First Nations

This lavishly-illustrated book tells a story through words and images that has never before been told, not in any single book. The focus is entirely on the Mi'kmaq of the Island, an island which for thousands of years has been known to the Mi'kmaq and their ancestors as Epekwitk. That name means "cradle on the sea" and no more poetic description of PEI has ever been penned. The story of the PEI Mi'kmaq is one of adaptation and perseverance across countless generations in the face of pervasive change. Today's environment is far from what it was millennia ago. So too, the economy, society, lifestyle, language and religion of the people has witnessed some dramatic shifts. Nonetheless, despite all the changes, today's Mi'kmaq feel deeply connected to the Island in its entirety and to their ancestors and the values they still share. This book tells those many stories, and communicates much more. While the book is a stand-alone publication, it is also a companion to a travelling exhibition of the same name.

- Winner of APMA Best Atlantic-Published Book Award
- Winner of PEI Book Award for Non-fiction

Growing up on the Six Nations native reserve, Salt Baby never quite fit in, as a “white” looking “Indian” — fair skin and curly hair made her more of a Shirley Temple type than a Pocahontas type. Salt Baby navigates the native reserve and the city while explaining herself, as well as her blood quantrum, to the world and to “Alligator”: “It’s always different for Indians.”

Reviews
“This hilarious and moving play explores the experience of being invisibly ethnic and raises questions about how we expect Aboriginal people to look.” —Toronto Arts Online

Additional Information
74 pages | 5.40" x 8.40"

In this adventurous novel—set in the ancient Arctic, but narrated for modern readers by an inquisitive and entertaining contemporary narrator—a young, wandering Inuit hunter named Kannujaq happens upon a camp in grave peril. The inhabitants of the camp are Tunit, a race of ancient Inuit ancestors known for their shyness and meekness. The tranquility of this Tunit camp has been shaken by a group of murderous, pale, bearded strangers who have arrived on a huge boat shaped like a loon.

Unbeknownst to Kannujaq, he has stumbled upon a battle between the Tunit and a group of Viking warriors!

As the camp prepares to defend itself against the approaching newcomers, Kannujaq and a Tunit shaman boy named Siku discover that the Vikings may have motivations other than murder and warfare at the heart of their quest.

This lush historical fiction is steeped in Inuit traditional knowledge and concepts of ancient Inuit magic. The unique time and place brought to life in this exciting novel will delight young fans of historical and fantastical fiction alike.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

Additional Information
120 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

The Gift Is in the Making retells previously published Anishinaabeg stories, bringing to life Anishinaabeg values and teachings to a new generation. Readers are immersed in a world where all genders are respected, the tiniest being has influence in the world, and unconditional love binds families and communities to each other and to their homeland. Sprinkled with gentle humour and the Anishinaabe language, this collection of stories speaks to children and adults alike, and reminds us of the timelessness of stories that touch the heart.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of The Debwe Series.

Recommended for grades 5 to 9.

Additional Information
99 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

For the first time in history, the Blackfoot people share their culture, beliefs and traditions with the rest of the world.

In an innovative partnership with the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, a team of elders and spiritual leaders from the Blackfoot community agreed to share their history, traditions and artifacts in an effort to document their lives. The Story of the Blackfoot People: Nitsitapiisinni is the first piece of permanent documentation written by the leaders of the Blackfoot community about their lives both past and present.

This book chronicles all the important aspects of Blackfoot life and history. The book begins by exploring the fundamental belief systems of the Blackfoot including their traditional stories, sacred places, dances and ceremonies. Strong relationships are recognized by the Blackfoot as one of the most important keys to survival and the roles of men, women, children and elders, and their sacred connection to nature and their environment, are examined in detail. Less harmonious relationships are also candidly explored including relations between the Blackfoot people and the governments of the United States and Canada. In its moving conclusion, the Blackfoot community discusses the importance of uniting ancient traditions with modern challenges in order for their legacy to survive.

Revealing the enduring strength and fortitude of spirit of the Blackfoot people, this book will have meaning for both native and non-native readers alike.

Authenticity Note: This work is labelled as containing Authentic Indigenous Text because of the contributions from elders and other Indigenous peoples.

In a post-apocalyptic world, Bern and Elena are exiled from their village. Their crime? The two women are no longer of child-bearing age.

Forced to rely upon traditional wisdom for their survival, Elena and Bern retreat from the remains of civilization to a freezing, desolate landscape where they attempt to continue their lives after the end of the world. When a charismatic stranger from the village arrives seeking their aid, the women must decide whether they will use their knowledge of the past to give the society that rejected them the chance at a future.

Additional Information
80 pages | 5.36" x 8.39"

Like thousands of Aboriginal children in Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu'll chief Bev Sellars spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school.

These institutions endeavored to "civilize" Native children through Christian teachings; forced separation from family, language, and culture; and strict discipline. Perhaps the most symbolically potent strategy used to alienate residential school children was addressing them by assigned numbers only-not by the names with which they knew and understood themselves.

In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school's lasting effects on her and her family-from substance abuse to suicide attempts-and eloquently articulates her own path to healing. 'Number One' comes at a time of recognition-by governments and society at large-that only through knowing the truth about these past injustices can we begin to redress them.

