First Nation Communities Read

A collection of intersecting stories about Indigenous love and loneliness from one of contemporary literature’s most boundless minds.

Across the prairies and Canada’s west coast, on reserves and university campuses, at literary festivals and existential crossroads, the characters in Coexistence are searching for connection. They’re learning to live with and understand one another, to see beauty and terror side by side, and to accept that the past, present, and future can inhabit a single moment.

An aging mother confides in her son about an intimate friendship from her distant girlhood. A middling poet is haunted by the cliché his life has become. A chorus of anonymous gay men dispense unvarnished truths about their sex lives. A man freshly released from prison finds that life on the outside has sinister strictures of its own. A PhD student dog-sits for his parents at what was once a lodging for nuns operating a residential school—a house where the spectre of Catholicism comes to feel eerily literal.

Bearing the compression, crystalline sentences, and emotional potency that have characterized his earlier books, Coexistence is a testament to Belcourt’s mastery of and playfulness in any literary form. A vital addition to an already rich catalogue, this is a must-read collection and the work of an author at the height of his powers.

Reviews
“Belcourt is one of the finest and most sublime writers at work today. This book is a feat of beauty and compression, every sentence reinventing the reader. It’s like entering a quiet room or a secret lake. It’s about our coexistence with lovers, kin, enemies, but also our coexistence with desire, solitude, and an intelligence that in itself is a form of hunger—language as solace, language as light. Belcourt is the rare writer who composes from, to, and because of the soul. It’s been some time since I loved a book so deeply.”—Claudia Dey, author of Daughter

“Through the interconnected lifeworlds contained in Coexistence, we hear a defiantly loving and astoundingly honest response to colonial and racial violence. Billy-Ray Belcourt has written an homage and an elegy to a still-unfolding history—as intimate and hopeful as young romance, as mysterious and life-giving as family. I adore this collection.” —Tsering Yangzom Lama, author ofWe Measure the Earth with our Bodies

“Coexistence filled my heart and lifted my spirit. There are few writers who can authentically capture the beauty and complexity of Indigenous existence both on the rez and in the city like Billy-Ray Belcourt. This book is a resolute proclamation of resilient Indigenous humanity and the nuance and richness we all embody. The stories weave and enrich on journeys that are both familiar and informative. Coexistence is a powerful celebration and a gift to the world.” —Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Turning Leaves

“Billy-Ray Belcourt masterfully portrays the complexities of Indigenous lives, longing, and belonging through these stories. There are sentences in this collection that I didn’t know I had been waiting to read; my breath caught on several of them. I suspect that readers will be letting out collective sighs while reading this book.”—Helen Knott, author of Becoming a Matriarch

“Billy-Ray Belcourt’s Coexistence is a brilliant exploration of the boundaries both imposed and imagined that exist between beings and the spaces we inhabit. I wildly admire Belcourt’s crisp prose and remarkable insights, yet what haunts me most about these powerful stories is the author’s heart-blasted willingness to be vulnerable on the page. This engaging, alive text drills right to heart of what it is to be Indigenous in the twenty-first century.”—Mona Susan Power, author of A Council of Dolls

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

A tragic plane crash that leaves two women stranded and fighting for their lives kicks off this sweeping and hilarious novel from award-winning writer Drew Hayden Taylor that blends thriller, murder mystery, and horror with humour and spectacle.

Elmore Trent is a professor of Indigenous studies who finds himself entangled in an affair that's ruining his marriage; Paul North plays in the IHL (Indigenous Hockey League), struggling to keep up with the game that's passing him by; Detective Ruby Birch is chasing a string of gruesome murders, with clues that conspicuously lead her to both Elmore and Paul. And then there's Fabiola Halan, former journalist-turned-author and famed survivor of a plane crash that sparked a nationwide tour promoting her book.

What starts off as a series of subtle connections between isolated characters quickly takes a menacing turn, as it becomes increasingly clear that someone—or something—is hunting them all.

Taking tropes from the murder mystery, police procedural, thriller, and horror genres, Drew Hayden Taylor weaves a pulse-pounding and propulsive narrative with an intricate cast of characters, while never losing the ability to make you laugh.

