Indigenous Peoples

For readers of Tommy Orange's There There and Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries, Probably Ruby is an audacious, brave and beautiful book about an adopted woman's search for her Indigenous identity.

Relinquished as an infant, Ruby is placed in a foster home and finally adopted by Alice and Mel, a less-than-desirable couple who can't afford to complain too loudly about Ruby's Indigenous roots. But when her new parents' marriage falls apart, Ruby finds herself vulnerable and in compromising situations that lead her to search, in the unlikeliest of places, for her Indigenous identity.

Unabashedly self-destructing on alcohol, drugs and bad relationships, Ruby grapples with the meaning of the legacy left to her. In a series of expanding narratives, Ruby and the people connected to her tell their stories and help flesh out Ruby's history. Seeking understanding of how we come to know who we are, Probably Ruby explores how we find and invent ourselves in ways as peculiar and varied as the experiences of Indigenous adoptees themselves. Ruby's voice, her devastating honesty and tremendous laugh, will not soon be forgotten.

Probably Ruby is a perfectly crafted novel, with effortless, nearly imperceptible shifts in time and perspective, exquisitely chosen detail, natural dialogue and emotional control that results in breathtaking levels of tension and points of revelation.

Reviews
"Lisa Bird-Wilson holds all her characters with such compassion, even when they go spectacularly off-course, they remain sympathetic in this wildly electric novel. Each fragment builds a provocative mosaic, refusing easy redemption, embracing Ruby's complex, volatile emotional landscape with masterstrokes of observation and insight." —Eden Robinson, author of the Trickster Trilogy

"Brilliant. . . . Lisa is an extraordinary stylist, and this novel explores Indigenous women's lives in a way that is empowering and that doesn't follow the usual tropes of trauma and victimization. I think of her as a Michif Alice Munro." —Warren Cariou

"Soft as it is hard, Probably Ruby reminds us how displacement comes to be commonplace in the lives of some. Never before have I seen a writer represent the constellation of people impacted by this kind of fractured kinship with such righteous critique that is at once restrained and nuanced. Each member of Ruby's web of people is shaped with care, empathy, and grace—even the most unforgivable ones. Simply put, Probably Ruby is one of the very best things I’ve ever read about adoption, race, and want." —Jenny Heijun Wills, author of Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related.

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

Qummut Qukiria! celebrates art and culture within and beyond traditional Inuit and Sámi homelands in the Circumpolar Arctic — from the continuance of longstanding practices such as storytelling and skin sewing to the development of innovative new art forms such as throatboxing (a hybrid of traditional Inuit throat singing and beatboxing). In this illuminating book, curators, scholars, artists, and activists from Inuit Nunangat, Kalaallit Nunaat, Sápmi, Canada, and Scandinavia address topics as diverse as Sámi rematriation and the revival of the ládjogahpir (a Sámi woman’s headgear), the experience of bringing Inuit stone carving to a workshop for inner-city youth, and the decolonizing potential of Traditional Knowledge and its role in contemporary design and beyond.

Qummut Qukiria! showcases the thriving art and culture of the Indigenous Circumpolar peoples in the present and demonstrates its importance for the revitalization of language, social wellbeing, and cultural identity.

Educator Information
Qummut Qukiria! means "up like a bullet" in Inuktitut and is used to convey excitement and enthusiasm. It also signifies the connection to the land and nature's offerings in the Circumpolar North. 

Features over 200 images as well as essays from artists, educators, and scholars on contemporary Inuit and Sámi life and art, including filmmaking, sculpture, storytelling, and design.

Additional Information
368 pages | 9.25" x 6.75" | Hardcover

A significant moment in Canadian history is portrayed in this documentary musical about race relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Weaving hundreds of real interviews conducted with Saskatchewan residents and the court transcripts surrounding the killing of Colten Boushie and trial of Gerald Stanley, a kaleidoscopic picture is formed of the views of the incident, the province, and Indigenous people in Canada.

Reasonable Doubt—with interviews by Joel Bernbaum, music by Lancelot Knight, and dramaturgy by Yvette Nolan—provides a space to honestly talk to each other about what has happened on this land and how we can live together.

