Canadian Indigenous Resource Lists

Unlike most books that chronicle the history of Native peoples beginning with the arrival of Europeans in 1492, this book goes back to the Ice Age to give young readers a glimpse of what life was like pre-contact. The title, Turtle Island, refers to an Indigenous story that explains how North and Central America were formed on the back of a turtle. Based on archeological finds and scientific research, we now have a clearer picture of how the Indigenous people lived. Using that knowledge, the authors take the reader back as far as 14,000 years ago to imagine moments in time. A wide variety of topics are featured, from the animals that came and disappeared over time, to what people ate, how they expressed themselves through art, and how they adapted to their surroundings. The importance of story-telling among the Native peoples is always present to shed light on how they explained their world. The end of the book takes us to modern times when the story of the Native peoples is both tragic and hopeful.

Educator Information
The Canadian Indigenous Books for School list recommends this resource for Grades 6-9 for Social Studies.  It is also listed as a Teacher Resource.

Recommended for ages 11+ 

Additional Information
116 pages | 7.50" x 9.30" | Paperback

This contemporary story is told through the voice of a 12-year-old Kwakwaka’wakw girl named Gana, who lives in ‘Yalis (Alert Bay, BC). From the time she is little, Gana attends Potlatches and ceremonies in the Bighouse. The regalia she wears—a button blanket, dancing apron and masks—were designed and made for her based on her family origins or clans. The ancient cultural teachings she learns in the Bighouse are useful to Gana in her everyday life and continue to have value in the 21st century.

• Full colour illustrations showing aboriginal masks and regalia in context
• Contains some Kwak’wala words with meaning and pronunciation guides
• 11” x 8.5” soft cover, 96 pages

Nella Cook Nelson, originally from the N’amgis Nation, was born and raised in Alert Bay, B.C. It wasn’t until Nella was in grade 4 that integration occurred and aboriginal students were allowed to attend the public schools. When she was 12-years-old, the first Bighouse since the anti-potlatch law had been lifted was built in Alert Bay.
Nella attended both Camosun College and the University of Victoria. When she started teaching in public schools in 1979, aboriginal content didn’t exist. After 11 years teaching, she has coordinated the Victoria School District’s Aboriginal Nations Education Division for 27 years. She serves on Provincial, college, university, community boards and advisory committees to improve aboriginal health, safety and education.
Nella has recieved the Queen’s 125 Commemorative Medal, YM/YWCA Women of Distinction, Camosun’s Distinguished Alumni, and Excellence in Cultural Heritage & Diversity Awards.

Nalvana feels like all of her friends have some type of superpower. She has friends with super speed (who always beat her in races), friends with super strength (who can dangle from the monkey bars for hours), and friends who are better than her at a million other things.

Nalvana thinks she must be the only kid in town without a superpower.

But then her mom shows Nalvana that she is unique and special—and that her superpower was right in front of her all along.

Awards
- 2017 Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens

Reviews
“. . . [W]ell-written, [and] heart-warming . . .” — Quill & Quire

“Nalvana is a bundle of creativity, spunk, and determination—readers will be happy to know her.” — Kirkus

“. . . [A] very sweet story that encourages children to rethink how they evaluate success . . .” — The Book Wars

“. . . Nalvana’s superpower is not one of the athletic or other overt skills that are normally so admired in our current society . . ., Aviaq Johnston has made her story one of inclusivity, not exclusivity.” — CanLit for Little Canadians

“. . . [A] book kids will clamor to read, even as they learn terms like ‘anaana’, ‘inuksuk’, and ‘panik’. That’s its superpower.” — School Library Journal

Educator Information
An Inuktitut Glossary consisting of four words is included at the back of the book.

Recommended ages: 3-5

This book has been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. Its F&P level is L.

This book is available in a revised board book edition: What's My Superpower? (BB) 

Additional Information
36 pages | 8.75" x 8.75"

A bear sleeping safely in her den, Kohkom telling a story by the fire, the trees crackling with cold—we are all connected to the seasons and the cycle of nature. The calming rhythm of the words echoes the rhythm of the land in this timeless picture book about the moon calendar of the northern Cree, and its warmly rendered watercolour illustrations bring Saskatchewan’s north to life.

When the Trees Crackle with Cold is written in English and the northern Plains Cree y-dialect, inviting Cree and non-Cree speakers alike to explore the traditional moon calendar.

