Healing and Wellness

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

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

• Egalitarian rule versus hierarchical governance

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

• The life-sustaining role of ceremony

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

• The laws of nature as the highest rules for living

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this resource, you will find

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Table of Contents
Introduction

About This Book

About The Footbridge Series

Part 1: Resistance

Beyond Being Silenced by Sara Florence Davidson

• Connections

Poetry as Cultural Expression by Rita Bouvier

• Connections

T’seka Reflection by Lucy Hemphill

• Connections

Poetry by Louise Bernice Halfe

• Connections

Part 2: Resilience

Mental Health by David A. Robertson

• Connections

Writing as a Therapeutic Medium by Wanda John-Kehewin

• Connections

Birch Bark Technology by KC Adams

• Connections

Images and Health by Lisa Boivin

• Connections

Part 3: Restoring

Stories are Resurgence by Wilson Bearhead and Charlene Bearhead

• Connections

Why am I not on Star Trek? by Sonya Ballantyne

• Connections

Indigenous Spaces by Reanna Merasty

• Connections

Games as Resurgence by Elizabeth LaPensée

• Connections

Part 4: Reconnecting

Poems by Nicola I. Campbell

• Connections

Paths of Tradition by Russell Wallace

• Connections

Let the Children Play by Victoria McIntosh

• Connections

Ethnomathematics and Beading by Christina Ruddy

• Connections

The Contributors

Additional Resources

Index

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

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

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

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

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

Drawing from studies with pre- and in-service teachers in Quebec, Smallest Circles First looks at how teacher agency engages with the educational calls to action from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using drama education and theatre, Smallest Circles First explores how the classroom can be used as a liminal educational site to participate in reconciliatory praxis.

Smallest Circles First presents several arts-based educational research examples that illustrate how the arts provide a space for students, teachers, and communities to explore and learn about reconciliation praxis and responsibilities. By implementing arts-based counter-narratives set against settler Canadian history and geography, Smallest Circles First considers the implications of systemic racism, colonization, and political, social, and economic ramifications of governmental policies. Tangible examples from the book showcase how teachers and students can use the arts to learn specifically about their responsibilities in engaging with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in addition to how this work can still meet curricular learning outcomes.

Reviews
"A contribution to the fields of education and performing arts, Smallest Circles First is an excellent example of what can be done and what needs to be done in regards to building a shared future for all Canadians. Readers will feel empathic and identified with these narratives; not just the narratives of the author but also with the narratives of the participants in the research." — Maria del Carmen Rodriguez de France, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Education, University of Victoria

"The research and writing found in Smallest Circles First advances the calls to action in the TRC – in ways that allow space for exploration and in ways that do not insist that there is one ‘true’ way to do the work of reconciliation. This book is as much about hope as it is deep and instructive." — Michele Sorensen, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Regina

"Carter’s book provides insightful ways of engaging respectfully and meaningfully with Indigenous topics through drama-based approaches. She describes the work in a way that is thoughtful, ethical, and well grounded. The case studies in Smallest Circles First are diverse and dynamic, and they come together in ways that allow the reader to see the cohesive nature of the book." — George Belliveau, Professor and Head of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia

"Smallest Circles First is a must for any artist or educator, providing research-based evidence of the role theatre can play in healing and reconciliation; her reframing of risk as the grounds for creative rupture is an important corrective to the risk-avoidant perspectives that dominate research and education." — Sheila Christie, Associate Professor of English and Drama, Cape Breton University

Educator Information
Table of Contents

Foreword by Tom Dearhouse

1.Starting with the Smallest Circles First
Teacher Agency, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Arts Curriculum
Language, Culture, and Religion in Quebec Education
Are the Arts the Answer?
Vignettes
About This Book

2. Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes: Situating Theories and Methods
Identity, Subjectivity, and Posthumanism
Arts-Based Educational Research (ABER)
Narrative Inquiry
Vignettes and Constant Comparison for Data Analysis
Making Sense of the Data, Saturation, and Validity

3. We Start Here: Narratives, Vignettes, and Analysis
Narratives
Monologue: I’m Still Canadian, Dad!
Appropriation and Embodiment
Centring Oneself within a Community of Practice
Discussion

4. Weaving Together Understandings across Vignettes
Theme 1: Risk and Learning as Rupture
Theme 2: Belonging
Theme 3: Counter-narratives

5. Full circle
Unfolding’s
Towards an Instructional Model for Belonging and Becoming by Learning through/with Drama

Learning Responsibilities
New Directions: Learning beyond the arts
Coming full Circle

Appendices
Appendix 1: Sing the Brave Song: This Isn’t Over!
Appendix 2: Reconciliation!
Appendix 3: Monologue: I’m Still Canadian, Dad!