Reviews
“Verbatim theatre usually does a good job of putting the audience in the shoes of the people speaking, but Reasonable Doubt puts you in your own shoes and makes you deal with the mud splattered across them.” — Matt Olson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.37" x 8.38" | Paperback

The horrors of the Indian residential schools are by now well-known historical facts, and they have certainly found purchase in the Canadian consciousness in recent years. The history of violence and the struggles of survivors for redress resulted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which chronicled the harms inflicted by the residential schools and explored ways to address the resulting social fallouts. One of those fallouts is the crisis of Indigenous over-incarceration. While the residential school system may not be the only harmful process of colonization that fuels Indigenous over-incarceration, it is arguably the most critical factor. It is likely that the residential school system forms an important part of the background of almost every Indigenous person who ends up incarcerated, even those who did not attend the schools. The legacy of harm caused by the schools is a vivid and crucial link between Canadian colonialism and Indigenous over-incarceration. Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice provides an account of the ongoing ties between the enduring trauma caused by the residential schools and Indigenous over-incarceration.

Reviews
“David Milward provides a clear-sighted and accessible engagement with the challenge of Indigenous over-incarceration and the continuing legacy of Indian Residential Schools, using compelling examples to present a pathway for doing justice better in Canada.” — Andrew Woolford, author of The Politics of Restorative Justice and Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology University of Manitoba

“Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the Canadian criminal justice system fails Indigenous people and how Indigenous Justice can, under the right conditions, be fairer, less expensive and more effective.” — Kent Roach, Professor of Law, University of Toronto

Educator Information
Chapter 1: The Legacy of the Residential Schools

Chapter 2: Different Views of Crime
1. Theoretical Constructions of
2. Constructions of Crime and Justice Policy

Chapter 3: The Seeds of Intergenerational Trauma
1. Stories and Studies of Trauma
2. Victimized by the Residential Schools
3. Abuse All Around: School and Home
4. Subsequent Substance Abuse
5. Mental Health
6. Racism in and outside of Residential Schools
7. Loss of Culture
8. Deficient Parenting

Chapter 4: Intergenerational Trauma and Crime
1. Intergenerational Domestic Violence
2. Intergenerational Sexual Abuse
3. Poverty
4. Child Welfare
5. Substance Abuse in Later Generations
6. FASD
7. Multiple Traumas
8. At a Community Level

Chapter 5: Reconciliation So Far
1. What is Meant by Reconciliation
2. The Calls to Action and Indigenous Justice
3. Reconciliation Moving Forward

Chapter 6: The Status Quo is Not Reconciliation
1. The Settlement Agreement
2. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation
3. The Problem with Deterrence
4. Punishment as Retribution
5. Indigenous-Specific Sentencing
6. Need for More Comprehensive Resolution

Chapter 7: Preventative Programming
1. Justice Reinvestment and Long-Term Savings
2. Preventative Programming as Social Reparations
3. Indigenous-Specific Preventative Programming

Chapter 8: Arguments for Indigenous Criminal Justice
1. Comparing Indigenous Justice to Restorative Justice
2. Why We Need Alternatives to Incarceration
3. Greater Victim Inclusion
4. Encouraging the Offender to be Responsible
5. Repairing Relationships
6. More Effective Than Incarceration

Chapter 9: Arguments against Restorative Justice
1. Power Imbalances
2. Getting Off Easy
3. Doubts about Greater Efficacy
4. Divergence of Interests between the Participants
5. Not Taking Harm Seriously
6. Economic Concerns

Chapter 10: Ways Forward for Indigenous Justice
1. Procedural Protections
2. Making Indigenous Justice More Effective
3. Indigenous Justice and Offender Responsibility
4. Will No Progress Be Made?

Chapter 11: Indigenous Corrections and Parole
1. The Theory of Indigenous Healing in Prison
2. Canadian Correctional Law
3. Does It Work?
4. Lack of Resource Commitment
5. Security Classification and Parole
6. Risk Assessment and Parole
7. Indigenous Gangs and Parole

Chapter 12: Reconciliation in the Future

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

An Indigenous artist blends the aesthetics of punk rock with the traditional spiritual practices of the women in her lineage in this bold, contemporary journey to reclaim her heritage and unleash her power and voice while searching for a permanent home.

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe has always longed for a sense of home. When she was a child, her family moved around frequently, often staying in barely habitable church attics and trailers, dangerous places for young Sasha.