Educator Information
Recommended Grades/Subjects: K-5: English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies.

Written in English and northern Plains Cree y-dialect.

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 9.00"

"A bunch of Wild women once wandered this land and thought that their dinners had gotten too bland. They set out in search of fine foods they could get and ate up the sounds of the whole alphabet."

This quirky ABC book for older children and adults has Indigenous themes and unusual collaged illustrations. Each letter of the alphabet presents a short story designed to cover teaching objectives ranging from letter recognition, letter sounds, rhyming, word families, vocabulary, consonant blending, contractions, compound words and more.

Educator Information
Recommended for Grades K-7 for these subject areas: Art Education, English Language Arts.

Additional Information
72 pages | 8.50" x 11.00"

Encourage children to show love and support for each other and to consider each other’s well-being in their everyday actions.

Consultant, international speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote You Hold Me Up to prompt a dialogue among young people, their care providers and educators about reconciliation and the importance of the connections children make with their friends, classmates and families. This is a foundational book about building relationships, fostering empathy and encouraging respect between peers, starting with our littlest citizens.

Reviews
"Smith's text is heartwarming! And the illustrations, by Danielle Daniel, reflect Native people in the present day. Like My Heart Fills with Happiness, this new book by Smith is one that parents, grandparents, pre-school and elementary teachers, and librarians, will want to have on their shelves." — Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature

"People of all ages can find something of value within the pages of Monique Gray Smith and Danielle Daniel's book…Smith has Cree and Lakota ancestry, while Daniel is Métis. With this book, they become quiet and understated—yet powerful—voices in an age of reconciliation. You Hold Me Up is simple, yet beautiful, subtle but thought-provoking. It contains critical messages about love, unity, and support. Through carefully chosen words and strong, colourful are, the book presents an important reminder to readers to sustain and support one another. Highly Recommended." — CM Magazine

"Perfect for a shared storytime as well as a lap-sit reading session, the actions of each person emphasize community, togetherness, and mutual respect. While sharing is a universal concept, Daniel's illustrations bring specificity to the narrative…Just as in Smith's board book My Heart Fills with Happiness, readers will joyfully make connections between their own communities and the indigenous one depicted here." — IndiePicks Magazine

"You Hold Me Up is a rhythmic story that reinforces for young readers about reconciliation and the importance of the connections children make with others. The story aims to encourage children to build relationships, foster empathy and encourage respect between peers while considering each other’s well-being in their everyday actions." — The Dalai Lama Center 

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5.

This book is available in English and Plains Cree: You Hold Me Up / ê-ohpinitoyahk

This book is available in English and Anishinaabemowin: You Hold Me Up / Gimanaadenim 

This book is also available in French: Tu es là pour moi

This book is available in a board book format for younger audiences: You Hold Me Up (BB)

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 9.00"

When Akilak must travel a great distance to another camp to gather food, she thinks she will never be able to make it. With a little help from her grandmother’s spirit, and her own imagination to keep her entertained, Akilak manages to turn a long journey into an adventure. Even though she at first feels that she will never be able to reach her destination, she keeps her grandmother’s assurance that her “destination is not running away; it will be reached eventually” in mind and ends up enjoying the journey that at first seemed so daunting.

Reviews

“Akilak’s Adventure is a worthy addition to school and public library collections.” — CM Magazine

“An engaging and recommended read-aloud for all collections.” — School Library Journal

“Akilak’s Adventure has timeless teachings about responsibility and the importance of imagination to make it a worthwhile read now and always.” — CanLit for Little Canadians

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 7.00"

Dragonfly Kites is the third book in Tomson Highway's magical Songs of the North Wind trilogy. Like Fox on the Ice and Caribou Song, it has a bilingual text, written in English and Cree. And once again Tomson Highway brilliantly evokes the very essence of childhood as he weaves a deceptively simple story about the power of the imagination.

Joe and Cody, two young Cree brothers, along with their parents and their little dog Ootsie, are spending the summer by one of the hundreds of lakes in northern Manitoba. Summer means a chance to explore the world and make friends with an array of creatures, But what Joe and Cody like doing best of all is flying dragonfly kites. They catch dragonflies and gently tie a length of thread around the middle of each dragonfly before letting it go. Off soar the dragonflies into the summer sky and off race the brothers and Ootsie too, chasing after their dragonfly kites through trees and meadows and down to the beach before watching them disappear into the night sky. But in their dreams, Joe and Cody soar through the skies with their kites until it's time to wake up.