Glossary
References

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

This 40th anniversary edition of the beloved bestseller, Spelling Through Phonics, has the same compact and easy-to-use format thousands of educators know and love! With the McCrackens’ original spelling instruction program, this book provides detailed instructions and reproducibles to help you

• understand phonemic awareness, and how it helps children develop spelling and other literacy skills
• teach spelling easily, quickly, and efficiently
• integrate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning strategies
• effectively assess and react to students’ writing
• provide immediate feedback as part of spelling instruction
• organize students’ spelling practice within the school day
• introduce, practice, and review new words and sounds with students in grades 1–3

Help your students become proficient spellers, as well as confident readers and writers, with this developmentally appropriate framework.

Dedicated to the memory of The McCrackens, this 40th anniversary edition honors their invaluable contributions to English language arts and literacy instruction across North America.

Reviews
"I absolutely love the McCracken books and probably have all of them. I think they have one of the best spelling programs around. Honestly, I couldn’t live without Spelling Through Phonics, the little yellow book."— Grade Onederful

"In this fascinating and powerful little book, you will find the essence of effective and engaging instruction in spelling and phonics."— Shane Templeton

Educator Information
40th anniversary edition

Additional Information
200 pages | 5.87" x 9.00" | Student work samples throughout | Spiral Bound

Teaching can be a highly satisfying profession, but it can also be overwhelming. Stress management. Self-care. Mental well-being. Mindfulness. These words have become all too familiar, but what do they actually mean for you? And how can they help without adding to your to-do list?

All teachers have different experiences and different needs. Through stories by diverse educators, this professional resource invites you to try different wellness strategies, explore varying perspectives, and consider new ideas of what it means to “be well.

Grounded in servant leadership and a holistic model, each chapter connects to Indigenous perspectives of wellness through remarks from Elder Stanley Kipling and Knowledge Keeper Richelle North Star Scott.

Reviews
"The guide, created by teachers for teachers, includes self-care tips, strategies to spot burnout warning signs and support colleagues, and ideas on implementing “psychologically safe work environments” based on national standards. Each chapter starts with a teacher’s personal story about their well-being challenges." — Maggie Macintosh, The Winnipeg Free Press

"With compassion and clarity, this book provides both the insights and tools that will help to meaningfully improve teacher well-being. Always encouraging and grounded in a deep awareness of our connections to one another, this book's wisdom is valuable and important." — Stephanie Harrison, well-being expert and founder of The New Happy

"Easy to read and hard to put down! In a time when we seem perpetually stressed, we are too often offered one-size-fits-all quick fixes, when what we really need are thoughtful, engaging, diverse, and easy-to-use toolkits, giving us the freedom to choose what works for us. Teacher, Take Care is just that kind of toolkit, and has quickly become a personal and professional mental health go-to resource!" — Sharon Blady, PhD, CEO of Speak Up: Mental Health & Neurodiversity, former Minister of Health in Man

"This book speaks to the hearts and minds of educators who, at the center of their practice, must create the conditions for flourishing learning environments. The emphasis on well-being and workplace wellness is a timely reminder that to create the conditions for children and youth to flourish, educators must attend to their own wellness and self-care individually and collectively as part of the broader educational landscape. Written accessibly with thoughtful reflection questions, the book gives permission for educators to breathe. It also emphasizes that workplace well-being is essential to both teachers' own physical and emotional health, but also that of the students they serve."— Dianne Gereluk, Dean of Education, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

"No one can take care of others when they are not taking care of themselves. For this reason, perhaps nothing is more important for teachers than attending to and understanding how to achieve their own wellness. Jennifer Lawson's Teacher, Take Care is an essential guide for how to fulfill one's potential as an educator while educating others to do so as well. This book is good medicine for those working in one of the hardest professions in the world."— Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Professor, Department of Indigenous Studies, University of Manitoba

“Whether you are already feeling burnt out, or you are managing personal self-care, Teacher, Take Care is an excellent read to explore a variety of perspectives and consider what it means to “be well”. — MB Teacher 

Additional Information
224 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

Thirty hands-on lessons provide students opportunities to learn and practice self-regulation strategies.