With little more to guide her than a passion for the thriving punk scene of the Pacific Northwest and a desire to live up to the responsibility of being the namesake of her beloved great-grandmother—a linguist who helped preserve her Indigenous language of Lushootseed—Sasha throws herself headlong into the world, determined to build a better future for herself and her people.

Set against a backdrop of the breathtaking beauty of Coast Salish ancestral land and imbued with the universal spirit of punk, Red Paint is ultimately a story of the ways we learn to find our true selves while fighting for our right to claim a place of our own.

Examining what it means to be vulnerable in love and in art, Sasha offers up an unblinking reckoning with personal traumas amplified by the collective historical traumas of colonialism and genocide that continue to haunt native peoples. Red Paint is an intersectional autobiography of lineage, resilience, and, above all, the ability to heal.

Awards

• Winner of the 2023 Pacific Northwest Book Award 

Reviews
"Red Paint is a miraculous book. Sasha LaPointe walks us through the sites of her evisceration while rebuilding a home within her body using sturdy materials: rose quartz, cedar bark, red clay, and the words of her ancestors. With each potent sentence, she shows us what access to power looks like. She shows us how to become whole.” —Elissa Washuta, author of White Magic

"As luminous as the morning sun over the fir forests, Red Paint is a story of where strength takes us. Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe goes looking to the past to help heal from terrible traumas, finding inspiration in her ancestors, the Salish people. This is a book destined to be a classic. Read it." —Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder

Additional Information
240 pages | 5.31" x 8.29" | Hardcover

A revolutionary collaboration about the world we're living in now, between two of our most important contemporary thinkers, writers and activists.

When the world entered pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, Robyn Maynard, influential author of Policing Black Lives, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, renowned artist, musician, and author of Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, began writing each other letters—a gesture sparked by a desire for kinship and connection in a world shattering under the intersecting crises of pandemic, police killings, and climate catastrophe. These letters soon grew into a powerful exchange about where we go from here.
 
Rehearsals for Living is a captivating and visionary work—part debate, part dialogue, part lively and detailed familial correspondence between two razor-sharp writers. By articulating to each other Black and Indigenous perspectives on our unprecedented here and now, and reiterating the long-disavowed histories of slavery and colonization that have brought us to this moment, Maynard and Simpson create something new: an urgent demand for a different way forward, and a poetic call to dream up other ways of ordering earthly life.

Reviews
“This book must be read for its future vocabularies, its political intimacies, its careful assemblage of the materials of our activisms, and its generous and fulsome thinking.”—Dionne Brand, poet, novelist, and essayist

“Using the age-old practice of letter writing and the land itself as a palimpsest, Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson find common ground to challenge the moral legitimacy of the settler nation state, and reinscribe new ways of what it means to be beings who are human in the forensic landscapes of Canada. In Rehearsals for Living, two women, one Indigenous, the other Black and African-descended confront their shared yet different experiences of colonialism, provide new and subversive meanings to the colonial trope of being landed, the mechanism by which the land was (un)settled. Unflinchingly, and in long-overdue and profoundly-needed “reasonings” that reverberate with shared breath, Simpson and Maynard weave their ideas, thoughts and reflections and their deep caring for community and society through the network of issues that impact us today—the pandemic and the differentials in treatment for Black and Indigenous people, the role of BLM, abolition, the necessity of Nibi and homespace for the Nishnaabeg, the joys of living on the land, and parenting in the face of ecological and racial disasters are but a few of the challenges they grapple with. Rehearsals for Living is fundamental to understanding the interlocking, founding crimes of the Americas; necessary for remembering the many erased histories of the on-going struggle for justice, and altogether indispensable to those wanting to create possible solutions.”—M. NourbeSe Philip, author of Zong!

Additional Information
336 pages | 5.46" x 8.32" | Hardcover 

Resilience is the third colouring book made up of works by Anishnaabe artist Jackie Traverse. As with her previous highly successful colouring books, Sacred Feminine and IKWE, this new book contains both drawings and paintings by Jackie. Resilience honours the Indigenous Peoples who were colonized by and endured the violence of Canada’s child stealing systems — residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and child “welfare.” Some Indigenous people survived those systems; tragically, some did not. Jackie and her art pay tribute to and celebrate the resilience of Indigenous Peoples as they rebuild their communities and lives. Grassroots grandmother Geraldine (Gramma) Shingoose provides a foreword.