Reviews
"Cold is an absolutely enthralling novel from a legendary writer and storyteller. Drew Hayden Taylor is a master of genuinely capturing contemporary Indigenous realities in fiction, making the vibrant characters in this exceptional story relatable and real. Cold is creepy and funny, smart and lively, and overall a strikingly dynamic book that will keep readers on edge from start to finish."—Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves

"The myth of the Wendigo has shaped narratives from Pet Semetary to Shadow Country to The Hunger—but never in my reading has it been so cleverly and relevantly employed as it is in Drew Hayden Taylor's serpentine and haunting new novel, Cold." —Nick Cutter, author of The Troop and Little Heaven

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

An eighty-year overview of wood and argillite carving by Indigenous women artists on the Northwest Coast.

Though women of the Northwest Coast have long carved poles, canoes, panels, and masks, many of these artists have not become as well known outside their communities as their male counterparts. These artists are cherished within their communities for helping to keep traditional carving practices alive, and for maintaining the dances, songs, and ceremonies that are intertwined with visual art production. This book, and an associated exhibition at the Audain Art Museum, gathers a range of sculptural formats by Indigenous women in order to expand the discourse of carving in the region.

Both the exhibition and publication are co-curated by Dana Claxton, artist, filmmaker and head of the University of British Columbia's Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory; and Dr. Curtis Collins, the AAM's Director & Chief Curator. Commentaries by Skeena Reece, Claxton, and Marika Swan, and interviews with artists Dale Campbell and Mary Anne Barkhouse are presented alongside more than one hundred artworks from public and private collections across North America, including several newly commissioned pieces.

Featured artists include:
- Ellen Neel (Kwakwaka'wakw, 1916-1966) - Freda Diesing (Haida, 1925-2002) - Doreen Jensen (Gitxsan, 1933-2009) - Susan Point (Musqueam, b. 1952) - Dale Campbell (Tahltan, b. 1954) - Marianne Nicolson (Kwakwaka'wakw, b. 1969) - Arlene Ness (Gitxsan, b. 1970s) - Melanie Russ (Haida, b. 1977) - Marika Swan (Nuu-chah-nulth, b. 1982) - Morgan Asoyuf (Ts'msyen, b. 1984) - Cori Savard (Haida, b. 1985) - Cherish Alexander (Gitwangak, b. 1987) - Stephanie Anderson (Wetsuwet'en, b. 1991) - Veronica Waechter (Gitxsan, b. 1995)

Awards

• Winner of the 2025 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award

Additional Information
160 pages | 9.20" x 1.10" | 120 colour photos | Hardcover 

Part look-book, part memoir, and part history, this beautifully illustrated monument to a singular designer who helped inspire the growing Indigenous fashion movement is also a powerful demonstration of the enduring resonance and possibilities of Haida art.

Inspired by a discussion with celebrated Haida artist Bill Reid, Haida designer Dorothy Grant made it her life's mission to bring her culture's traditional art into contemporary fashion while adhering to the principle of Yaguudang, or respect for oneself and others. The 1989 launch of her Feastwear collection, featuring modern silhouettes hand-appliquéd with Northwest Coast formline, immediately established her at the forefront of Indigenous fashion in North America, and she has since hosted runway shows and trunk sales from Paris to Vancouver to Tokyo. Her clients include Indigenous leaders, national politicians, and global celebrities, and her garments can be found in museums and galleries around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Dorothy Grant: An Endless Thread is the first monograph to celebrate her trailblazing career. It features new photography of dozens of garments spanning the past four decades, modeled in studio and natural settings in Vancouver and Haida Gwaii, alongside sketches, traditional button robes and spruce-root weaving, and personal stories and reflections from Grant. Essays by Haida repatriation specialist and museologist Sdahl Ḵ'awaas Lucy Bell and curator India Rael Young place Grant in the long continuum of Haida fashion and trace the many innovations and accomplishments of her journey, and Haida curator and artist Kwiaahwah Jones, a longtime assistant to Grant, shares behind-the-scenes insights and memories. An associated exhibition, Dorothy Grant: Raven Comes Full Circle, opened at Haida Gwaii Museum in July 2024.

Educator Information
The publisher notes this work is from Dorothy Grant in collaboration with the Haida Gwaii Museum. Contributors to this work include:

• Sdahl Ḵ’awaas Lucy Bell
• Taa.uu ’Yuuwans Nika Collison
• Kwiaahwah Jones
• India Rael Young

Additional Information
168 pages | 9.44" x 10.35" | Hardcover 

Nyla has an affinity to fire. A neglected teen in a small northern town—trying to escape a mother battling her own terrors—she is kicked out and struggles through life on the streets. Desperate for love, Nyla accidentally sets fire to her ex’s building and is then incarcerated for arson. Through community-led diversion, Nyla finds herself on a reserve as their firekeeper. But when climate change–induced wildfires threaten her new home, she knows intimately how to fight back.