Students today face many challenges that did not exist a generation or two ago, and rates of emotional disorders (including anxiety and depression) have increased steadily over the years. Students must also manage an overwhelming amount of information. With today’s reliance on technology and social media, they have fewer opportunities to develop effective self-regulation strategies and interpersonal and stress management skills.

Helping students understand their emotions and behavior when they’re young will set them on a path to being successful learners and empathetic people throughout their lives. With thirty easy-to-implement, skill-based lessons and activities, Teaching Kids to Pause, Cope, and Connect provides educators with strategies to help students:

• manage and reduce their anxiety with healthy coping skills
• understand and regulate physical responses to stress
• separate emotions from actions
• respond mindfully (rather than impulsively) to difficult situations
• improve social skills, social awareness, and self-regulation
• develop empathy and compassion

Digital content includes reproducible student handouts that accompany each lesson, plus six bonus lessons.

Reviews
“The perfect resource to teach students the skills they need to pause in the midst of frustration, to calm in the midst of chaos, and to connect with each other. This book is a must-have for every teacher.”—Sarah Newman, AMFT, educator and founder of Mindful Kids

Educator Information
Audience: Elementary school educators, Grades 3+

Additional Information
200 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | Paperback

Cecil King’s remarkable memoir, from humble beginnings on a reservation to his unparalleled legacy to ensure Indian Control of Indian Education in Canada.

“Through my eyes, my community was creative, innovative and self-sufficient. In this remote northern traditional First Nation society, the skills, knowledge and abilities that the community needed to survive were all there. . . . The stories are not just of survival and hardship but of the power of the human spirit and the sheer natural genius of individuals.” — Cecil King

Cecil King grew up in the small settlement of Buzwah, Ontario, situated on Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island. This moving memoir shares King’s life on reserve in the 1930s and ’40s and describes a vibrant community full of interesting characters who shared knowledge, warmth, affection, and humour. King also describes his experiences attending Buzwah Indian Day School and St. Charles Garnier Residential School.

After furthering his education, King returned home to Buzwah as a teacher. He quickly became disillusioned with the Ontario curriculum and how inadequately it resonated with on-reserve youth and the realities of Indigenous life. It was then that King began his unparalleled legacy to ensure Indian Control of Indian Education in Canada.

King helped create curriculum that connected to traditional Indigenous cultures and established First Nation language courses in elementary and secondary schools. Over the course of his fifty-year career in education, he would found the Indian Teacher Education Program at the University of Saskatchewan, become the first director of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program at Queen’s University, and develop Ojibwe language courses across North America.

A remarkable story about a remarkable man, The Boy from Buzwah is a powerful testament to Dr. Cecil King’s work and legacy.

Reviews
“A poignant reflective must-read memoir of an Indigenous educator whose life lived was Indigenizing and decolonizing western academies.” —Marie Battiste, author of Decolonizing Education and Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada

“Miigwetch Cecil King, for sharing your remarkable journey and life in this essential book, which educators and learners will treasure. This is a book of extraordinary generosity and humility, and one that provides both context and direction for the future of Indigenous education.” —Jesse Wente, author of Unreconciled

“An essential account of an Indigenous scholar’s trailblazing and sweeping contributions towards restoring and inspiring indigenous control of indigenous education.” —Verna St. Denis, University of Saskatchewan

“Cecil King’s memoir is an important contribution to the Indigenous literature, documenting early life on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, disclosing the enduring roots of Odawa tradition, chronicling the re-emergence of Anishnawbe culture and the rise of Indigenous activism, particularly in the important area of Indigenous education.” —Hon. Leonard S. Tony Mandamin IPC, Justice in Residence, Faculty of Law/Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta

“Cecil King has written a remarkable memoir of his early life and his over sixty-year-long career as an Indigenous educator. The teacher, respected community leader, and post-secondary professor and administrator, argues most convincingly for a system of First Nations education that incorporates fully Indigenous history, culture, and present-day realities. I love Cecil’s book!” —Don Smith, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Calgary

"Cecil King's book about his experiences in a day school, residential school, the bureaucracy and institutional development on Indigenous education presents an important perspective in the debate on educational change in the past half-century. His personal perspective and his use of Ojibwe as part of this history introduces a new qualitative dimension to this debate." —Keith Goulet, former Minister of Northern Affairs for Saskatchewan

Educator Information
King was one of the first to create curricula designed for Indigenous children and education programs to train Indigenous teachers and to establish some of the first Indigenous language courses in North America.