Reviews
“It is with great pride that I write this piece for Jackie’s next book. Her colouring books have had great meaning in my role as a Kokum to my grandgirl as we have been able to do this beautiful work together. I grew up learning beadwork and sewing from my grandmothers, who did not speak English, who did not grow up in Residential Schools, and they gave the best of themselves to me. This is what Jackie does for everyone who finds her work. She gives the best of herself, her culture, her gifts. Jackie is a fierce protector of culture and a generous, grand teacher. Her works are gifted to us through her books, her paintings in exhibits, her gifts of skateboards to young people, her live painting auctions for fundraising for the MMIWG2S and education scholarships for Indigenous youth, and in her amazing pieces for the public such as the Coca-Cola Olympics campaign and her project at the Red River College for the Innovation Centre. I have gifted her artwork to friends and family as she captures traditional teachings in her works and the gifting feels like a fine, delicate transfer of energy — of joy, caring, love, pride. I hope that is true for all who find this book by Jackie Traverse. The gift. I say Kichi miigwetch, a big thank you to Jackie Traverse for sharing with all of us.”— Tina Keeper

“Jackie Traverse is a beautiful Indigenous woman artist, leader and friend. Through her advocacy, activism and art, she inspires, supports and contributes so much to so many. I, among countless others, value and appreciate Jackie’s continued contributions. I look forward to copies of this book joining her earlier works, as well as the many pieces of art that I have the privilege of displaying in my office and home.”— Kim Pate

Additional Information
64 pages | 10.00" x 8.00" | Paperback Colouring Book

Selected speeches from Indigenous leaders around the world--necessary wisdom for our times, nourishment for our collective, and a path away from extinction toward a sustainable, interconnected future.

Indigenous worldviews, and the knowledge they confer, are critical for human survival and the wellbeing of future generations. Editors Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) and Darcia Narvaez present 28 powerful excerpted passages from Indigenous leaders, including Mourning Dove, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Winona LaDuke, and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez. Accompanied by the editors’ own analyses, each chapter reflects the wisdom of Indigenous worldview precepts like:

• Egalitarian rule versus hierarchical governance

• A fearless trust in the universe, instead of a fear-based culture

• The life-sustaining role of ceremony

• Emphasizing generosity and the greater good instead of pursuing selfish goals and for personal gain

• The laws of nature as the highest rules for living

The editors emphasize our deep need to move away from the dominant Western paradigm--one that dictates we live without strong social purpose, fails to honor the earth as sacred, leads with the head while ignoring the heart, and places individual “rights” over collective responsibility. Restoring the Kinship Worldview is rooted in an Indigenous vision and strong social purpose that sees all life forms as sacred and sentient--that honors the wisdom of the heart, and grants equal standing to rights and responsibilities.

Inviting readers into a world-sense that expands beyond perceiving and conceiving to experiencing and being, Restoring the Kinship Worldview is a salve for our times, a nourishment for our collective, and a holistic orientation that will lead us away from extinction toward an integrated, sustainable future.

Reviews
“Humans have a particular ecological niche, a role as the custodial species of this earth. We must return our species to this niche within the next decade, or perish. This book is a perfect place to start—the foundation is good relations, making kin both human and nonhuman—and here we have story from a gathering of some of the finest Indigenous thinkers on the planet. Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez have a particular way of bringing the right people together for such purposes.” —TYSON YUNKAPORTA, author of Sand Talk, senior research fellow at Deacon University, woodcarver, and poet

“Mahalo Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez for this collection, this eloquence and grace through time so we can recognize and honor the common sense and purpose of continuity. All of it is needed now. We are all meant to wake up together.” —MANULANI ALULI MEYER, director of Indigenous education, University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu

“Darcia Narvaez and Four Arrows have gathered an inspiring pastiche of wise Native American voices woven together by their own insightful and heartfelt dialogues to gift us with an invaluable bundle of tenets and templates for the urgent project of decolonizing and rewilding our minds and communities.” —BILL PLOTKIN, PhD, author of Soulcraft, Wild Mind, and The Journey of Soul Initiation

Additional Information
336 pages | 6.00" x 8.95" | Paperback

Resurgence is an inspiring collection of contemporary Indigenous poetry, art, and narratives that guides teachers in bridging existing K–12 curricula with Indigenous voices and pedagogies. Walk with us along the footbridge which seeks to:

• connect peoples and places
• link truth and reconciliation as ongoing processes
• symbolize the risk and urgency of this work for both Indigenous and settler educators
• engage tensions
• highlight the importance of balance, both of ideas and within ourselves

Through critical engagement with the texts, experienced educators Christine M’Lot and Katya Adamov Ferguson support readers in connecting with Indigenous narratives and perspectives, bringing Indigenous works in their classrooms, and creating more equitable and sustainable teaching practices.

