’s experience as a gay, Indigenous teen. Hockey and identity collide in this affirming graphic novel about recognizing and valuing one’s authentic self.” — School Library Journal

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 - 18.

Reading Level: Fountas & Pinnell Y

Additional Information
56 pages | 6.50" x 10.00" | Paperback