Inuit

Profoundly honest and moving, Kihiani is the uplifting story of an Inuk artist’s journey to healing and self-discovery

Born in Fort Churchill, Manitoba, but raised in Arviat, a predominantly Inuit community on the western edges of Hudson Bay, Susan and her six siblings grew up in a humble but loving home. But while living in Rankin Inlet, when she was eight years old, Susan’s life was disrupted by a life-changing event, a distinct separation that created a schism inside her for many years and from which she continues to heal.

At fifteen, she started writing poems that spilled out of her, and when Susan had the choice to leave her community, she grabbed it like a lifeline. Eventually, Susan was approached by a producer at CBC who was making a compilation album of Arctic artists and years later signed with a major label for her third album, This Child.

The disruption and milestones, the turmoil and joy, the devastation and healing—this is Susan Aglukark’s story of discovering her Inuk self.

Additional Information
272 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

Inuktitut Alianaittuq! Inuktitut is Awesome! is a beginner's guide to learning Inuktitut.

This book makes your learning journey intuitive by teaching Inuktitut language patterns. Through lessons that build pattern recognition and language intuition, you will internalize general Inuktitut language patterns that make Inuktitut conversations faster and easier to learn. This book includes charts, exercises, and other material that will help you on your way to learning Inuktitut.

Educator Information
The publisher recommends this work for young adults and adults.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
4 INTRODUCTION
6 INCLUDED LEARNING MATERIALS
8 LESSON 1 // PRONUNCIATION
16 LESSON 2 // HOW TO MAKE A WORD
26 LESSON 3 // HOW TO MAKE A PHRASE: -MIK/-NIK
36 LESSON 4 // HOW TO SPEAK IN THE PAST TENSE
46 LESSON 5 // SPEAKING IN THE FUTURE TENSE
56 LESSON 6 // BEING, HAVING, AND GETTING SOMETHING
68 LESSON 7 // WANTING TO, BEING ABLE TO, NEEDING TO
78 LESSON 8 // GOING PLACES
86 ANSWERS TO PUZZLE PRACTISE
88 APPENDIX 1 // LIST OF COMMON WORDS AND PHRASES
90 APPENDIX 2 // LIST OF COMMON VERBS AND NOUNS
96 BEGINNER'S INUKTITUT CHEAT SHEET
100 WORD ELEMENT FLASH CARDS

Addiitonal Information
120 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | Paperback

This new collection of horror short fiction weaves together contemporary Arctic settings with ancient monsters and mysterious beings that have been said to stalk the tundra for centuries.

Featuring authors from across the Canadian Arctic, this new volume of Taaqtumi—an Inuktitut word that means “In the Dark”—reveals just how horrifying the dark can be.

Featuring new fiction from award-winning authors Aviaq Johnston, Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley and Jamesie Fournier, as well as new voices in the genre, this collection is perfect for any horror lover.

Educator & Series Information
Includes stories from Indigenous authors across the Canadian Arctic.

This book is part of the Taaqtumi series.

Additional Information
184 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | b&w illustrations | Paperback

This book invites readers to step into a space of reflection on your personal relationship with truth, reconciliation, and Orange Shirt Day.

Written in response to the increase of residential school denialism, Phyllis Webstad and Kristy McLeod have collaborated to create a book that encourages readers to face their own biases. This book challenges readers through a series of sensitive conversations that explore decolonization, Indigenization, healing, and every person’s individual responsibility to truth and reconciliation. Centered around the Orange Shirt Day movement, and a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, these conversations encourage readers to unpack and reckon with denialism, biases, privilege, and the journey forward, on both a personal and national level.

Within each chapter, Phyllis Webstad draws on her decade of experience (sharing her Orange Shirt Story on a global level and advocating for the rights of Indigenous Peoples) to offer insights on these topics and stories from her personal journey, which co-author and Métis scholar, Kristy McLeod, helps readers to further navigate. Each section includes real denialist comments taken from social media and Kristy's analysis and response to them. Through empathy-driven truth-telling, this book offers an opportunity to witness, reflect, heal, and be intentional about the seeds we hope to plant for the future, together.

Additional Information
350 pages | 5.70" x 8.25" | Hardcover

For thousands of years, Inuit practiced the traditional art of tattooing. Created the ancient way, with bone needles and caribou sinew soaked in seal oil, sod, or soot, these tattoos were an important tradition for many Inuit women, symbols etched on their skin that connected them to their families and communities. But with the rise of missionaries and residential schools in the North, the tradition of tattooing was almost lost. In 2005, when Angela Hovak Johnston heard that the last Inuk woman tattooed in the old way had died, she set out to tattoo herself in tribute to this ancient custom and learn how to tattoo others. What was at first a personal quest became a project to bring the art of traditional tattooing back to Inuit women across Nunavut, starting with Johnston’s home community of Kugluktuk. Collected in this beautiful book are moving photos and stories from more than two dozen women who participated in Johnston’s project. Together, these women have united to bring to life an ancient tradition, reawakening their ancestors’ lines and sharing this knowledge with future generations.

Awards

• 2018 NorthWords Book Prize Winner 

Reviews
"This gorgeous photographic essay on the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project is a deeply personal and affirming work about learning and preserving traditions-and reclaiming what residential schools tried to destroy."-School Library Journal

Additional Information
72 pages | 10.00" x 10.00" | Paperback 

A teenage girl walks home in a burgeoning blizzard, happy to have an unexpected snow day. Ignoring an Elder’s warning about the terror the blizzard holds, she finds herself alone in her home with an unseen presence stalking and tormenting her. What does it want? And will she survive?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 18.

Additional Information
40 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover 

The award-winning Righting Canada's Wrongs series is now available in French for Immersion classrooms.

In a highly visual and appealing format for young readers, this book explores the many forced relocation of Inuit families and communities in the Canadian Arctic from the 1950s to the 1990s. Governments promoted and forced relocation based on misinformation and racist attitudes. These actions changed Inuit lives forever. This book documents the Inuit experience and the resilience and strength they displayed in the face of these measures. Years afterwards, there have been multiple apologies by the Canadian government for its actions, and some measure of restitution for the harms caused.

Included in the book are accounts of a community forced to move to the High Arctic where they found themselves with little food and almost no shelter, of children suddenly taken away from their families and communities to be transported to hospitals for treatment for tuberculosis, and of the notorious slaughter by RCMP officers of hundreds of sled dogs in Arctic settlements.

Though apologies have been made, Inuit in northern Canada still face conditions of inadequate housing, schools that fail to teach their language, and epidemics of infectious diseases like TB. Yet still, the Inuit have achieved a measure of self-government, control over resource development, while they enrich cultural life through music, film, art and literature.

This book enables readers to understand the colonialism and racism that remain embedded in Canadian society today, and the successful resistance of Inuit to assimilation and loss of cultural identity.

Like other volumes in the Righting Canada’s Wrongs series, this book uses a variety of visuals, first-person accounts, short texts and extracts from documents to appeal to a wide range of young readers.

Educator & Series Information
This French book is part of the series Redresser les torts du Canada (Righting Canada's Wrongs series).

Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

This book is available in English: Righting Canada's Wrongs: Inuit Relocations: Colonial Policies and Practices, Inuit Resilience and Resistance.

Additional Information
8.50" x 11.69" | Paperback 

The award-winning Righting Canada's Wrongs series is now available in French for Immersion classrooms.

Canada’s residential school system for Indigenous children is now recognized as a grievous historic wrong committed against First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. Through historical photographs, documents and first-person narratives from people who survived residential schools, this book offers an account of the injustice of this period in Canadian history. It documents how official racism was confronted and finally acknowledged.