Awards

• 2014 Burt Award Third Place Winner

Educator Information
Grades 10-12 BC English First Peoples resource for the unit Place-Conscious Learning - Exploring Text through Local Landscape.

Additional Information
256 pages | 5.67" x 8.20"

Reading Level: 4.5

“Get on the phone and call them all to a meeting for next Saturday afternoon,” Danny Wind said to his friend Crow. “We’re going to rescue us some buffalo.” He could hardly believe what he was saying. “But don’t tell anyone else. It’s our little secret for now.”

After two years, middle-school student Danny Wind is still not over his father’s death. When his mom marries a white man and they move to a new “white bread” neighborhood, Danny’s life changes for the worse. The school principal considers him a troublemaker, and he has to avoid Willy, the school bully, who calls him “redskin” and “Tonto.” After he acts out and gets suspended from school, Danny’s mom decides to send him to a summer survival camp for American Indian teens on the reservation where his father grew up.

Discover what happens when Danny gets involved in a secret plan to rescue bison from Yellowstone National Park and discovers something important about himself in the process.

Reviews
“It was an honor to read and review the reluctant reader book Thunder on the Plains, the first teen novel in the PathFinders books featuring Native American teen characters and situations. It is very refreshing to finally give our Native American children an opportunity to read stories they can relate to. The book contains characters that are appealing, convincing and complex. Recommended for teens that like books with depth, history and Native American culture. This is a well-written book with characters that are culturally appropriate and accurate.” —Kathleen Marshall (Chumash)

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the PathFinders series.

The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features:

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.

Recommended ages: 12-16

Additional Information
128 pages | 4.30" x 6.90"

There were machines beside my bed. They were beeping and making weird noises. I had a headache and a side ache and an arm ache. But I couldn’t feel my left leg.
Slowly I looked around the room. There was Mom asleep in a chair next to the bed.
“Mom? Mom, what happened?” She woke up and looked at me.
“Oh, Jason. I’m so glad you’re awake. Don’t try to talk. I’ll call the doctor to come check you.”
“What happened to me?”
“Don’t you remember? You were in a terrible car wreck. Two days ago.” As Mom left to find the doctor, the images of the accident flooded back into my mind.

After a bad car accident, Jason is left with one paralyzed leg. He’s lucky to have survived, but he’s not sure he can handle life confined to a wheelchair. Even when he was protecting his mom and siblings from his drunken father, or escaping from home to be with his friends, he never imagined having to deal with anything like this.
Now Jason sees himself only as someone who will always be paralyzed, but when he becomes part of the Raven Canoe Family and learns to “pull” a canoe, his outlook on life begins to change.

Educator & Series Information
Reading Level: 4.5

This book is part of the PathFinders series.

The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features: 

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.

Recommended ages: 12-16

Additional Information

First Nations are the fastest growing population in the country. There are thousands upon thousands of young First Nations people growing up today who, together with the kind of individuals whose stories are told in this book, represent a future for this country that is brighter than it has been for a long, long time.--from the foreword by Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations

Since 2004, journalist Katherine Palmer Gordon has interviewed dozens of young First Nations people living in British Columbia--artists and community leaders, comedians and consultants, musicians and lawyers, people who are household names and those known only within their own communities. We Are Born with the Songs Inside Us collects sixteen candid stories gleaned from those interviews, stories of people who share an unshakeable belief in the importance of their cultural heritage to their well-being, to their success at what they do, and to their everyday lives.

Included are Kim Baird, former chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation; Lisa Webster-Gibson, spoken word artist and rock-and-roll drummer with Delaware-Mohawk and Scottish-Canadian heritage who lives and works on Gabriola Island as an Environmental Assessment Professional; and John Marston (Qap'u'luq), an artist and storyteller from the Chemainus First Nation who learned to carve from his father. "What I put into each piece," he says, in his interview with Gordon, "is 100 percent me."

Shattering stereotypes, We Are Born with the Songs Inside Us gathers the thoughts and hopes of young native people living in twenty-first century Canada. Each has a compelling, meaningful story that deserves to be told, understood and, above all, celebrated.

Authenticity Note: The author of this book is not Indigenous; however, those who contributed the stories for the book are Indigenous.  It is up to readers to determine if this will work as an authentic text for their purposes.

Xwelqwiya is the life story of Rena Point Bolton, a St:lo (or, as they are now called, Xwlmexw) matriarch, artist, and craftswoman. Proceeding by way of conversational vignettes, the beginning chapters recount Point Bolton? early years on the banks of the Fraser River during the Depression. While at the time the St:lo, or Xwlmexw, as they call themselves today, kept secret their ways of life to avoid persecution by the Canadian government, Point Bolton's mother and grandmother schooled her in the skills needed for living from what the land provides, as well as in the craftwork and songs of her people, passing on a duty to keep these practices alive. Point Bolton was taken to a residential school for the next several years and would go on to marry and raise ten children, but her childhood training ultimately set the stage for her roles as a teacher and activist. Recognizing the urgent need to forge a sense of cultural continuity among the younger members of her community, Point Bolton visited many communities and worked with federal, provincial, and First Nations politicians to help break the intercultural silence by reviving knowledge of and interest in Aboriginal art. She did so with the deft and heartfelt use of both her voice and her hands.