The fourth book from acclaimed writer Katłıà brings a Northern Indigenous perspective to the destructive effects of ongoing colonialism. Displaying Katłıà’s enthralling storytelling style, Firekeeper is a coming-of-age tale that addresses intergenerational trauma by reclaiming culture, belonging and identity.

Join Nyla on her healing journey through the fire to sacred waters.

Reviews
“Katłıà’s Firekeeper is an enchanting page-turner of a novel that captured my heart from start to finish. It’s an essential story about finding spirit, family, and home, told through one of the strongest and most authentic protagonists I’ve ever read. I felt like I was right there with Nyla through all her tragedies and triumphs, which is testament to Katłıà’s smooth and heartfelt prose. This book is a celebration of the resilient spirit and leadership of Indigenous women.”—Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

“Written with searing truth and genuine heart, breathtaking at times in its description of life, living, dying and death - Firekeeper is a loving testament to the power of kindness and of gentleness. Piercing and honest, with an eye for detail in chaos, the writing and voice are humble and humbling. This is Katłı̨̀ą’s best work to date.”— Tracey Lindberg, writer, scholar, Indigenous Rights activist and the author of Birdie

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

The Haudenosaunee, like many Indigenous Nations and communities across North America, have their own history and culture. Discover the Peacemaker Story, which explains how the Confederacy was created. Learn about historical facts and their effects on present times. Get to know Haudenosaunee people who give thanks everyday and have many stories and traditions to tell.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Indigenous Nations in North America series.

Additional Information
32 Pages | Paperback

The political life of Dene leader Georges Erasmus - a radical Native rights crusader widely regarded as one of the most important Indigenous leaders of the past fifty years.

For decades, Georges Erasmus led the fight for Indigenous rights. From the Berger Inquiry to the Canadian constitutional talks to the Oka Crisis, Georges was a significant figure in Canada's political landscape. In the 1990s, he led the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and afterward was chair and president of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, around the time that Canada's residential school system became an ongoing frontpage story.

Georges's five-decade battle for Indigenous rights took him around the world and saw him sitting across the table from prime ministers and premiers. In the 1980s, when Georges was the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, he was referred to as the "Thirteenth Premier." This book tells the personal story of his life as a leading Indigenous figure, taking the reader inside some of Canada's biggest crises and challenges.

Awards

• 2025 Indigenous Voices Awards - Prose in English Award

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 57 b&w illustrations | Paperback 

i heard a crow before i was born.
i heard tsó:ka’we before i was born.

i heard a crow before i was born opens with a dream-memory that transforms into a stark, poetic reflection on the generational trauma faced by many Indigenous families. Jules Delorme was born to resentful and abusive parents, in a world in which he never felt he belonged. Yet, buoyed by the love shown to him by his tóta (grandmother) and his many animal protectors, Delorme gained the strength to reckon with his brutal childhood and create this transformative and evocative memoir.

Across chapters that tell of his troubled relationships, Delorme unwraps the pain at the centre of his own story: the residential schools and the aftershocks that continue to reverberate.

In this stunning testament to the power of storytelling — to help us grieve and help us survive — Delorme tells the story of his spirit walk as he embraces the contradictions of his identity. As he writes, “i heard a crow before i was born is a man looking back, and dreaming back, and seeing that life, in whatever form it takes, however harsh it might seem, is beautiful.”

Reviews
“Jules Delorme is an unconventional storyteller and writer. His exploration of self through the eyes of being ‘half white on the reserve and half Indian in the city’ speaks to his vast experience as a Kanien’kehá:ka man in Canada. Jules has lived and continues to live the life of a man who has leapt over every hurdle that life places in front of him. To be able to write of his life in the way that he has shows his determination. Thank you, Jules, for taking us all on your spirit walk.” — Norma Dunning, award-winning author of Tainna, July 2024

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

This book features the Stoney Nakoda First Nation language in context and in action. The book contains a collection of stories by Trent and Valentina Fox, with each teaching culminating in a learning section. To assist in nuances of the language, the book also includes audio components as web links. The Îethka Stoney Nakoda People are an integral part of the Treaty 7 group of Indigenous Nations in Southern Alberta. Their spoken language is part of the Dakota-Sioux linguistic group.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 14 to 18.