In 1857, the Gradual Civilization Act was passed in Canada with the aim of assimilating Indigenous people. In 1879, Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald commissioned a report that led to residential schools across Canada. First Nations and Inuit children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools where they were dressed in uniforms, their hair was cut, they were forbidden to speak their native language and they were often subjected to physical and psychological abuse. The schools were run by churches and funded by the federal government.

The last federally funded residential school closed in 1996. The horrors that many children endured at residential schools did not go away. It took decades for people to speak out, but with the support of the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit organizations, former residential school students took the federal government and the churches to court.

Their cases led to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history. In 2008, Prime Minister Harper formally apologized to former native residential school students for the atrocities they suffered and the role the government played in setting up the school system. The agreement included the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has worked to document the experience. More than five years after the TRC Report was released, there have been reports of unmarked graves of children being discovered at the site of former residential schools. This updated edition includes some of those findings and examines what has and what still has to be done in regards to the TRC Report’s Calls to Action.

Educator & Series Information
This French book is part of the series Redresser les torts du Canada (Righting Canada's Wrongs series).

Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

This book is available in English: Righting Canada's Wrongs: Residential Schools: The Devastating Impact on Canada's Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Findings and Calls for Action

Additional Information
8.50" x 11.69" | 300 Photographs | Paperback 

A powerful anthology uniting the voices of Indigenous women, Elders, grassroots community activists, artists, academics, and family members affected by the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people from across Turtle Island.

In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black-Morsette created the REDress Project—an art installation consisting of placing red dresses in public spaces as a call for justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S). Symbolizing both absence and presence, the red dresses ignite a reclamation of voice and place for MMIWG2S. Fifteen years later, the symbol of the empty red dress endures as families continue to call for action.

In this anthology, Jaime Black-Morsette shares her own intimate stories and memories of the REDress Project along with the voices of Indigenous women, Elders, grassroots community activists, artists, academics, and family members affected by this tragedy. Together they use the power of their collective voice to not only call for justice for MMIWG2S, but honour Indigenous women as keepers and protectors of land, culture, and community across Turtle Island.

Reviews
“REDress is a must-read for anyone who seeks to truly understand the hearts of those most impacted by MMIWG2S. For allies and interested citizens, this anthology shows how Canada emboldened and fostered a society to inflict genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirited and transgendered relatives.”—Sheila North, Former Grand Chief, Creator of hashtag #MMIW, Mother and Kookom

“REDress is a love offering to MMIWG2S and those who are intimately impacted by this epidemic.”—Cathy Mattes, curator, writer, and Associate Professor in History of Art at the University of Winnipeg

"This is a moving look at how women in indigenous communities are using art and activism to keep the the issue at the forefront, despite the lack of progress in solving or preventing the crimes.... A content warning signals that the book contains language concerning violence against women. I’d offer this to activist artists or anyone interested in justice for indigenous communities, in high school and up." - Youth Services Book Review - Stephanie Tournas, Retired librarian, Cambridge, MA 

Educator Information
Content Warning: This book's content deals with violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people; genocide; death; intergenerational trauma; suicide; and residential schools. 

Big Ideas: Diverse and Inclusive Representation: Identity; Land-Based or Place-Based Learning; Social-Emotional Learning: Death, Grief, Bereavement; Social-Emotional Learning: Self Expression, Creative Writing, Art; Social Justice: Citizenship and Social Responsibility; Social Justice: Impacts of Colonization and Colonialism; Social Justice: MMIWG2S; Social Justice: Prejudice and Racism.

Edited by: Jaime Black-Morsette

Contributions by: KC Adams, Mackenzie Anderson Linklater, Marjorie Beaucage, Christi Belcourt, Judy Da Silva,  Karine Duhamel, Deantha Edmunds, Cambria Harris, Jaimie Isaac, Casey Koyczan, Crystal Lepscier, Lee-Ann Martin, Diane Maytwayashing, Cathy Merrick, Sherry Farrell Racette, Gladys Radek, Zoey Roy, Jennifer Lee Smith, and Patti Beardy.

Additional Information
168 pages | 7.00" x 10.00" | Paperback

A major publication, Worlds on Paper: Drawings from Kinngait features over 150 never-before-seen original drawings by internationally renowned Inuit artists from Kinngait (Cape Dorset).

In 1990, the celebrated printmaking studio in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) transferred their complete drawings archive to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Ontario for safekeeping. The McMichael recently completed the digitization of this invaluable treasury of works, making it accessible to communities across the Arctic as well as to the wider public.

Worlds on Paper, an exhibition led by Inuit curator Emily Laurent Henderson, explores the profound impact and importance of drawing in Kinngait, not just as a precursor to printmaking, but as a vital and enduring discipline in its own right. This groundbreaking Inuit-led publication includes essays by Susan Aglukark, Kyle Aleekuk, Mark Bennett, Napatsi Folger, Jamesie Fournier, Janice Grey, Jonas Laurent Henderson, Jessica Kotierk, Nicole Luke, Malayah Maloney, Aghalingiak Ohokannoak, Jocelyn Piirainen, Krista Ulukuk Zawadski, and others, and explores the transition from traditional life on the land to 21st century community living.

Kinngait is renowned internationally for printmaking but an exploration of the drawings archive reveals careers previously overlooked while also allowing established artists to be seen in a new light. Dreaming Forward provides a richer understanding of the creativity that blossomed in Kinngait over four decades, as the print making studio rose to international renown. This publication animates the legacy of Kinngait Studio and its role in generating, nurturing, and promoting artists who continue to challenge expectations and provoke fresh understandings.

Additional Information
320 pages | 10.00" x 11.00" | 200 colour artwork and archival photographs | Hardcover 

The groundbreaking Indigenous style guide every writer needs.

The first published guide to common questions and issues of Indigenous style and process for those who work in words and other media is back in an updated new edition. This trusted resource offers crucial guidance to anyone who works in words or other media on how to work accurately, collaboratively, and ethically on projects involving Indigenous Peoples.

Editor Warren Cariou (Métis) and contributing editors Jordan Abel (Nisga’a), Lorena Fontaine (Cree-Anishinaabe), and Deanna Reder (Cree-Métis) continue the conversation started by the late Gregory Younging in his foundational first edition. This second conversation reflects changes in the publishing industry, Indigenous-led best practices, and society at large, including new chapters on author-editor relationships, identity and community affiliation, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer identities, sensitivity reading, emerging issues in the digital world, and more.

This guide features:

• Twenty-two succinct style principles.
• Advice on culturally appropriate publishing practices, including how to collaborate with Indigenous Peoples, when and how to seek the advice of Elders, and how to respect Indigenous Oral Traditions and Traditional Knowledge.
• Terminology to use and to avoid.
• Advice on specific editing issues, such as biased language, capitalization, citation, accurately representing Indigenous languages, and quoting from historical sources and archives.
• Examples of projects that illustrate best practices.

Additional Information
208 pages | 5.50" x 7.50" | Paperback

Original People, Original Television is the behind-the-scenes account of a little known revolution in Canadian broadcasting—a journey begun in 1922 with Nanook of the North, wending its way across generations and the width and breadth of the traditional territories of the Inuit, First Nations and Métis; culminating in the 1999 launch of the world’s inaugural Indigenous led broadcast, the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network.