King understood that strengthening students’ cultural identity was key to their academic success and saw how the Canadian curriculum was not designed to do this.

Additional Information
356 pages | 5.00" x 8.50" | Paperback

The Musician Healer resurrects a long-forgotten role for musicians and provides clear guidance for preparation and self-development as a musician healer in order to reactivate this role for the modern world. It begins with the author’s personal musical story that draws upon her Mi’kmaq/Abenaki First Nation and French roots, followed by a section on the history of musician healers from ancient Egypt and India. Runningdeer then explores the energetic aspects of music healing, especially the quality of personal energies that a musician channels through her music, and how to elevate and emanate those vibrations for positive healing outcomes.

“There are a few very particular aspects of healing for myself that I’ve enjoyed these past twenty plus years, while developing my work as Musician Healer. Yours will be different, perhaps, depending upon what your own inner challenges to growth have been. Our stories are different, after all ... I now know who I am, and why I’m here. I love and accept all my strengths, peculiarities and tender places. And feel great confidence in what I have to offer the world.” — Islene Runningdeer, 2022

Reviews
"Runningdeer writes like a spider spinning her web­—circling and diving, drawing sticky connections and mind-expanding shapes. This book is an offering to a suffering world and to musicians who are yearning to transmit good through their gifts." — Mary Bonhag, Artistic Director, Scrag Mountain Music

"The beauty of the objective frequency in music to provide healing and love is excellently transmitted in this unique text. A heartfelt and genuine connection with ancient lifetimes and ancestors brings moments of perfection and clarity, as the sum total of everything acquired is realized in the present moment. Runningdeer brings lessons of giving and awareness in service to the light." — Julian Hobson Energy Healer and Editor of Embrace Your Divine Plan (2023)

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

“The Sacred Balance has a beautiful spirit.”—E.O. Wilson

With a new foreword from Robin Wall Kimmerer, New York Times-bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass—and an afterword from Bill McKibben—this special 25thanniversary edition of a beloved bestseller invites readers to see ourselves as part of nature, not separate.

The world is changing at a relentless pace. How can we slow down and act from a place of respect for all living things? The Sacred Balance shows us how.

In this extensively updated new edition, David Suzuki reflects on the increasingly radical changes in science and nature—from the climate crisis to peak oil and the rise in clean energy—and examines what they mean for humankind. He also reflects on what we have learned by listening to Indigenous leaders, whose knowledge of the natural world is profound, and whose peoples are on the frontlines of protecting land and water around the world.

Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who have put their beliefs into action, The Sacred Balance combines science, philosophy, spirituality, and Indigenous knowledge to offer concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable future by rediscovering and addressing humanity’s basic needs.

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

In this revolutionary self-help guide, two beloved Native American wellness activists offer wisdom for achieving spiritual, physical, and emotional wellbeing rooted in Indigenous ancestral knowledge.

When wellness teachers and husband-wife duo Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins founded their Indigenous wellness initiative, Well for Culture, they extended an invitation to all to honor their whole self through Native wellness philosophies and practices. In reclaiming this ancient wisdom for health and wellbeing—drawing from traditions spanning multiple tribes—they developed the Seven Circles, a holistic model for modern living rooted in timeless teachings from their ancestors. Luger and Collins have introduced this universally adaptable template for living well to Ivy league universities and corporations like Nike, Adidas, and Google, and now make it available to everyone in this wise guide.

The Seven Circles model comprises interconnected circles that keep all aspects of our lives in balance, functioning in harmony with one another. They are:

• Food
• Movement
• Sleep
• Ceremony
• Sacred Space
• Land
• Community

In The Seven Circles, Luger and Collins share intimate stories from their life journeys growing up in tribal communities, from the Indigenous tradition of staying active and spiritually centered through running and dance, to the universal Indigenous emphasis on a light-filled, minimalist home to create sacred space. Along the way, Luger and Collins invite readers to both adapt these teachings to their lives as well as do so without appropriating and erasing the original context, representing a critical new ethos for the wellness space. Each chapter closes with practical advice on how to engage with the teachings, as well as wisdom for keeping that particular circle in harmony with the others.

With warmth and generosity—and 75 atmospheric photographs by Collins throughout—The Seven Circles teaches us how to connect with nature, with our community, and with ourselves, and to integrate ancient Indigenous philosophies of health and wellbeing into our own lives to find healing and balance.