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

“Canada rejected our applications for enrolment in the Qalipu First Nation. Initially, I was relieved by the rejection. I’d watched my hometown divide itself — are you Mi′kmaq or settler? Mi′kmaq or not Mi′kmaq enough?”

Centred around the Newfoundland Mi'kmaq experience in the wake of the controversial Qalipu First Nation enrolment process, Island wades through the fracture and mistrust that continues to linger in many communities. In this new collection, Douglas Walbourne-Gough expands upon issues of identity and history that he introduced in Crow Gulch, offering a deeply personal and equally beautiful exploration of Mi'kmaw and Newfoundland identity.

Walbourne-Gough’s narrative poems trace the formation of identity, not through status documentation, but through its deeper roots in childhood memories, family, spirituality, and dreams. Throughout this collection, he approaches life in fragments — snuggling into his nan’s sealskin snowsuit, learning Mi'kmaq from an app, or the myriad of complex emotions that come with receiving a status card — and watches them transform into pieces of an everlasting puzzle. Island reckons with an often-ignored, yet persistent, effect of colonialism — fractured identities.

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

From one of the country’s most celebrated new writers, a blistering collection of short fiction that is bracingly relevant, playfully irreverent, and absolutely unforgettable.

There’s a hole in the ozone layer. Are teenage girls to blame?

Floods and wildfires, toxic culture, billionaires in outer space, or a purse-related disaster while on mushrooms—in today’s hellscape world, there’s no shortage of things to worry about. Last Woman, the new collection of short fiction by award-winning author Carleigh Baker, wants you to know that you’re not alone. In these 13 brilliant new stories, Baker and her perfectly-drawn characters are here for you—in fact, they’re just as worried and weirded-out as everyone else.

A woman’s dream of poetic solitude turns out to be a recipe for loneliness. A retiree is convinced that his silence is the only thing that will prevent a deadly sinkhole. An emerging academic wakes up and chooses institutional violence. A young woman finds sisterhood in a strange fertility ritual, and an enigmatic empath is on a cleanse. Baker’s characters are both wildly misguided and a product of the misguided times in which we live. Through them we see our world askew and skewered—and, perhaps, we can begin to see it anew.

Carleigh Baker’s signature style is irreverent, but her heart is true—these stories delve into fear for the future, intergenerational misunderstandings, and the complexities of belonging with sharp wit and boundless empathy. With equal parts compassion and critique, she brings her clear-eyed attention to bear on our world, and the results are hilarious, heartbreaking, and startling in their freshness.

Reviews
“Carleigh Baker’s Last Woman is a knockout. These fifteen stories are probing contemplations on technology, the climate crisis, childhood, adulthood, parenthood, dreams, identity, creativity, and those staggering moments when the uncanny burbles up through the cracks of everyday experience. I gulped these pages in one sitting, but their insights will linger for years to come.”—Michael Christie, author of Greenwood
 
“Carleigh Baker’s Last Woman is a satirical, energetic look at our messed-up world. The stories in this collection ask original, surprising what-if questions, exploring disasters small and large, personal and public, and the past, present, and future of this planet—and beyond. I’m so impressed with Baker’s ability to craft such a range of voices, by turns funny and vulnerable and exuberant and idiosyncratic. These stories are inventive, a little weird, and very, very cool.”—Shashi Bhat, author of The Most Precious Substance on Earth

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

The inspiring true story of how Indigenous activist Michael Redhead Champagne found his voice to create change in his community.

Michael might be young, but he’s got a big heart and a strong sense of right and wrong. He knows it’s right to help people when they need it—but what can he do when so many people need help?

When Michael finds out about an upcoming youth conference, he sees his chance. But when he gets to the conference, he’s the youngest person there! And the speaker on stage is saying things about his community that aren’t true. Will Michael be brave enough to use his voice to stand up for what he knows is right?

Little By Little is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about how one person can spark change and inspire others.