Additional Information
282 pages | 9.00" x 6.00" | b&w photos, index, bibliography | Special Edition | Paperback 

Mark Kalluak was a respected community leader and Inuktitut specialist who was passionate about sharing Inuit culture. This book is a compilation of Kalluak’s works on traditional Inuit stories and beliefs from his home community of Arviat, Nunavut. These tales and cultural outlooks were thoughtfully collected, written in Inuktitut and English, and illustrated by Kalluak. From the origins of darkness and light, to cautionary tales of how to treat others, to explanations of taboos, this book is a noteworthy collection of traditional Inuit stories and beliefs.

Additional Information
216 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover

A special abridged version of the award-winning book Orange Shirt Day: September 30th. Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an official day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and to remember the children who did not come home. What was initially envisioned as a way to keep the conversations going about all aspects of Residential Schools in Williams Lake and the Cariboo Region of British Columbia, Canada, has now expanded into a movement across Turtle Island and beyond. Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters aims to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation and promote the message that 'Every Child Matters'. This version also explores a number of important topics including the historical, generational, and continual impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous Peoples, the journey of the Orange Shirt Day movement, and how you can effectively participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. With end of chapter reflection questions and a series of student art submissions, readers are guided to explore how they, and others, view and participate in Residential School reconciliation.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 17.

This book is available in English: Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters: Condensed Edition

Additional Information
112 pages | 8.46" x 10.97" | Paperback 

The incomparable first-hand account of the historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada told by one of the commissioners who led it.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to record the previously hidden history of more than a century of forced residential schooling for Indigenous children. Marie Wilson helped lead that work as one of just three commissioners. With the skills of a journalist, the heart of a mother and grandmother, and the insights of a life as the spouse of a residential school survivor, Commissioner Wilson guides readers through her years witnessing survivor testimony across the country, providing her unique perspective on the personal toll and enduring public value of the commission. In this unparalleled account, she honours the voices of survivors who have called Canada to attention, determined to heal, reclaim, and thrive.

Part vital public documentary, part probing memoir, North of Nowhere breathes fresh air into the possibilities of reconciliation amid the persistent legacy of residential schools. It is a call to everyone to view the important and continuing work of reconciliation not as an obligation but as a gift.

Reviews
"I found Marie Wilson's North of Nowhere profoundly moving and surprisingly optimistic. With humility and wisdom, she takes us behind the scenes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As a non-Indigenous woman long settled in the North, she has a unique viewpoint, and she leavens an account of the traumatic intergenerational impact of residential schools with details from her own personal story. Wilson goes beyond the grief and misery triggered by the Truth aspect of the TRC to suggest the joy and laughter that true Reconciliation can produce in survivors. But reconciliation will be achieved only if we don't look away. North of Nowhere is a powerful book that shifted my perspective, and, thanks to Wilson's lucid prose, helps the rest of us glimpse what is needed." — Charlotte Gray (CM), author of Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt

"For anyone wanting a front row seat to the Spirit, the vision, and the mechanics of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, North of Nowhere is definitely it. Commissioner Dr. Marie Wilson recounts and celebrates the courage of everyone involved in one of Canada's most important chapters of coming to terms with residential school Survivors and their families and their communities forever changed with a policy of cultural genocide. I hope everyone reads this and finds their way to support Survivors, their families, and their communities as they continue to reclaim so much of what was stolen. What a profound and riveting read." — Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed and Godless but Loyal to Heaven

"The long-matured work of a true elder, this magnificent book is a sober masterpiece of sacred activism. It deserves to be read by everyone aghast at the chaos and cruelty of our world. Its level decency of tone, its lucidity, its determined hope in terrible circumstances both transmit and model those qualities we all now need to build a new world out of the smouldering ashes of the old." — Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

"In North of Nowhere, Marie Wilson honours her vow to residential school Survivors to 'do no harm' and to bear witness to and honour their experiences. Marie has achieved her purpose to educate readers and inspire reconciliation and, most importantly, hope. 'I see you. I hear you. I believe you. And I love you'-Marie's words as a Commissioner to Survivors set the tone for this very important book." — Perry Bellegarde, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations

"This book is one of the best I've ever read. It made me laugh, get emotional, and helped reset my journey on the role I need to play. As a child of residential school Survivors, I was motivated to continue to learn my language and strengthen my pride as an Indigenous person. Truth must come before reconciliation; this book will empower Canadians to focus on what we can control today when it comes to implementing the Calls to Action. This book advocates for building awareness, understanding, and long-term relationships between Indigenous people and Canadians. If every Canadian reads this book, the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action can be achieved." — Cadmus Delorme, former chief of Cowessess First Nation

"Journalist Marie Wilson brings us into the emotion-charged rooms, the sacred spaces of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation hearings. She listens with the heart of a mother, looking into the souls of the adult Survivors standing before her and seeing the children they once were. Though she holds nothing back, in the end this is a triumphant, restorative narrative-a testament to the healing that happens when we share our deepest, darkest truths." — Judy Rodgers, founding director of Images & Voice of Hope, board member of The Peace Studio

"North of Nowhere is the story of a national soul-searching, braided with Dr. Marie Wilson's own personal story and her unique perspective as a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner. Every page tells a story. This is a book that is bound to ignite dialogue. It has been a catalyst that has been the spark for numerous visits, deep discussions, and reflections, which is why we wanted to write a collective review. Marie's writing had us thinking and talking about the stories, truths, and wisdom shared throughout the pages. Through her writing, Marie elicits emotional and insightful responses that move us along our own journeys of understanding the truth of Canada." — Shelagh Rogers and Monique Gray Smith

"Marie Wilson is the truth keeper entrusted with the accounts of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who went to residential schools, the memories of those who did not make it home and the fate of us all if we do not learn from the past. The savagery of 'civilization' comes into stark relief as children emerge from the pages to awaken the national consciousness and render the TRC Calls to Action imperative." — Cindy Blackstock, executive director, First Nations Child & Family Caring Society

"Beautifully written, Marie Wilson's North of Nowhere is a stunning work of truth, power, and wisdom. An imperative read for all Canadians to understand the layers of shrapnel left by the residential school system that will leave you with emotion and hope. Wilson is an incredibly brilliant and gifted writer." — Angela Sterritt, author of Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls

Educator Information
Curriculum Connections: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, Canadian Studies, Indigenous STudies

Additional Information
384 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

A resource guide for the Righting Canada’s Wrongs Indigenous Studies set that provides lessons in historical thinking.

The Righting Canada's Wrongs Indigenous Studies set series is devoted to the exploration of racist and discriminatory government policies and actions against Indigenous peoples through our history, the fight for acknowledgement and justice and the eventual apologies and restitution of subsequent governments. The books in this series make a valuable addition to any classroom or library looking for kid-friendly and appealing resources on Indigenous Studies and equal rights in Canada. The engaging and curriculum-based lessons in this Resource Guide will help students to further understand some of the important events in Canada's history that helped shape our current multicultural society. Educators will find support for teaching about Canada's past and ongoing treatment of Indigenous Peoples and how to approach the topic of, colonization, racism and discrimination. As well, students will learn about the important cultures and traditions that have continued in the face of colonization.

Educator Information
Recommended for use with ages 13+

This resource guide provides lessons in historical thinking for the Righting Canada’s Wrongs Indigenous Studies set: 

• Righting Canada's Wrongs: Inuit Relocations: Colonial Policies and Practices, Inuit Resilience and Resistance
• Righting Canada's Wrongs: Residential Schools: The Devastating Impact on Canada's Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Findings and Calls for Action (PB) - 2nd Edition
• Righting Canada's Wrongs: The Sixties Scoop and the Stolen Lives of Indigenous Children

Additional Information
120 Pages | 8.5" x 11" | Paperback

From Tanya Talaga, the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Seven Fallen Feathers, comes a riveting exploration of her family’s story and a retelling of the history of the country we now call Canada

For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members disappeared, many of them after being sent to residential schools, “Indian hospitals” and asylums through a coordinated system designed to destroy who the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are. This is one of Canada’s greatest open secrets, an unhealed wound that until recently lay hidden by shame and abandonment.