Reviews
"Unlike most fiction, Dragonfly Kites does not follow a standard plot line. Like the dragonfly kites that the boys follow, the plot simply glides along until the boys wake up from their dream. This is appropriate due to the significance the illustrations play in this picture book, as well as the age of the intended audience. Readers are not overwhelmed by the storyline and are free to appreciate the accompanying illustrations. The illustrations in Dragonfly Kites act as an extension of the story. The pictures in the book are colourful, beautiful, and have an austere, stark quality. This is consistent with other works produced by award-winning illustrator Julie Flett. This style suits the story as, aside from the nature that surrounds around them, Joe and Cody are depicted as being by themselves. While they live with the parents, their adventures occur when their parents are fishing without them. The full-page illustrations demonstrate the vast space that surrounds the boys." — CM Magazine

"At once a celebration of heritage, the wilderness, and imagination, this book is a breath of fresh northern air." — Kirkus Reviews

Educator & Series Information
This is the third book in the Songs of the North Wind series, a dual-language (English and Cree) series about two young Cree boys.

This book is available in French/Cree: Les libellules cerfs-volant/Pimithaagansa 

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.26" x 10.70"

"Life sometimes is hard. There are challenges. There are difficulties. There is pain. As a younger man I sought to avoid them and only ever caused myself more of the same. These days I choose to face life head on--and I have become a comet. I arc across the sky of my life and the harder times are the friction that lets the worn and tired bits drop away. It's a good way to travel; eventually, I will wear away all resistance until all there is left of me is light. I can live towards that end." - Richard Wagamese, Embers

In this carefully curated selection of everyday reflections, Richard Wagamese finds lessons in both the mundane and sublime as he muses on the universe, drawing inspiration from working in the bush--sawing and cutting and stacking wood for winter as well as the smudge ceremony to bring him closer to the Creator. Embers is perhaps Richard Wagamese's most personal volume to date. Honest, evocative and articulate, he explores the various manifestations of grief, joy, recovery, beauty, gratitude, physicality and spirituality--concepts many find hard to express. But for Wagamese, spirituality is multifaceted. Within these pages, readers will find hard-won and concrete wisdom on how to feel the joy in the everyday things. Wagamese does not seek to be a teacher or guru, but these observations made along his own journey to become, as he says, "a spiritual bad-ass," make inspiring reading.

Additional Information
140 pages | 6.00" x 8.00"

When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her. When she goes home for summer holidays, Irene's parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But where will they hide? And what will happen when her parents disobey the law? Based on the life of co-author Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, I Am Not a Number is a hugely necessary book that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to.

Awards

• 2018 Red Cedar Award for Information Book Winner
• 2018 Hackmatack Award Winner

Reviews
"Residential and boarding school stories are hard to read, but they're vitally important... books like I Am Not a Number should be taught in schools in Canada, and the U.S., too."— Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature

"It’s important to teach children about true Canadian history, but it’s not easy to talk about it in a way that children will understand. I Am Not a Number is perfect to get the conversation about residential schools started with your children. It opens the door for them to ask questions about the subject and the story is relatable in a way they can follow."— Residential School Magazine

"[A] powerful teaching tool that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to. It is written in simple language and told in a way that will stimulate conversations about residential schools and the traumatic effects they have had on generations of First Nation families and communities. ... beautifully illustrated by Gillian Newland. She captures the somber mood of the school, the anguish of the children, the severity of the nuns and the desperation of the family. Students can easily empathize with Irene and her brothers as well as their parents as they try to imagine how they would feel or act in a similar situation." — Alberta Native News, December 2016

"Endless cross-curricular connections can be made using this story. But the most powerful aspect of this book is that it will open a dialogue, one that Justice Murray Sinclair spoke of as head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a dialogue that needs to take place for reconciliation to happen." — ETFO Voice

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 7-11
Guided Reading: V

This resource is also available in a dual-language format (English and Nishnaabemwin (Ojibwe) Nbisiing dialect): Gaawin Gindaaswin Ndaawsii / I Am Not A Number.

This resource is also available in French: Je ne suis pas un numero

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.50" x 11.00"

A boy patiently listens to his mother's reasons for not making bannock-all the result of a beaver's need to make a dam.