In this resource, you will find

• diverse Indigenous voices, perspectives, and art forms from all across Turtle Island
• valuable concepts and methods that can be applied to the classroom and beyond
• practical action steps and resources for educators, parents, librarians, and administrators

Use this book as a springboard for your own learning journey or as a lively prompt for dialogue within your professional learning community.

Reviews
"Over the past several years, calls have come from across Canada for the inclusion of Indigenous worldviews and knowledge in all levels of education in the country. Enter...Resurgence." ––Windspeaker

Educator & Series Information
For use with K-12 curricula. 

Contributors include KC Adams, Charlene Bearhead, Wilson Bearhead, Lisa Boivin, Nicola Campbell, Sara Florence Davidson, David A. Robertson, and Christina Lavalley Ruddy, and more!

Subjects / Themes: Education; Professional Development; Social Science; Indigenous Studies; Language Arts Disciplines; Study Teaching

This book is part of The Footbridge Series. This series aims to bridge curricular outcomes with Indigenous-centered content and perspectives from across Turtle Island. Like a footbridge, this series is intended to provide a path between Indigenous worldviews and the classroom, engaging differences, including tensions, and highlighting the importance of balance, all while helping teachers integrate Indigenous perspectives into multiple disciplines within the K-12 education system. 

Table of Contents
Introduction

About This Book

About The Footbridge Series

Part 1: Resistance

Beyond Being Silenced by Sara Florence Davidson

• Connections

Poetry as Cultural Expression by Rita Bouvier

• Connections

T’seka Reflection by Lucy Hemphill

• Connections

Poetry by Louise Bernice Halfe

• Connections

Part 2: Resilience

Mental Health by David A. Robertson

• Connections

Writing as a Therapeutic Medium by Wanda John-Kehewin

• Connections

Birch Bark Technology by KC Adams

• Connections

Images and Health by Lisa Boivin

• Connections

Part 3: Restoring

Stories are Resurgence by Wilson Bearhead and Charlene Bearhead

• Connections

Why am I not on Star Trek? by Sonya Ballantyne

• Connections

Indigenous Spaces by Reanna Merasty

• Connections

Games as Resurgence by Elizabeth LaPensée

• Connections

Part 4: Reconnecting

Poems by Nicola I. Campbell

• Connections

Paths of Tradition by Russell Wallace

• Connections

Let the Children Play by Victoria McIntosh

• Connections

Ethnomathematics and Beading by Christina Ruddy

• Connections

The Contributors

Additional Resources

Index

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

In the third book of her brilliant and captivating Trickster Trilogy, Eden Robinson delivers an explosive, surprising and satisfying resolution.

All Jared Martin had ever wanted was to be normal, which was already hard enough when he had to cope with Maggie, his hard-partying, gun-toting, literal witch of a mother, Indigenous teen life and his own addictions. When he wakes up naked, dangerously dehydrated and confused in the basement of his mom's old house in Kitimat, some of the people he loves--the ones who don't see the magic he attracts--just think he fell off the wagon after a tough year of sobriety. The truth for Jared is so much worse.

He finally knows for sure that he is the only one of his bio dad Wee'git's 535 children who is a Trickster too, a shapeshifter with a free pass to other dimensions. Sarah, his ex, is happy he's a magical being, but everyone else he loves is either pissed with him, or in mortal danger from the dark forces he's accidentally unleashed, or both. The scariest of those dark forces is his Aunt Georgina, a maniacal ogress hungry for his power, who has sent her posse of flesh-eating coy-wolves to track him down.

Even though his mother resents like hell that Jared has taken after his dad, she is also determined that no one is going to hurt her son. For Maggie it's simple--Kill or be killed, bucko. Soon Jared is at the centre of an all-out war--a horrifying place to be for the universe's sweetest Trickster, whose first instinct is not mischief and mind games but to make the world a kinder, safer, place.