The Knowing is the unfolding of Canadian history unlike anything we have ever read before. Award-winning and bestselling Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga retells the history of this country as only she can—through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of her great-great grandmother Annie Carpenter and her family as they experienced decades of government- and Church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide.

Deeply personal and meticulously researched, The Knowing is a seminal unravelling of the centuries-long oppression of Indigenous People that continues to reverberate in these communities today.

Additional Information
480 pages | 6.12" x 9.25" | Hardcover 

Based on an Inuit traditional story passed down orally for generations, The Cannibal tells the horrific tale of a family experiencing starvation when the animals they rely on for survival disappear. While the wife stays alive by eating plants she gathers daily, the husband does the unthinkable, resorting to murder and cannibalism. Horrified, and terrified for her life, the wife eventually finds herself alone in camp with her husband. She knows what will happen to her if she does not find a way to escape. Hatching a plan, the exhausted wife embarks on the journey with her murderous husband in pursuit. After safely arriving at a nearby camp, she shares the story of what has become of her camp, and her own children. Soon the husband arrives, and the camp must decide how to deal with the cannibal. Both horrific and poignant, this cautionary traditional story provides a window into the at times harsh realities of traditional life.

Reviews
"The Cannibal by Solomon Awa and Louise Flaherty is a stark and compelling novel centred on an Inuit family facing extreme survival challenges in the Arctic. When the family’s father, driven by desperation, begins to resort to cannibalism to stay alive, the story delves into harrowing themes of survival, morality, and the impact of isolation on human behaviour. This topic is suitable for an older audience, not younger students." - David D., Indigenous Educator & Administrator, Indigenous Books for Schools 

Educator Information
The publisher labels this work as an "Adult Graphic Novel."

Recommended in the Indigenous Books for Schools catalogue as a valuable resource for grades 10 to 12 for English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Themes: Animals, Death, Environment, Loss, Reconciliation

Caution: Contains cannibalism

Additional Information
44 pages | 7.00" x 10.50" | Paperback

Les ours mettent souvent les hommes en échec, même quand ils sont traqués. La chasse à l’ours est la plus exigeante de toutes. Parfois, si un ours est arrêté par les chiens, il peut les tuer. Parfois aussi, il peut tuer un homme. Les ours blancs sont terribles. On les chasse malgré tout, car il n’y a pas le choix. Ils donnent de la nourriture et des vêtements. En pleine tempête de neige, un ours polaire attaque un campement inuit et éviscère de nombreux chiens. Convaincus que l’animal est malade et qu’il s’en prendra de nouveau aux leurs, des chasseurs se lancent à sa poursuite au péril de leur vie. Parmi eux, le jeune Kamik, qui rêve de manier le harpon avec la même aisance que son père, découvrira rapidement les dangers d’une existence que l’environnement arctique ne cesse de menacer.Paru il y a cinquante ans, Chasseur au harpon est considéré comme le premier roman en inuktitut jamais publié. Dans ce livre qui a grandement contribué à l’essor de la littérature autochtone au Canada, Markoosie Patsauq nous offre une aventure trépidante, marquée de bout en bout par la violence et la mort, et nous plonge dans la réalité d’une communauté encore préservée de l’intrusion de la modernité. Surtout, à travers la traque symbolique d’un ours et le dur apprentissage d’un jeune garçon, il met en scène le combat immémorial que ces hommes et ces femmes doivent livrer pour survivre. Pour la toute première fois, cette édition propose une traduction en français établie à partir du texte original en inuktitut, et non à partir de son adaptation en anglais. Accompagnée d’une préface de la gouverneure générale du Canada Mary Simon, ancienne présidente du Conseil circumpolaire inuit, d’une postface inédite de Patsauq et d’une note des traducteurs, elle offre une lecture nouvelle et une remise en contexte bienvenue de ce roman fondateur.

Educator Information
This book is available in English: Hunter with Harpoon

Additional Information
Paperback 

The First Few Feet in a World of Wolves chronicles the fictionalization of the year the author spent teaching in Aupaluk (a remote Inuit community on the Ungava Coast of Nunavik). The story outlines, and explores, the history of oppression experienced by the more than five hundred Indigenous nations across northern Turtle Island at the hands of the Canadian government since the Royal Proclamation.

Told through the voice of Nomad, who finds himself very much at odds with the land itself. Nomad slowly learns how to reconnect with his fractured history as he embraces and is embraced by the Elders and his own students. Told is crisp, spare prose, this debut novel brings forward a powerful new Indigenous voice to the literary landscape.

Reviews
"Speaking in a voice that is both powerful and playful, Scott Mainprize weaves a thoughtful investigation into the Indigenous Peoples' oppression through the eyes of his fictional character, Nomad. And we discover as Nomad discovers that the art of storytelling is a way towards healing and reconciliation." - Mary Barnes, author of Moving Upstream

Additional Information
350 pages | 8.00" x 5.00"| Paperback

Unikkaaqtuat is the Inuktitut word meaning "to tell stories."

This definitive collection of Inuit legends is thoughtfully introduced and carefully annotated to provide the historical and cultural context in which to understand this rich oral tradition. Fascinating and educational, this little-known part of Canada's heritage will captivate readers of all ages. As a work of historical and cultural preservation, this textbook will be invaluable to those studying Inuit.

Additional Information
320 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | 100 b&w line drawings | Hardcover | 2nd Edition

“Some children are born into the world and are home as soon as they come Earthside. Others spend their lifetimes searching for a home, a place to belong, a place where they are safe. I am one of those children.”

After running away from residential school, Bernard Andreason and his two best friends begin a harrowing 130-kilometre journey from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, one which only Bernard would survive. In this heartbreaking and beautifully told graphic memoir, Bernard recounts his time in residential school and the tragic journey that took the lives of his two best friends. We then follow Bernard as he returns home, haunted by his past and struggling to find his place. Despite enduring more challenges into adulthood, Bernard never stops pursuing healing and higher learning, and he finds a support network that helps him. His story shows us that the possibility of finding a safe and loving home exists, and it is something every child deserves.

Mangilaluk is an extraordinarily affecting new addition to Qinuisaarniq ("resiliency"), a collection of books created to educate readers about the history and impacts of residential schools.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 14 to 18.

Mangilaluk exposes readers to the experience and perspective of an Inuk residential school survivor. It also shares a powerful story of friendship, personal growth and self-forgiveness, and the value of finding a supportive community.

This book is part of the Qinuisaarniq program. Qinuisaarniq (“resiliency”) is a program created to educate Nunavummiut and all Canadians about the history and impacts of residential schools, policies of assimilation, and other colonial acts that have affected the Canadian Arctic.

Each resource has been carefully written and reviewed to include level-appropriate opportunities for students to learn about colonial acts and policies that have affected Inuit. These acts and policies created long-lasting impacts on Inuit individuals and communities, which are still being felt today.

Additional Information
100 pages | 7.25" x 11.00" | Paperback

“’There’s an opening above me, but it’s far, and I have to stack up rocks to jump up, and it’s almost impossible to get out.’ That’s when I realized that I was stripped of my identity, and there was nothing of my culture left in me. It was like I wasn’t in my body anymore. It was bare and desolate and empty and cold, lifeless in my body. Where was I? Where had I gone?”