Includes a bannock recipe!

Reviews
"I Can't Have Bannock But the Beaver Has a Dam is written in prose. It begins with a little boy asking his mother if he can have some bannock. She says no and tells him why. As for all little boys, mother's answer only offers material for another question. So the book's story is built on this question-answer exchange between the two. Each time the mother answers, she gives all of the information in the previous answer plus a new piece of information, so we see the picture expanding for the boy. The book would be a good teaching tool for the elementary teacher, especially for those in native and northern communities where bannock and power failures are a part of everyday life. It is recommended for all elementary school libraries." - Sharon A. McLennan McCue, CM Magazine

Educator Information
Recommended Grades: K-3

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 11.00" | New Edition

I Know I Am Precious and Sacred follows a conversation between a child and loving grandfather as they talk about what the words “precious” and “sacred” mean. These culturally integral concepts are explained in simple, practical terms, so that Little Ones may recognize how they affect relationships in families and communities. Readers and listeners are invited to explore how these ancestral teachings impact their families and communities.

I Know I Am Precious And Sacred is a soft-cover children’s book, geared towards readers and listeners ages 5 to 10 years old, but holds out important truths for their adults as well.

Educator & Series Information
This is the second book in the Precious and Sacred series.

Reading level: K-3.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

Authenticity Note: This book has received an Authentic Text label because it was written by Debora Abood with the support and participation of Elders from the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.

Jake can't wait for his uncle to meet Kamik, and to see what an obedient puppy he is becoming. Jake's uncle is a great musher, who has won many dog sledding races, and if Kamik is good enough, Jake hopes today might be the day that Kamik finally gets to run with a dog team! Following Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story and Kamik's First Sled, Kamik Joins the Pack continues the story of Jake and his puppy Kamik as they learn from their elders everything they need to know to some day be part of a winning sled dog team.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Kamik series. Books in this series share traditional dog-rearing practices and dog-training techniques from the remote community of Arviat, Nunavut, through the life memories of community members. These books preserve the rich history of working dogs in Nunavut and celebrate the traditional bond between Inuit and their sled dogs.

This resource is also available in French: Kamik rejoint la meute.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.50" x 8.50"

The Mi'kmaq lived in Canada long before the country even got its name. Before Europeans arrived, they lived in homes called wigwams and hunted and fished throughout the Maritime provinces, living off and giving back to the land. They enjoyed storytelling, drumming, and dancing within their tight­knit communities.

In L'nuk: the Mi'kmaq of Atlantic Canada, First Nations educator Theresa Meuse traces the incredible lineage of today's Mi'kmaq people, sharing the fascinating details behind their customs, traditions, and history. Discover the proper way to make Luski (Mi'kmaw bread), the technique required for intricate quillwork and canoe­building, what happens at a powwow, and how North America earned its Aboriginal name, Turtle Island.

Educator Information
Includes informative sidebars, highlighted glossary terms, recommended reading, a historic timeline, index, and over 60 full­colour historical and contemporary images.

Recommended for Grades 5-12 for these subject areas: Social Studies.

Additional Information
128 pages | 6.75" x 8.50"

Designed as an introduction for Cree language learners, Beginning Cree acts as a self-study aid--a much-needed resource in today's world where most students cannot speak Cree fluently. Basic grammar units and everyday vocabulary items guide the student through the building blocks of the language, and expansion drills and exercises reinforce lessons and prepare the student for further study. With over 100 delightful illustrations, Beginning Cree grounds the language in traditional and contemporary contexts.

Educator & Series Information
This book is recommended for ages 12+.

Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Nouns
Chapter Three: Prepositions and Pronouns
Chapter Four: Animate Intransitive Verbs
Chapter Five: Inanimate Intransitive Verbs
Chapter Six: Possessives: Kinship Terms
Chapter Seven: Transitive Inanimate Verbs
Chapter Eight: Transitive Animate Verbs
Verb Charts
Conjugation Patterns
Vocabulary List
Bibliography
Notes

The Canadian Indigenous Books for School list recommends this resource for Grades 1-12 for these subject areas: Indigenous Language Studies, Language Studies.

Part of the Indigenous Languages for Beginners series.

The book is specifically geared towards learners of the Plains Cree "Y" dialect, also known as the "Y" dialect.

Additional Information
165 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | black and white illustrations | spiral bound