Teen Books

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

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

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

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

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

A beautifully illustrated edition of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s poem “Washing My Mother’s Body,” which offers a way through grief when the loss appears unbearable.

As I wash my mother’s face, I tell her
how beautiful she is, how brave, how her beauty and bravery
live on in her grandchildren. Her face is relaxed, peaceful.
Her earth memory body has not left yet,
but when I see her the next day, embalmed and in the casket
in the funeral home, it will be gone.
Where does it go?

Through lyrical prose and evocative watercolor illustrations by award-winning Muscogee artist Dana Tiger, Washing My Mother’s Body explores the complexity of a daughter’s grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother’s life. She lays her mother to rest in the landscape of her memory, honoring the hands that raised her, the body that protected her, and the legs that carried her mother through adversity.

Moving, comforting, and deeply emotional, Washing My Mother’s Body is a tender look at mother-daughter relationships, the complexity of grieving the loss of a parent, and the enduring love of those left behind.

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80 pages | 5.79" x 7.81" | Hardcover 

Sweet Tooth meets The Raven Boys in this queer young adult contemporary fantasy about what it means to belong from H.E. Edgmon.

You can never go home…

Every day, all across the world, inhuman creatures are waking up with no memory of who they are or where they came from–and the Caravan exists to help them. The traveling community is made up of these very creatures and their families who’ve acclimated to this new existence by finding refuge in each other. That is, until the morning five teenage travelers wake to find their community has disappeared overnight.

Those left: a half-human who only just ran back to the Caravan with their tail between their legs, two brothers–one who can’t seem to stay out of trouble and the other who’s never been brave enough to get in it, a venomous girl with blood on her hands and a heart of gold, and the Caravan’s newest addition, a disquieting shadow in the shape of a boy. They’ll have to work together to figure out what happened the night of the disappearance, but each one of the forsaken five is white-knuckling their own secrets. And with each truth forced to light, it becomes clear this isn’t really about what happened to their people–it’s about what happened to them.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 14 to 18.

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320 pages | 5.38" x 8.25" | Hardcover 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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256 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

An investigation into how Native American identity became a commodity, from cultural appropriation to ethnic fraud to disenrollment

Settler capitalism has been so effective that the very identities of Indigenous people have been usurped, misconstrued, and weaponized. In Who Gets to Be Indian?, scholar and writer Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) explores how ethnic fraud and the commodification of Indianness has resulted in mass confusion about what it means to be Indigenous in the United States.

As an entry point to the seemingly intractable problem of ethnic fraud, Gilio-Whitaker critically looks to the film industry, including a case study of Sacheen Littlefeather, who is most known as the Native American woman that rejected an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando in 1973—though later revealed, she was not who she said she was. Gilio-Whitaker argues that this pretendian phenomenon originated in Southern California when the United States was forcing assimilation of Indians into white America culturally, but also into its capitalist economic system. With Indianness becoming a marketized commodity in the Hollywood film business, the field became open to anyone who could convincingly adopt an Indian persona.

Deeply researched using socio-historical analysis, Gilio-Whitaker offers insights from her own experiences grappling with identity to provide clarity and help readers understand how the commodification of Indianness have ultimately left many people of legitimate American Indian heritage to be disconnected from their tribes. Personal and compelling, Gilio-Whitaker takes settler capitalism to task and helps us better understand how we got here in order to counteract the abuses of pretendianism and disenrollment.

Reviews
“This incendiary j’accuse isn’t afraid to name names.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“With clarity and conviction, Dina Gilio-Whitaker exposes what’s at stake for Native people when Indianness becomes a commodity. A sharp, personal, and urgent look at the high cost for actual Native people in a system built to exploit them at every turn.”—Kim TallBear, author of Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science

“Indigeneity is caught between truth tellers and tricksters. With abiding concern for tribal nationhood, Dina Gilio-Whitaker boldly espouses our truths while confronting the tricksters among us. Indigenous America needs more truth tellers like her and books like this.”—Gabe Galanda, Indigenous rights attorney

“Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s Who Gets to Be Indian? tackles the problem of the commodification of Native identity at a crucial moment in American history. With incisive analysis, Gilio-Whitaker reveals how settler capitalism has distorted and exploited Indigenous identities and exposes the roots of folks pretending to be Native and its harms to Native communities. This book is a call to action and a vital tool for understanding how we can protect Indigenous people. A must-read for anyone seeking to confront the complexities of Native identity, sovereignty, and power in America.”—Liza Black, author of Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941–1960

“A fresh and unflinching look into the rise of pretendianism—when it became normalized for Hollywood to grant Native American identities to various grifters. Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s courageous and original analysis will challenge readers, Indigenous or not, to think deeply about the nature of settler colonialism today.”—Darryl Leroux, author of Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity

Additional Information
280 pages | 6.22" x 9.30" | Hardcover 

Judge, senator, and activist. Father, grandfather, and friend. This is Murray Sinclair’s story—and the story of a nation—in his own words, an oral history that forgoes the trappings of the traditional written memoir to center Indigenous ways of knowledge and storytelling. As Canada moves forward into the future of reconciliation, one of its greatest leaders guides us to ask the most important and difficult question we can ask of ourselves: Who are we?