Reviews
“A life-changing holistic guide to wellness rooted in empowerment, resiliency, and ‘good medicine.’ This book is for any human being searching for wellness solutions in a chaotic world, a true antidote to colonization.” — Vina Brown, Indigenous Scholar, Entrepreneur, Artist, and Professor of Indigenous Studies at Northwest Indian College

“The Seven Circles is a true innovation in Indigenous thought; it brings our shared heritage and traditional teachings to life. Truly inspiring. Readers will find their journey to be a motivating guide for self-transformation.” — Taiaiake Alfred, Mohawk Philosopher

“While the term ‘wellness’ has been co-opted and diluted by (primarily white) social media influencers in recent years, Luger and Collins are recentering the conversation around how to use Indigenous cultural values, foods, and modalities of movement as tools for spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional healing.” — Vanity Fair

“[Two of the] faces in the health and wellness scene that are pushing for inclusivity, justice, and kindness, toppling old conventions to make their own…Luger and Collins rewrite modern narratives regarding Native health while addressing complex histories and ongoing disparities.” — Outside magazine

“Spellbinding. This may be the first book I’ve ever read that made me stop and decide, “I’m making this change now!” Seven Circles opened my eyes to a way of life that is tested by time, guided by nature, and urgently needed today." — Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run, Natural Born Heroes, and Running with Sherman

“Wisdom abounds in this stimulating offering.” — Publishers Weekly

“Luger and Collins provide a range of sensible, informed, accessible guidance for both small- and large-scale lifestyle changes. An appealing manual for healing the self through Indigenous traditions.” — Kirkus Reviews

Additional Information
256 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | 75 Colour Photos | Hardcover

A transformational guide to getting yourself right in order to accomplish the work you were meant to do, from speaker, former U.S. Air Force officer, and member of the Ottawa tribe D.J. Vanas.

When faced with an important job, and people depending on you to do it, most of us will give and give until there’s nothing left. But running on empty, even for a worthy cause, only sets you up for failure in the long run. To persevere on the path to success requires more than sheer fearlessness and willpower. It requires what D.J. Vanas calls the warrior spirit, the kind of strength that looks outward but comes from deep within.

Drawing inspiration from Native American philosophy and tradition, The Warrior Within outlines a new model for personal power in the face of overwhelming chaos. A true warrior is not the toughest or bravest person in the room. A true warrior is committed to self-mastery, knows how to navigate change and disruption, transforms setbacks into opportunities for achievement, refuses to quit, and most importantly, always fights for something bigger than the self. With a vast array of stories and examples, from vision quests to treacherous hikes to veterans and service providers at the front lines, Vanas shows how to apply these principles to transform how you show up both for yourself and those around you.

More than an empowerment manual, The Warrior Within is a call to accomplish the world-changing work you were meant for by tapping into the power of the warrior spirit.

Reviews
"The powerful lessons imparted in these chapters will inspire strength, confidence and motivation, so that you can deliver your best in the worst of circumstances—while keeping your sanity and health! I encourage every healthcare giver to read The Warrior Within, for they truly serve, fight, protect and heal every day, often at their own expense."--LeAnn Thieman, author of the Chicken Soup for Nurse’s Soul series and founder of SelfCare for HealthCare®

"I highly recommend The Warrior Within! Through great storytelling, D.J. Vanas shares an often overlooked element of leadership ... taking care of yourself. Our beautiful Anishinaabe teachings emphasize balance in all things. Being a warrior means recognizing your needs and honoring your gifts. Way to go, D.J.!"--Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter

"D.J. Vanas inspires us to find our ‘warrior spirit’ of courage, perseverance, resilience, and teamwork in life’s most fearful times. Your heart will soar like an eagle as you read how ordinary heroes use this inner strength to serve others—and how we can learn to do the same.”--Joseph Pfeifer, FDNY Assistant Chief, retired, author of Ordinary Heroes

“This is it: the book I’ve been waiting for! There isn’t another on the market that applies indigenous principles and ideas in order to expose the warrior in you. A comprehensive, compelling, emotional and amazingly insightful book. I couldn’t put it down. I wish I had this book years ago!"--Juanita Mullen (Seneca), AI/AN Veterans Liaison, Department of Veterans Affairs

“DJ Vanas describes a life of leading and doing through Indigenous identity and values. Combining his personal story with advice, The Warrior Within is more than a leadership book. It is a story of living a life of abundance and rich relationships, with DJ as your terrific guide.”-Cheryl Crazy Bull, President & CEO, American Indian College Fund

Additional Information
256 pages | 5.72" x 8.57" | Hardcover 

Troubling Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Education offers a series of critical perspectives concerning reconciliation and reconciliatory efforts between Canadian and Indigenous peoples. Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars address both theoretical and practical aspects of troubling reconciliation in education across various contexts with significant diversity of thought, approach, and socio-political location. Throughout, the work challenges mainstream reconciliation discourses. This timely, unflinching analysis will be invaluable to scholars and students of Indigenous studies, sociology, and education.