In this visceral graphic memoir, Monica Ittusardjuat brings readers with her from residential school classrooms to government apologies on her journey to rediscovering what it means to be Inuk. Born prematurely in an iglu on Baffin Island, Monica attended three residential schools over eleven years. She details her resulting struggles with addiction, mental health, and domestic violence, which haunted her into adulthood.

Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, Monica’s memoir is a testimony to the lasting impacts of residential schools and one woman’s fight to reclaim what she lost.

The Scarf and the Butterfly is a stunning new addition to Qinuisaarniq ("resiliency"), a collection of books created to educate readers about the history and impacts of residential schools.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 14 to 18.

This book exposes readers to the experience and perspective of an Inuk residential school survivor.

This book is part of the Qinuisaarniq program. Qinuisaarniq (“resiliency”) is a program created to educate Nunavummiut and all Canadians about the history and impacts of residential schools, policies of assimilation, and other colonial acts that have affected the Canadian Arctic.

Each resource has been carefully written and reviewed to include level-appropriate opportunities for students to learn about colonial acts and policies that have affected Inuit. These acts and policies created long-lasting impacts on Inuit individuals and communities, which are still being felt today.

Additional Information
68 pages | 7.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover

Uncover the incredible life story of Germaine Arnattaujuq, a singularly important Inuit artist, in this high interest/low reading level reference book for struggling readers.

Germaine Arnattaujuq is an award-winning Inuit artist. This book tells the story of her life, from growing up at a camp in Nunavut to her education as an artist in Winnipeg and Ottawa and her eventual return to the North. Germaine's incredible drawings, etchings, and illustrations are featured throughout the book, along with archival photographs.

Filled with personal anecdotes and fun facts, this book encourages reluctant readers to discover how Germaine started drawing on gum wrappers as a child and went on to become one of the most well-known artists from the North.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 18.

This is a Hi-Lo (high-interest, low readability) book.

Additional Information
60 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Colour Photographs | Paperback

In a highly visual and appealing format for young readers, this book explores the many forced relocation of Inuit families and communities in the Canadian Arctic from the 1950s to the 1990s. Governments promoted and forced relocation based on misinformation and racist attitudes. These actions changed Inuit lives forever. This book documents the Inuit experience and the resilience and strength they displayed in the face of these measures. Years afterwards, there have been multiple apologies by the Canadian government for its actions, and some measure of restitution for the harms caused.

Included in the book are accounts of a community forced to move to the High Arctic where they found themselves with little food and almost no shelter, of children suddenly taken away from their families and communities to be transported to hospitals for treatment for tuberculosis, and of the notorious slaughter by RCMP officers of hundreds of sled dogs in Arctic settlements.

Though apologies have been made, Inuit in northern Canada still face conditions of inadequate housing, schools that fail to teach their language, and epidemics of infectious diseases like TB. Yet still, the Inuit have achieved a measure of self-government, control over resource development, while they enrich cultural life through music, film, art and literature.

This book enables readers to understand the colonialism and racism that remain embedded in Canadian society today, and the successful resistance of Inuit to assimilation and loss of cultural identity.

Like other volumes in the Righting Canada’s Wrongs series, this book uses a variety of visuals, first-person accounts, short texts and extracts from documents to appeal to a wide range of young readers.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Righting Canada's Wrongs series.

Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

This book is available in French: Réinstallation d'Inuit: Politiques et pratiques coloniales, résilience et résistance d'un peuple.

Additional Information
144 pages | 9.01" x 11.02" | Hardcover 

Additional Information
Spiral bound

Following the bestselling success of the inspiring All the Way, pioneering Inuit NHLer Jordin Tootoo begins the process of healing in the wake of the suicide and violence that marks his family, only to discover the source of all that trauma in his father's secret past.

For some hockey players, retirement marks the moment when it’s all over. But Jordin Tootoo is not most hockey players.

Having inspired millions when he first broke into the league, Tootoo continued to influence people throughout his career—not only through his very public triumph over alcoholism, but also his natural charisma. And now, years after hanging up his skates, he is more committed to doing things the right way and speaking about it to others, whether it’s corporate executives or Indigenous youth.

But the news of unmarked graves on the grounds of residential schools brought back to life many of the demons that had haunted his family. In a moment of realization that left him rattled and saddened, Tootoo fit the pieces together. The years that were never spoken of. The heavy drinking. The all too predictable violence. His father was a survivor, marked by what he had survived.

As he travels back to Nunavut to try to speak with his father about what haunts him, he encounters the ghosts of the entire community. Still, as Tootoo says, we are continuously learning and rewriting our story at every step. He has learned from his mistakes and his victories. He has learned from examples of great courage and humility. He has learned from being a father and a husband. And he has learned from his own Inuk traditions, of perseverance and discipline in the face of hardship.

Weaving together life’s biggest themes with observations and experiences, Jordin shares the kind of wisdom he has had to specialize in—the hard-won kind.

Additional Information
208 pages | 6.20" x 9.37" | Hardcover

In this complex, at times dark, poetry collection from Inuk author Jamesie Fournier, readers are taken through the recesses of a character struggling with inner demons whispering into his mind.

As he attempts to overcome his inner turmoil within a Colonial and contemporary system that oppresses him, the speaker guides readers through verse both ethereal and imagistic. Echoing artists as varied as Margaret Laurence and The Velvet Underground, this sweeping collection of bilingual verse deals with erasure, resilience, and—above all—resistance through the voice of one complex protagonist.

Educator Information
Bilingual Verse in English and Inuktitut 

Additional Information
132 pages | 7.00" x 9.25" | 10 b&w Photos | Paperback

After his snowmobile breaks down halfway across the sea ice on a trip back from a fishing camp, Serapio Ittusardjuat recounts the traditional skills and knowledge he leaned on to stay alive.

This harrowing first-person account of four nights spent on the open sea ice—with few supplies and no water—shows young readers the determination and strength necessary to survive in the harsh Arctic climate, even when the worst occurs.

Awards

• 2022 Forest of Reading—Silver Birch Express Award

Reviews
"[T]he graphic novel How I Survived is a true story of Arctic survival written by Serapio Ittusardjuat, an Inuk stone carver and former mechanic.... This beautifully designed, highly engaging graphic novel should engross both reluctant readers and those seeking adventure." - Quill & Quire

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

The original hardcover version was included in the Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list as being useful for grades 6 to 9 for English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Additional Information
48 pages | 7.25" x 9.75"

Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an official day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and to remember the children who did not come home. What was initially envisioned as a way to keep the conversations going about all aspects of Residential Schools in Williams Lake and the Cariboo Region of British Columbia, Canada, has now expanded into a movement across Turtle Island and beyond. Orange Shirt Day: September 30th aims to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation and promote the message that 'Every Child Matters'. This award-winning book explores a number of important topics including the historical, generational, and continual impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous Peoples, the journey of the Orange Shirt Day movement, and how you can effectively participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. With end of chapter reflection questions and a series of student art submissions, readers are guided to explore how they, and others, view and participate in Residential School reconciliation.

Awards

• 2021 First Nation Communities Read 2021 Winner 

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 10+

Orange Shirt Day was inspired by the story of a survivor named Phyllis Webstad. When Phyllis was 6 years old she went to residential school for the first time wearing a brand new shiny orange shirt. When she arrived at the school her shirt was taken away and never to be seen again. To Phyllis the colour orange was a symbol that she did not matter. Today she has learned to accept the colour and even have fun with it and now the orange shirt has become a symbol of hope and reconciliation. By wearing an orange shirt on Orange Shirt Day, you make a powerful statement that residential schools were wrong and commit to the concept that EVERY CHILD MATTERS.