For decades, Senator Sinclair has fearlessly educated Canadians about the painful truths of our history. He was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba, and only the second Indigenous judge in Canadian history. He was the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and remains one of the foremost voices on Reconciliation. And now, for the first time, he will share his full story—and his full vision for our nation—with readers across Canada.

Drawing on Senator Sinclair’s unique experiences, and his perspectives regarding Indigenous identity, human rights, and justice in Canada, Who We Are will examine the roles of history, resistance, and resilience in the pursuit of finding that path forward, and healing the damaged relationship between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. And in doing so, it will reveal Senator Sinclair’s life in a new and direct way, exploring how all of these experiences shaped him as an Anishinaabe man, father, and grandfather.

Structured around the four questions that have long shaped Senator Sinclair’s thinking and worldview—Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? Who am I?—Who We Are will take readers into the story of his remarkable life as never before, while challenging them to embrace an inclusive vision for our shared future.

The book includes the What We Have Learned report, created by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).

Reviews
“Who We Are is a very special, very important book. With deep humility, surprising humour, and abiding humanity—all the 'humes,' if you will—Murray Sinclair made me feel as though I was sitting beside him at a campfire, listening to stories and teachings from his most remarkable life. I could hear his voice. I could feel the fire. I could imagine a better world. But Murray Sinclair asks us to do more than imagine it. By sharing with unflinching honesty what shaped him as a visionary leader, he calls us to change the world, to make it better for each new generation, and to honour the sacredness of Creation. I will return to Who We Are again and again, for his stories, his soulful poems, and his guidance. This book, so much about understanding where we have come from, is a gift to where we are going.”—Shelagh Rogers, O.C., Chancellor of Queen’s University and Honorary Witness in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

“It would be impossible to quantify Murray Sinclair’s impact on this place that we call Canada. He’s said that since education got us into this mess, education must get us out of it. If that’s true, and I believe it is, he is one of our most important teachers. The pursuit of reconciliation takes place on a long and winding road. It will take generations to reach our destination, but this book and Sinclair’s voice will stand the test of time, guiding us in his wisdom and the example he has set in how he has lived his life.”—David A. Robertson, bestselling author of the Misewa Saga Series

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

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

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

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

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

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

Awards

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

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

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

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

Educator Information
Dual-language: English and French

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

A 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 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A compact, user-friendly field guide to 50 of the most prominent and ecologically significant animal species of the west coast, from British Columbia to Northern California.

A keystone species is an organism that defines and supports an entire ecosystem, filling a vital ecological niche. Without these species, the ecosystem would be radically altered or even collapse. This pocket-sized field guide by bestselling naturalist Collin Varner highlights 50 keystone birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, fish, shellfish, and mollusks found across the Pacific Northwest bioregion—including the American Crow, Bald Eagle, American Beaver, California Sea Lion, Sea Otter, Orca, Coyote, Grizzly Bear, Giant Pacific Octopus, Chinook Salmon, Pacific Tree Frog, Pacific Banana Slug, Mixed Bumblebee, and more. Each entry features clear photography, etymology, descriptions, habitat information, risks and warnings. This convenient and easy reference is perfect for casual walkers, hikers, campers, beachcombers, sailors, paddlers, and whale watchers, and draws awareness to the importance of conservation and protection of these crucial species.

Reviews
“Collin Varner provides captivating information that will help keep his 50 keystone species in the back of every reader’s memory.”—Richard Beamish, CM, OBC, FRSC, retired Canadian scientist

“The perfect portable reference for wildlife watchers.”—Barbara J. Moritsch, ecologist and author of Wolf Time and The Soul of Yosemite: Finding, Defending, and Saving the Valley's Sacred Wild Nature

“Enriches our understanding of these critical species, empowering us to contribute to their conservation. A heartfelt thank you to Collin Varner for illuminating the path to environmental stewardship.”—Paul Nicklen, Canadian photographer and filmmaker and co-founder of SeaLegacy

“Whether you love the land, sea or air, you’ll find creatures in this book to delight and to inspire your protection. Varner’s focus on keystone species is very important as they play a significant role in keeping our ecosystems healthy. His images and information give you a beautiful glimpse into their lives.” —Cheryl Alexander, award-winning filmmaker and author of Takaya: Lone Wolf, Good Morning Takaya, and Takaya’s Journey

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.00" x 7.00" | Paperback

A compact, user-friendly field guide to 50 of the most prominent and ecologically significant plant species of the west coast, from British Columbia to Northern California.