Over the course of many years, Daly collaborated with Point Bolton to pen her story. At once a memoir, an oral history, and an "insider" ethnography directed and presented by the subject herself, the result attests both to Daly's relationship with the family and to Point Bolton's desire to inspire others to use traditional knowledge and experience to build their own distinctive, successful, and creative lives.

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis music in Canada is dynamic and diverse, reflecting continuities with earlier traditions and innovative approaches to creating new musical sounds. Aboriginal Music in Contemporary Canada narrates a story of resistance and renewal, struggle and success, as indigenous musicians in Canada negotiate who they are and who they want to be. Comprised of essays, interviews, and personal reflections by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal musicians and scholars alike, the collection highlights themes of innovation, teaching and transmission, and cultural interaction. Individual chapters discuss musical genres ranging from popular styles including country and pop to nation-specific and intertribal practices such as powwows, as well as hybrid performances that incorporate music with theatre and dance. As a whole, this collection demonstrates how music is a powerful tool for articulating the social challenges faced by Aboriginal communities and an effective way to affirm indigenous strength and pride. Juxtaposing scholarly study with artistic practice, Aboriginal Music in Contemporary Canada celebrates and critically engages Canada's vibrant Aboriginal music scene. Contributors include Véronique Audet (Université de Montreal), Columpa C. Bobb (Tsleil Waututh and Nlaka'pamux, Manitoba Theatre for Young People), Sadie Buck (Haudenosaunee), Annette Chrétien (Métis), Marie Clements (Métis/Dene), Walter Denny Jr. (Mi'kmaw), Gabriel Desrosiers (Ojibwa, University of Minnesota, Morris), Beverley Diamond (Memorial University), Jimmy Dick (Cree), Byron Dueck (Royal Northern College of Music), Klisala Harrison (University of Helsinki), Donna Lariviere (Algonquin), Charity Marsh (University of Regina), Sophie Merasty (Dene and Cree), Garry Oker (Dane-zaa), Marcia Ostashewski (Cape Breton University), Mary Piercey (Memorial University), Amber Ridington (Memorial University), Dylan Robinson (Stó:lo, University of Toronto), Christopher Scales (Michigan State University), Gilles Sioui (Wendat), Gordon E. Smith (Queen's University), Beverly Souliere (Algonquin), Janice Esther Tulk (Memorial University), Florent Vollant (Innu) and Russell Wallace (Lil'wat).

Additional Information
520 pages | 6.14" x 9.25"

Authenticity Note: While the editors of this book are not Indigenous, the majority of contributors are Indigenous; therefore, this book has received the Authentic Indigenous Text label.

Gordon Winter is an RCMP hero, a life-long champion of First Nations rights, and a bigot. He's challenging the next generation of chiefs to stand up to the federal government when he spews a Nazi-inspired racist and homophobic rant. Suddenly, one of the most revered First Nations leaders is now one of the most reviled human beings in Canada. While most want to consign Winter to the dustbin of history, some are quick to defend a man who did so much good in his life. Questions get asked: how should society respond to such outrageous comments from a prominent and public figure? Is it right to condemn a man based on just one moment of his life? Where did these convictions come from?

The play moves forward in following Winter as he fights the criminal charge of inciting hate. It also moves backwards to show why Queen Elizabeth II pinned a medal of bravery onto his chest in the 70s, and to a critical moment in his childhood when the seeds of hate were planted by a small act of kindness.

This anthology of Aboriginal writings from Manitoba takes readers back through the millennia and forward to the present day, painting a dynamic picture of a territory interconnected through words, ideas, and experiences. A rich collection of stories, poetry, nonfiction, and speeches, it features:
- Historical writings, from important figures.
- Vibrant literary writing by eminent Aboriginal writers.
- Nonfiction and political writing from contemporary Aboriginal leaders.
- Local storytellers and keepers of knowledge from far-reaching Manitoba communities.
- New, vibrant voices that express the modern Aboriginal experiences.
- Anishinaabe, Cree, Dene, Inuit, Métis, and Sioux writers from Manitoba.

Educator & Series Information
Created in the spirit of the Anishinaabe concept debwe (to speak the truth), The Debwe Series is a collection of exceptional Aboriginal writing from across Canada. Manitowapow, a one-of-a-kind anthology, is the first book in The Debwe Series. Manitowapow is the traditional name that became Manitoba, a word that describes the sounds of beauty and power that created the province.

Recommended for grades 11 and 12, university students, and adults.

Additional Information
416 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

The 1999 Nisga'a agreement covering part of NW British Columbia was truly the first postcolonial land claims settlement in Canada, the author argues. The book analyzes the impact the agreement has on federal/provincial/First Nations relations and in a concise manner examines the major terms of the agreement. She notes that the agreement marks a major departure from previous agreements with First Nations and outlines the opposition, including two court challenges, mounted against the agreement.