The Orange Shirt Society is a non-profit organization with its home in Williams Lake, BC where Orange Shirt Day began in 2013. The society has both Indigenous and non-Indigenous board members, and one of the editors of this book, Phyllis Webstad, is Indigenous.  Therefore, the Authentic Indigenous Text label has been applied. It is up to readers to determine if this book is authentic for their purposes.

This is the Revised 2023, 2nd Edition

Additional Information
156 pages | 8.23" x 11.06" | Revised, 2nd Edition

This inspiring introduction to activism and social justice for young teens shows the important role music plays in changing the world, featuring:

- Musicians young teens will know and love: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X, and more!

- Iconic artists from past generations: readers will learn about the extraordinary impact of artists such as Nina Simone, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Neil Young, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, and more.

- Playlists for each social justice issue: Each chapter includes a playlist with recommended songs about an area of activism, from classic tracks to contemporary hits.

In Rise Up and Sing!, Andrea Warner explores how music has contributed to the fight for social justice. Across eight areas of activism—the climate emergency, Indigenous rights, civil rights, disability rights, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, the peace/anti-war movement, and human rights—Warner introduces some of the artists, past and present, who have made a difference both on stage and off.

Through ground-breaking artists and iconic moments, Rise Up and Sing! shows us that a song is never just a song, and that music really does have the power to change the world.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 17.

Includes some Indigenous content.

Curriculum Connections: Activism, Social Justice, Music 

Additional Information
200 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

Journey to the depths of the Arctic and beyond in this unique collection of stories from the award-winning volumes of Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection.

Burning Cold is a captivating volume of Indigenous graphic stories written by acclaimed authors Sean and Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley and Richard Van Camp. Time travel on the back of a wolverine, swim with shapeshifters beneath the ice, and travel through the skies with aliens. From traditional stories to reimagined futures, this collection showcases some of the finest comic book and graphic novel work from the North.

Educator Information
Recommended for Young Adults.

Additional Information
100 pages | 6.50" x 10.25" | Colour Illustrations | Paperback

One of the few biographies of an Inuk man from the 19th Century—separated from his family, community, and language—finding his place in history.

Augustine Tataneuck was an Inuk man born near the beginning of the 19th century on the northwestern coast of Hudson Bay. Between 1812 and 1834, his family sent him to Churchill, Manitoba, to live and work among strangers, where he could escape the harsh Arctic climate and earn a living in the burgeoning fur trade. He was perhaps the first Inuk man employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a labourer, and he also worked as an interpreter on John Franklin’s two overland expeditions in search of the northwest passage.

Tataneuck’s life was shaped by the inescapable, harsh environments he lived within, and he was an important, but not widely recognized, player in the struggle for the possession of northwest North America waged by Britain, Russia, and the United States. He left no diaries or letters.

Using the Hudson’s Bay Company’s journals and historical archives, historian Renee Fossett has pieced together a compelling biography of Augustine and the historical times he lived through: climate disasters, lethal disease episodes, and political upheavals on an international scale.

While The Life and Times of Augustine Tataneuck is a captivating portrait of an Inuk man who lived an extraordinary life, it also is an arresting, unique glimpse into the North as it was in the 19th century and into the lives of trappers, translators, and labourers who are seldom written about and often absent in the historical record.

Reviews
"Renee Fossett's careful research ensures that the life of Augustine Tataneuck, Inuk interpreter and guide, will be remembered, with respect." —Julie Rak, co-editor of Life Among the Qallunaat

Additional Information
504 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 4 Maps, 1 Illustration | Paperback

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Indigenous Voices Awards, an anthology consisting of selected works by finalists over the past five years, edited by Jordan Abel, Carleigh Baker, and Madeleine Reddon.

For five years, the Indigenous Voices Awards have nurtured the work of Indigenous writers in lands claimed by Canada. Established in 2017 initially through a crowd-funded campaign by lawyer Robin Parker and author Silvia Moreno-Garcia that set an initial fundraising goal of $10,000, the initiative raised over $116,000 in just four months.

Through generous support from organizations such as Penguin Random House Canada, CELA, and others, the award has grown and have helped usher in a new and dynamic generation of Indigenous writers. Past IVA recipients include Billy-Ray Belcourt, Tanya Tagaq, and Jesse Thistle. The IVAs also help promote the works of unpublished writers, helping launch the careers of Smokii Sumac, Cody Caetano, and Samantha Martin-Bird.

For the first time, a selection of standout works over the past five years of the Indigenous Voices Award will be collected in an anthology that will highlight some of the most groundbreaking Indigenous writing across poetry, prose, and theatre in English, French, and in an Indigenous language. Curated by award-winning and critically acclaimed writers Carleigh Baker, Jordan Abel, and Indigenous scholar Madeleine Reddon, this anthology will be a true celebration of Indigenous storytelling that will both introduce readers to emerging luminaries as well as return them to treasured favourites.

Educator Information
Carving Space: The Indigenous Voices Awards Anthology: A collection of prose and poetry from emerging Indigenous writers in lands claimed by Canada includes a selection of standout work from the first five years of the Indigenous Voices Awards.

Additional Information
400 pages | 5.50" x 8.25" | Paperback

Born at a traditional Inuit camp in what is now Nunavut, Joan Scottie has spent decades protecting the Inuit hunting way of life, most famously with her long battle against the uranium mining industry. Twice, Scottie and her community of Baker Lake successfully stopped a proposed uranium mine. Working with geographer Warren Bernauer and social scientist Jack Hicks, Scottie here tells the history of her community’s decades-long fight against uranium mining.

Scottie's I Will Live for Both of Us is a reflection on recent political and environmental history and a call for a future in which Inuit traditional laws and values are respected and upheld. Drawing on Scottie’s rich and storied life, together with document research by Bernauer and Hicks, their book brings the perspective of a hunter, Elder, grandmother, and community organizer to bear on important political developments and conflicts in the Canadian Arctic since the Second World War.

In addition to telling the story of her community’s struggle against the uranium industry, I Will Live for Both of Us discusses gender relations in traditional Inuit camps, the emotional dimensions of colonial oppression, Inuit experiences with residential schools, the politics of gold mining, and Inuit traditional laws regarding the land and animals. A collaboration between three committed activists, I Will Live for Both of Us provides key insights into Inuit history, Indigenous politics, resource management, and the nuclear industry.

Reviews
“I Will Live for Both of Us is the first-hand account of an incredible woman’s resistance to uranium mining in her region specifically, but it is also a detailed description of the history of colonialism in the Kivalliq region, and the past and present structures that perpetuate colonialism. It shines a light on the critical activism that has been happening in this region over the course of decades.” — Willow Scobie

"I Will Live for Both of Us offers a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the history and contemporary debates around mining in the Canadian North. It foregrounds the voice and activism of an Inuk woman, Joan Scottie, and documents her long struggle against the incursions of uranium mining in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. Written accessibly it will appeal to readers interested in the North, Indigenous issues, and industrial development.” — Arn Keeling

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Ch 1: Growing Up on the Land
Ch 2: Qallunaat, Moving to Town, and Going to School
Ch 3: Uranium Exploration, Petitions, and a Court Case
Ch 4: Kiggavik Round One, the Urangesellschaft Proposal
Ch 5: The Nunavut Agreement and Gold Mining Near Baker Lake
Ch 6: Uranium Policy in Nunavut
Ch 7: Kiggavik Round Two, the AREVA Proposal
Ch 8: Protecting the Land and the Caribou
Conclusion

Additional Information
264 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Index, Bibliography | Paperback 

A “kunik” is a traditional Inuit greeting, often given to loved ones, in which a person places their nose on another’s cheek and breathes them in. Where the Sea Kuniks the Land extends that gesture of love to the Arctic landscape, in a suite of poems that celebrates the interconnectedness of people and place, past and present.