Educator & Series Information
This is the third book in Eden Robinson's Trickster Trilogy. 

Additional Information
320 pages | 5.18" x 7.99" | Paperback

This book for students examines a child welfare policy in Canada that began in 1951 in which Indigenous children were taken from their homes and put into the care of non-Indigenous families. These children grew up without their birth families, cultural roots and language. Many tried to run away and some died in the attempt. The taking of the children became known as the Sixties Scoop. The term “Sixties Scoop” makes explicit reference to the 1960s, but the policies and practices started before the 1960s and lasted long after. Today, Indigenous children are over-represented in the Child Welfare System across Canada in shocking numbers.

Indigenous communities got organized and fought back for their children. In 1985, the Kimelman Report was released, condemning the practice of adopting Indigenous children into non-Indigenous families and for taking so many children out of their communities.

In the 1990s, lawsuits were filed against the governments who had supported taking the children. In 2018 and 2019, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba apologized for their roles in supporting the adoption programs. In 2020, the Canadian government agreed to a settlement for survivors of the Scoop.

Through hundreds of photos and primary documents, readers will meet many survivors of the Scoop. They’ll also learn how Indigenous communities fought back to save their children and won, and how Indigenous communities across Canada are working towards healing today.

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: La rafle des années 1960: et enfance volée aux jeunes Autochtones.

Additional Information
104 pages | 9.01" x 11.02" | 300 Photographs | Hardcover 

A powerful, often funny, always inspiring memoir from a beloved comedian, professional orator, actor, entertainer, gone all too soon.

Candy Palmater loved to connect with people. She lived for the stage, her effervescent presence on television and radio ignited and inspired audiences, touching them with her warm, often spicy humour as well as her positive message about love and kindness. And she always believed that it is never too late to pursue our dreams and that we should never allow others to negatively influence our life’s desires.

Candy described herself as a queer Mi’kmaw lawyer-turned-comic raised by bikers in rural New Brunswick and on the surface, she met with enormous success – on leaving government and the practice of law, she started a career as a stand-up comedian, which led to starring in five successful seasons of her own national TV show, hosting many radio shows and co-guest hosting CTV’s The Social, and landing a recurring role on a hot new sitcom in her fifties. But she is the first to tell you she made all kinds of mistakes and experienced all kinds of failure along the way. Running Down a Dream is Candy’s story, in her own words, of the highs, the lows, the moments of doubt, the turning points when she listened to her gut and tuned out all the people saying no. It’s also a tribute to her family and the love that always bolstered her, despite their own hard times. She shares her stories to inspire us to embrace our failures and to believe in ourselves. And most importantly, Running Down a Dream is a call to love ourselves for who we are.

The world lost Candy in late 2021, and yet she left us with this gift -- a memoir and a message that will inspire us for years to come.

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

A beautiful and moving collection of poems and stories from the author of the #1 bestselling memoir From the Ashes.

Fans of Jesse Thistle’s extraordinary debut From the Ashes have already had the pleasure of reading his poetry, which is sprinkled throughout this bestselling memoir. In Scars and Stars, he digs deeper into the poetic form, which is especially close to his heart.

Charting his own history, the stories of people from his past, the burning intensity of new and unexpected love, the complex legacies of family and community, and the beauty of parenthood, this collection is a profound mediation that expands his engagement with the ideas and experiences that have shaped his body of work thus far.

Throughout the collection, prose pieces complement the poems, and to bring readers into Jesse’s life with greater intimacy than ever before. The result is an unforgettable furthering of his singular story, one that is sure to delight his many readers, but also serve as a perfect entry point for those new to the work of one of our most thrilling and honest writers.

Additional Information
184 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" | Hardcover

Scratching River braids the voices of mother, brother, sister, ancestor, and river to create a story about environmental, personal, and collective healing.

This memoir revolves around a search for home for the author’s older brother, who is both autistic and schizophrenic, and an unexpected emotional journey that led to acceptance, understanding and, ultimately, reconciliation. Michelle Porter brings together the oral history of a Métis ancestor, studies of river morphology, and news clippings about abuse her older brother endured at a rural Alberta group home to tell a tale about love, survival, and hope. This book is a voice in your ear, urging you to explore your own braided histories and relationships.