Awards

• 2025 Forest of Reading

Reviews
“A gentle, uplifting, and inspiring story about a gentle, uplifting, and inspiring person. In this little book, Michael teaches us and our future generations that anyone can be a change-maker by using their voice.” — Rosanna Deerchild, poet and CBC Radio host

"Here’s a touching story about Michael Redhead Champagne that will inspire children to help others, even in the simplest of ways." - Debra H., Elementary School Teacher, Indigenous Books for Schools

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Fountas & Pinnell T
Lexile Framework for Reading HL560L

Recommended in the Indigenous Books for Schools catalogue as being useful for grades 4 to 6 for Career Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

Themes: Community, Diversity and Inclusion, Relationships, Respect, and Social Justice 

Additional Information
56 pages | 6.50" x 10.00" | Paperback

In this moving graphic novel, thirteen-year-old Reanna grieves the loss of her older sister. Can she find comfort through her family’s Ojibwe traditions?

It’s been a year since Reanna’s sister, Chelsea, went missing on her way home from school. Without any idea of what happened, Reanna and her family struggle to find closure.

Driven from their home by memories, Reanna’s mom moves to the big city. Left behind on the reserve, Reanna and her little brother go to live with their dad.

Reanna is hurt and angry that her mom has run away. She feels lonely, abandoned… but she is not alone. Lights turn on in empty rooms, and objects move without being touched.

There are little moons everywhere.

Reviews
"Little Moons has all the hallmarks of becoming a cherished companion for young hearts navigating the turbulent waters of grief and loss. This graphic novel not only offers solace but also illuminates the path toward healing. Little Moons gently guides readers through the darkest of nights, reminding them that even in moments of profound sadness, there is still light to be found."—Tasha Spillett, New York Times bestselling author 

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 18.

Subjects, Themes, and Big Ideas: Death, Grief, Siblings, Paranormal, Graphic Novels, Socail Justice, MMIWG2S, Prejudice and Racism, Social Emotional Learning, Aspects of Indigenous Cultures, Smudging, Powwow, Spirituality and Ceremony, Regalia, Traditional Art, Contemporary Setting, Strong Female Characters.

Fountas & Pinnell Z+

Additional Information
64 pages | 6.50" x 10.00" | Paperback

Iskwew Pithasew nitisithikason. My name is Lady of the Thunderbird, and this is my story.

It takes courage and bravery to survive in the barrens.

In 1944, thirteen-year-old Ilse Schweder got lost in a snowstorm while checking her family's trapline in northern Canada. This is the harrowing story of how a young Indigenous girl defies the odds and endures nine days alone in the unforgiving barrens. Ilse faces many challenges, including freezing temperatures, wild animals, snow blindness and frostbite. With no food or supplies, she relies on Traditional Indigenous Knowledge passed down from her family. Ilse uses her connection to the land and animals, wilderness skills and resilience to find her way home.

This powerful tale of survival is written by Ilse Schweder's granddaughter.

Reviews
“Colorful illustrations in classic comic-book style help readers explore the challenging landscape. An excellent choice for a book report and good addition to a children’s nonfiction collection.”- School Library Journal (SLJ), starred review

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: T 

Lexile measure: GN700L 

Guided Reading Level: T

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

“We should not have to change to fit into society the world should adapt to embrace our uniqueness.” -- Chief Stacey Laforme

Chief Stacey Laforme breathes life into every poem and story he shares, drawing from his own experiences. Rich with the essence of his soul, the poems in this book capture the moments and emotions that have shaped him. His desire is for readers to not just read, but to truly feel the humour and pain intertwined in these poems. Much like in Living in the Tall Grass, this latest poetry collection invites non-Indigenous people to see through the eyes of Indigenous people with topics of peace and humanity, as well as grief, trauma ... and hope.

Reviews
"Thought provoking, healing meditations. Giima Laforme writes from his perspective as a son, father, husband, community leader, but most of all as a human being. He invites us to walk with him, and to see the world as he sees it. Not only is this an invitation we should accept, but it is also a beautiful and generous gift." — Kevin Hearn, musician

"Chief Stacey Laforme writes with the motive of love, and poetry is his instrument. When considering the unmarked graves at residential schools, Chief Laforme’s poem ‘Debwewin—Truth’ freezes you with the line, “She felt the shovels enter her body.” But as you will see, there is always hope. Chief has both the scalpel and the suture. He cuts, then he cures." —Ron MacLean, broadcaster

Additional Information
160 pages | 8.50" x 5.50" | Paperback | 3 b&w illustrations