The importance of land, culture, and identity play key roles in these poems, and the collection will move readers to think deeply about colonization, intergenerational trauma, and grief.

This collection paints beautiful pictures of Arctic landscapes, love stories, and growth. It will take readers on a journey through the seasons, from fierce snowstorms to a warm field of Labrador tea flowers.

Additional Information
80 pages | 7.00" x 9.25" | Paperback

Arctic ice is a daily consideration for people living above the Arctic circle. Ice is key to successful hunts, ease of travel, and the health of wildlife. This book features sweeping landscape photography of Arctic sea ice in all its forms, accompanied by anecdotes from community members across the North. From traditional stories of what lurks under the ice to harrowing tales of hunters on the ice and traditional knowledge about ice safety and conditions, this book presents the beauty, complexity, and unique challenges of living daily in an ever-evolving icy landscape.

Educator Information
Foreword by Sheila Watt-Cloutier

Additional Information
72 pages | 11.00" x 8.00" | Colour photographs | Hardcover 

“The Net” features a girl and her mother, known only as the mother and the daughter, who arrive at their secluded cabin on a frozen lake to find their fishing net has been attacked, a massive hole ripped through the middle. After the net has been mended and the night’s catch eaten, the daughter sits awake playing with a bit of leftover netting string. When she was a girl, her grandmother taught her to make string figures—just as her mother had taught her—a game played by Inuit for generations, but a game not to be taken lightly . . . as the daughter plays late into the night, and the mother sleeps, other monstrous forces are soon awakened from beneath the frozen lake.

In “Before Dawn” a young boy runs out onto the tundra to play with his new friend by his side, venturing far beyond his mother’s rule that he not stray past the inuksuk on the horizon. The boy’s friend beckons him farther and farther, and the farther they get from home, the more the friend seems to change . . . and shift . . . until he is no longer human at all. Horrified, the boy listens to the creature’s proposition: return home before dawn, or be lost forever to the other side . . .

Complemented by colour illustrations from illustrator Toma Feizo Gas, The Other Ones is a fresh take on modern horror by an exciting new Inuit voice.

Educator Information
Short stories.

Additional Information
50 pages | 6.75" x 8.75" | Hardcover

Davidee has always loved hockey. Lately, though, all he wants to do is play video games. He dreams of playing in the NHL, but how does a kid from Naujaat make the big league?

When Davidee tries out for the Arctic Winter Games and unexpectedly makes the team, he can’t believe his luck. But Davidee is only the backup goalie, and Team Nunavut can’t seem to find their footing. Can Davidee find a way to get the team playing together before the gold medal game?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 11 to 13.

This is a Hi-Lo book that features an engaging story at an accessible reading level for middle school and high school students.

This book shows the value of working hard, not giving up, and being a good friend and teammate.

Additional Information
72 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

In this poetry collection, the author honours Inuit who lay in the past, and Inuit who are with us now and most importantly the Inuit who are waiting to come to us. The author believes it is not okay that Inuit children and adults died and were buried in unmarked graves, their bodies never returned to their loved ones. It is not okay that their relatives were never told of their deaths or where they were buried because keeping track of dead Inuit bodies was simply not very important to Canadian authorities. The author wants to imagine a world free of colonialism, a world without interference in Inuit lives.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Modern Indigenous Voices series.

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

After his parents are brutally murdered, Ahiahia is raised by his grandmother in a camp surrounded by enemies. His grandmother knows that eventually the camp will turn on Ahiahia, just as it did his parents, so she chants a protection chant over the clothing that she lovingly sews for him, over the amulet and necklace she gives him, even over the dog that is his companion. When he is attacked, Ahiahia must use his agility, hunting skills, and the protection imparted by his grandmother to stay alive. This traditional story is retold by Kugaaruk Elder Levi Illuitok, and illustrated in a comic book style by Nate Wells, giving life to an ancient story for new generations to enjoy.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

This traditional story is retold by Kugaaruk Elder Levi Illuitok, and illustrated in a comic book style by Nate Wells, giving life to an ancient story for new generations to enjoy.

Mature content (death, fighting).

Additional Information
36 pages | 7.00" x 10.50" | Hardcover 

In this harrowing survival story, Brian Koonoo takes off on a hunting trip in Canada’s Arctic. After his snowmobile breaks down, his GPS loses signal, and his camping fuel runs low, he is left alone to survive for seven days. Inuunira is an Inuktitut term that means "how I'm alive," and this account shows exactly how Brian managed to stay alive. He experiences close encounters with planes, blizzards, and hunger, all while much of his gear is lost. Walking 60 kilometres in search of safety, he uses the knowledge his father and Elders taught him—modern and traditional means of navigation, finding water, making shelters, and keeping his spirits up—to continue on. With photos, illustrations, and diagrams throughout, readers are sure to be inspired by this story of strong will and hope.

Additional Information
37 pages | 6.75" x 9.50" | Hardcover 

Over more than 100 years, the Canadian government took 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children from their families and placed them in residential schools. In these schools, young people were assigned a number, forced to wear European-style clothes, forbidden to speak their native language, required to work, and often subjected to physical and psychological abuse. If they tried to leave the schools to return to their families, they were captured by the RCMP and forced back. Run by churches, the schools were paid for by the federal government. The last residential school closed in 1996.

It took decades for people to speak out in public about the devastating impact of residential schools. School Survivors eventually came together and launched court actions against the federal government and the churches. In 2008 the Canadian government apologized for the historic wrongs committed by the residential school system. The survivors’ lawsuits led to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history, and the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Commission spent six years gathering testimony and discovering the facts about residential schools.

This book includes the text of the government’s apology and summarizes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, which offer the basis for a new relationship between the Canadian government, Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people.

Reviews
"If I were purchasing materials for a high school library, I would buy at least 2 copies, and I would urge Social Studies and Aboriginal Studies classroom teachers to have at least one copy on their bookselves. Perhaps the strongest work to date in the Righting Canada's Wrongs series, Residential Schools underscores the importance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's work... Highly Recommended." — CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Righting Canada's Wrongs series.

Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

This book is available in French: Les pensionnats indiens: Effets dévastateurs sur les peuples autochtones du Canada et appels à l'action de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation.

Additional Information
128 pages | 8.50" x 11.53" | Paperback | 2nd, Updated Edition

Colouring It Forward is honoured to have collaborated with Cree Elder John Sinclair in the design of this day planner that is dedicated to fostering Truth and Reconciliation. They are also grateful to Ashley Barclay for her artwork, to Crystal Fraser and Sara Komarnisky for allowing us to share some of their recommended Acts of Reconciliation.

Would you like to learn more about Indigenous issues, and culture to participate more fully in reconciliation?

This day planner offers you:

- Answers to questions about culture, issues and spirituality by Cree elder John Sinclair

- suggested ReconciliActions

- important Indigenous dates to observe

- update on the TRC's 94 Calls to Action: where the government is at with implementing the Calls to Action

- 3 colouring images by Metis artist Ashley Barclay

- 365 undated pages to record your meetings, your daily gratitude and your reconciliation plans!