Reviews
"Michelle Porter’s Scratching River is a stunning and ruminative poetic work of creative non-fiction that moves across time, geography, Métis history, and kinship. Porter honours her Métis family and ancestors through past, present, and future poetics. The interwoven narratives wrap around Porter’s mother, Porter’s own story as a daughter and sister, and her relationship with her older brother, who was diagnosed as schizophrenic and autistic, and abused in a rural Alberta group home. Scratching River illustrates the powerful journey of reconciliation, as Porter’s family reconnects amongst their ongoing movement, and relocation to find their way back to the river they share." — "Shannon Webb-Campbell, author of Lunar Tides and I Am a Body of Land"

Additional Information
184 pages | 5.25" x 8.00" | Paperback

Serpent River Resurgence tells the story of how the Serpent River Anishinaabek confronted the persistent forces of settler colonialism and the effects of uranium mining at Elliot Lake, Ontario. Drawing on extensive archival sources, oral histories, and newspaper articles, Lianne C. Leddy examines the environmental and political power relationships that affected her homeland in the Cold War period.

Focusing on Indigenous-settler relations, the environmental and health consequences of the uranium industry, and the importance of traditional uses of land and what happens when they are compromised, Serpent River Resurgence explores how settler colonialism and Anishinaabe resistance remained potent forces in Indigenous communities throughout the second half of the twentieth century.

Reviews
"Lianne C. Leddy’s book Serpent River Resurgence is a welcome addition to the conversation on mining and development in and around the Elliot Lake area. This is a must-read for any person wanting to engage in reconciliation and to understand that First Nations people have been on the frontlines of resource development and have suffered the consequences. This is a timely message for all in the era of reconciliation, and a reminder that First Nations communities have not always been properly consulted or made aware of the consequences, and have been at the whim of the Federal government. We must be reminded of our past relationships, and how we got to this point, and we need to hear the truth. This book brings to light some of the truths; it is a welcome addition to the conversation on reconciliation."— Chief Brent (Nodini’inini) Bissaillion, Chief of the Serpent River First Nation

"For anyone seeking to understand twentieth-century colonialism in Canada, this book offers a compelling on-the-ground story of resource extraction in Anishinaabek homelands. Lianne C. Leddy has done a superb job of tying together uranium demands for American weapons of war, mining boomtown development, and the rich history and culture of the Serpent River people. It is an antidote to settler narratives of progress and a vision of resilient people, land, and future."— Kim Anderson, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Relationships and Associate Professor of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph

"Serpent River Resurgence is a powerful community-based history of resilience and reclamation. Filling a critical gap in Indigenous history, Lianne C. Leddy demonstrates the impact of the global dynamics of settler colonialism during the Cold War while centring an impressive story of Indigenous resurgence."— Allan Downey, Nak'azdli Whut’en First Nation and Associate Professor of History and Indigenous Studies, McMaster University

"Of bicultural parentage, Leddy situates herself within this story as a member of both sides – Anishinaabe and Canadian. As an Indigenous environmental historian, Leddy explicates the enduring structures of settler colonialism, demonstrating that they are still in force today. To identify those structures, she adroitly deploys the words of her elders, countering their historic exclusion by inserting storytelling into her analysis, while critically approaching and analyzing bureaucratic reports and newspaper articles. A welcome and timely piece of scholarship."— Alan Ojiig Corbiere, Bne Doodem, Canada Research Chair, Indigenous History of North America, York University

"A brilliant analysis of uranium mining in Ontario which centres the lived experiences of Indigenous communities, particularly the Serpent River First Nation. Leddy explores deep-rooted Anishinaabe connections to a particular place, situating these conflicts within global processes of Cold War colonialism. Leddy argues that stories have been the foundation of Indigenous resurgence, and the stories she tells are compelling indeed."— Nancy Langston, Distinguished Professor of Environmental History, Michigan Technological University

Educator Information
Subjects: History / History of Science & Technology; History / Indigenous History; Indigenous Studies / Indigenous History; History / Canadian History; Environmental Studies

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Serpent River Anishinaabek before 1950

2. Carving a “Jewel in the Wilderness”: The Establishment of Elliot Lake

3. “It took all the trees”: The Cutler Acid Plant and Its Toxic Legacy

4. “We weren’t supposed to use that water at all!”: Uranium Mining and the
Serpent River

5. “Oooh yes, we all went up to Elliot to protest”: Resilience and Resistance at
Serpent River First Nation

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

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