A keystone species is an organism that defines and supports an entire ecosystem, filling a vital ecological niche. Without these species, the ecosystem would be radically altered or even collapse. This pocket-sized field guide by bestselling naturalist Collin Varner highlights 50 keystone trees, flowering plants, fruit-bearing plants, marine plants, and fungi found across the Pacific Northwest bioregion—including Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Large-leafed Lupine, Wild Mint, Salal, Salmonberry, Marine Eelgrass, Red-belted Polypore, and more. Each entry features clear photography, etymology, descriptions, habitat information, risks and warnings. This convenient and easy reference is perfect for casual walkers, hikers, campers, and beachcombers, and draws awareness to the importance of conservation and protection of these crucial species.

Reviews
"This beautiful book is a valuable addition to the library of anyone passionate about the flora of the Pacific Northwest. . . A refreshing way of exploring these incredible organisms." —Amanda Swinimer, author of The Science and Spirit of Seaweed

“A concise and essential guide for anyone curious about the essential plants of the coastal Pacific Northwest.”—Elizabeth Price, author of Native and Ornamental Conifers of the Pacific Northwest

"Like a keystone itself, this guide helps define an ecosystem: the forests and coasts of the Pacific Northwest. It is an indispensable companion for any ramble or expedition."—Harley Rustad, award-winning and bestselling author of Big Lonely Doug and Lost in the Valley of Death

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.00" x 7.00" | Paperback

Award-winning author Jen Ferguson has written a powerful story about teens grappling with balancing resentment with enduring friendship—and how to move forward with a life that’s not what they’d imagined.

Before that awful Saturday, Molly used to be inseparable from her brother, Hank, and his best friend, Tray. The indoor climbing accident that left Hank with a traumatic brain injury filled Molly with anger.

While she knows the accident wasn’t Tray’s fault, she will never forgive him for being there and failing to stop the damage. But she can’t forgive herself for not being there either.

Determined to go on the trio’s postgraduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, even without Hank, Molly packs her bag. But when her parents put Tray in charge of looking out for her, she is stuck backpacking with the person who incites her easy anger.

Despite all her planning, the trail she’ll walk has a few more twists and turns ahead. . . .

Reviews
"With a rhythm and tone that reads like poetry, Ferguson delivers an emotionally resonant tale in which profound interpersonal conflict unfolds against the lushly described natural backdrop of an adrenaline-inducing outdoor environment." — Publishers Weekly

"Explores disability and fat activism and fatphobia, with a side of romance." — Kirkus Reviews

"No matter who reads this book, they will find something in each character that will ring true. A must-buy for YA collections." — School Library Journal

"Conversations around love and intersectional analysis of Indigeneity, fatness, disability, queerness, blended families, and human interactions with nature are sure to pique the interest of readers also exploring the many facets of what makes them whole." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"A great read for all teenagers, and especially those who've graduated and are wondering what comes next."  — Booklist

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 13+.

This novel grapples with resentment, fear, grief, anti-Indigenous racism, and moving forward in a life you're not sure fits you. These difficult emotions and issues are handled thoughtfully and with empathy. 

Additional Information
352 pages | 5.50" x 8.25" | Hardcover 

Five generations of Métis women argue, dance, struggle, laugh, love, and tell the stories that will sing their family, and perhaps the land itself, into healing in this brilliantly original debut novel.

Carter is a young mother, recently separated. She is curious, angry, and on a quest to find out what the heritage she only learned of in her teens truly means.

Allie is trying to make up for the lost years with her first born, and to protect Carter from the hurt she herself suffered from her own mother.

Lucie wants the granddaughter she's never met to help her join her ancestors in the Afterlife.

Geneviève is determined to conquer her demons before the fire inside burns her up, with the help of the sister she lost but has never been without.

And Mamé, in the Afterlife, knows that all their stories began with her; she must find a way to loose herself from the last threads that keep her tethered to the living, just as they must find their own paths forward.

This extraordinary novel, told by a chorus of vividly realized, funny, wise, confused, struggling characters—including descendants of the bison that once freely roamed the land—heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction.

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