- Each day planner sold will provide a donation to Piitoayis Family School

Ndè Sii Wet'aà: Northern Indigenous Voices on Land, Life, & Art is a collection of essays, interviews, short stories and poetry written by emerging and established northern Indigenous writers and artists. Centred on land, cultural practice and northern life, this ground-breaking collection shares wealth of Dene (Gwichʼin, Sahtú, Dehcho, Tłı̨chǫ, Saysi, Kaska, Dënesuiné, W?ìl?ìdeh ) Inuit, Alutiiq, Inuvialuit, Métis, Nêhiyawak (Cree), Northern Tutchone, and Tanana Athabascan creative brilliance. Ndè Sii Wet'aà holds up the voices of women and Two Spirit and Queer writers to create a chorus of voices reflecting a deep love of Indigenous cultures, languages, homelands and the north. The book includes a series of pieces and interviews from established northern artists and musicians including Leela Gilday, Randy Baillargeon (lead singer for the W?ìl?ìdeh Drummers), Inuit sisters, song-writers and throat singers Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay of Piqsiq, Two Spirit Vuntut Gwitchin visual artist Jeneen Frei Njootli, Nunavik singer-songwriters Elisapie and Beatrice Deere and visual artist Camille Georgeson-Usher. Ndè Sii Wet'aà also includes writing from well-known northern writers Siku Allooloo, T'áncháy Redvers (Fireweed), Antione Mountain (From Bear Rock Mountain), Glen Coulthard (Red Skin, White Masks), Catherine Lafferty (Northern Wildflower, Land-Water-Sky) and Lianne Marie Leda Charlie, in amongst the best emerging writers in the north.

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

Faced with a constant stream of news reports of standoffs and confrontations, Canada’s “reconciliation project” has obviously gone off the rails. In this series of concise and thoughtful essays, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor explains why reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is failing and what needs to be done to fix it.

Widely known as a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights, McIvor reports from the front lines of legal and political disputes that have gripped the nation. From Wet’suwet’en opposition to a pipeline in northern British Columbia, to Mi’kmaw exercising their fishing rights in Nova Scotia, McIvor has been actively involved in advising First Nation clients, fielding industry and non-Indigenous opposition to true reconciliation, and explaining to government officials why their policies are failing.

McIvor’s essays are honest and heartfelt. In clear, plain language he explains the historical and social forces that underpin the development of Indigenous law, criticizes the current legal shortcomings and charts a practical, principled way forward.

By weaving in personal stories of growing up Métis on the fringes of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba and representing First Nations in court and negotiations, McIvor brings to life the human side of the law and politics surrounding Indigenous peoples’ ongoing struggle for fairness and justice. His writing covers many of the most important issues that have become part of a national dialogue, including systemic racism, treaty rights, violence against Indigenous people, Métis identity, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the duty to consult.

McIvor’s message is consistent and powerful: if Canadians are brave enough to confront the reality of the country’s colonialist past and present and insist that politicians replace empty promises with concrete, meaningful change, there is a realistic path forward based on respect, recognition and the implementation of Indigenous rights.

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

First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists, activists, educators and writers, youth and elders come together to envision Indigenous futures in Canada and around the world.

Discussing everything from language renewal to sci-fi, this collection is a powerful and important expression of imagination rooted in social critique, cultural experience, traditional knowledge, activism and the multifaceted experiences of Indigenous people on Turtle Island.

In Me Tomorrow: 
Darrel J. McLeod, Cree author from Treaty-8 territory in Northern Alberta, blends the four elements of the Indigenous cosmovision with the four directions of the medicine wheel to create a prayer for the power, strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples.

Autumn Peltier, Anishinaabe water-rights activist, tells the origin story of her present and future career in advocacy—and how the nine months she spent in her mother’s womb formed her first water teaching. When the water breaks, like snow melting in the spring, new life comes.

Lee Maracle, acclaimed Stó:lō Nation author and educator, reflects on cultural revival—imagining a future a century from now in which Indigenous people are more united than ever before.

Other essayists include Cyndy and Makwa Baskin, Norma Dunning, Shalan Joudry, Shelley Knott-Fife, Tracie Léost, Stephanie Peltier, Romeo Saganash, Drew Hayden Taylor and Raymond Yakeleya.

For readers who want to imagine the future, and to cultivate a better one, Me Tomorrow is a journey through the visions generously offered by a diverse group of Indigenous thinkers.

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

Drawing on both lived experience and cultural memory, Norma Dunning brings together six powerful new short stories centred on modern-day Inuk characters in Tainna. Ranging from homeless to extravagantly wealthy, from spiritual to jaded, young to elderly, and even from alive to deceased, Dunning’s characters are united by shared feelings of alienation, displacement and loneliness resulting from their experiences in southern Canada.

In Tainna—meaning “the unseen ones” and pronounced Da‑e‑nn‑a—a fraught reunion between sisters Sila and Amak ends in an uneasy understanding. From the spirit realm, Chevy Bass watches over his imperilled grandson, Kunak. And in the title story, the broken-hearted Bunny wanders onto a golf course on a freezing night, when a flock of geese stand vigil until her body is discovered by a kind stranger.

Norma Dunning’s masterful storytelling uses humour and incisive detail to create compelling characters who discover themselves in a hostile land where prejudice, misogyny and inequity are most often found hidden in plain sight. There, they must rely on their wits, artistic talent, senses of humour and spirituality­ for survival; and there, too, they find solace in shining moments of reconnection with their families and communities.

Awards

• 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

“Food is life. Food is the key to vitality, goodness, happiness, and a strong body and mind.”

Compiled by five women living in Igloolik, Nunavut, this collection of recipes brings together healthy traditional country foods—like seal, Arctic char, and caribou—with store-bought produce to create delicious meals that can be an alternative to pre-packaged foods. With details on food safety and storage, as well as information on how to build a healthy, nutritious diet, this book will help even novice cooks feel empowered to begin cooking from scratch at home.

With tasty recipes from land and sea—from Arctic char pizza to caribou chilli—this beautifully photographed cookbook provides wholesome, hearty meals that will become family favourites for years to come.

Additional Information
114 pages | 7.00" x 10.00" | colour photographs | Paperback

A new English translation of an acclaimed 1970 novel reveals a stark, powerful story, an Inuit worldview, and the unique voice of Markoosie Patsauq.

Published fifty years ago under the title Harpoon of the Hunter, Markoosie Patsauq's novel helped establish the genre of Indigenous fiction in Canada. This new English translation unfolds the story of Kamik, a young hero who comes to manhood while on a perilous hunt for a wounded polar bear. In this astonishing tale of a people struggling for survival in a brutal environment, Patsauq describes a life in the Canadian Arctic as one that is reliant on cooperation and vigilance.

In collaboration with the author, Valerie Henitiuk and Marc-Antoine Mahieu return to the original Inuktitut text to provide English readers with a more accurate translation. With a preface by Patsauq and an afterword from the translators, this edition offers a fresh and contextualized interpretation of a cultural milestone. Whether revisiting this classic or discovering it for the first time, readers will find in Hunter with Harpoon a sophisticated coming-of-age tale illustrating a way of life not as it appeared to southerners, but as it has survived in the memory of the Inuit themselves.

Educator Information
Translated from the Inuktitut by Valerie Henitiuk and Marc-Antoine Mahieu.

Valerie Henitiuk, translation studies specialist, is provost at Concordia University of Edmonton.

Marc-Antoine Mahieu is professor of Inuktitut at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, and consultant for the Kativik school board in Nunavik.

This book is available in French: Chasseur au harpon

Additional Information
104 pages | 5.98" x 7.99"