Contributors: Daniela Bascuñán, Jennifer Brant, Liza Brechbill, Shawna Carroll, Frank Deer, George J. Sefa Dei (Nana Adusei Sefa Tweneboah), Lucy El-Sherif, Rachel yacaaʔał George, Celia Haig-Brown, Arlo Kempf, Jeannie Kerr, Ruth Green, David Newhouse, Amy Parent, Michelle Pidgeon, Robin Quantick, Jean-Paul Restoule, Toby Rollo, Mark Sinke, Sandra D. Styres, Lynne Wiltse, Dawn Zinga

Reviews
"This is crucially important work at this time, as universities, provincial education boards, and school districts grapple with their responses to the TRC. The contributors to Troubling Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Education continue dialogues around reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenization in schools at every level across Canada and offer real and actionable insights for educational leaders and teachers." - Shannon C. Leddy, University of British Columbia

"Troubling Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Education is a significant contribution in this era of the post-TRC, the Calls to Action, the MMIWG inquiry report, and the ongoing difficulties and legacies of systemic racism/colonialism against Indigenous peoples in Canadian institutions." - Lisa Korteweg, Lakehead University

Educator Information
Table of Contents
vii Foreword
JAN HARE
xiii Acknowledgements
xv A Troubling Place to Start: Reconciliation in Collapse
ARLO KEMPF, SANDRA D. STYRES, LIZA BRECHBILL AND LUCY EL-SHERIF
I
Theoretical Perspectives on (Ir)reconciliation: Polishing the Silver Covenant Chain
1 | Discovering Truth in the Post-TRC Era: Morality and Spirituality Discourses in the Reconciliatory Journeys of Schools
FRANK DEER
2 | Indigenous Resiliency, Renewal, and Resurgence in Decolonizing Canadian Higher Education
MICHELLE PIDGEON
3 | Uncomfortable Realities: Reconciliation in Higher Education
DAWN ZINGA
4 | Contested Knowledges: Indigeneity, Resistance, and Black Theorizing in Academia
GEORGE J. SEFA DEI (NANA ADUSEI SEFA TWENEBOAH)
5 | Some of Us Are More Canadian Than Others: Pedagogies of Citizenship and Learning Racialized Settlerhood
LUCY EL-SHERIF AND MARK SINKE
6 | The Performativity of Reconciliation: Illusory Justice and the Site C Dam
RACHEL YACAAʔAŁ GEORGE
7 | Beyond Curricula: Colonial Pedagogies in Public Schooling
TOBY ROLLO
II
Reconceptualizing Reconciliation in Education: Teaching and Learning in Right Relation
8 | Reconciliation and Relational Ethics in Education
SANDRA D. STYRES AND ARLO KEMPF
9 | Exploring Tensions in Taking Up the Call for Reconciliation in Teacher Education
LYNNE WILTSE
10 | Troubling Trespass: Moving Settler Teachers Toward Decolonization
DANIELA BASCUÑÁN, MARK SINKE, SHAWNA M. CARROLL, AND JEAN-PAUL RESTOULE
11 | Talking It Through, Talking Through It: A Dialogue on Indigenizing Education
CELIA HAIG-BROWN AND RUTH GREEN
12 | Recalling the Spirit and Intent of Indigenous Literatures
JENNIFER BRANT
13 | Teaching Indigenous Studies in a Time of Reconciliation: An Anticolonial Approach Toward Postcolonial Awareness
DAVID NEWHOUSE AND ROBIN QUANTICK
14 | Contemporary Colonialism and Reconciliation in Higher Education: A Decolonial Response Through Relationality
JEANNIE KERR AND AMY PARENT
Contributors

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

Pinesiw Iskwew, Thunder Woman, Dr. Marlyn Cook, member of Misipawistik Cree Nation is the author of Walking the Red Road for Healing. This book is based on her life and journey as a Cree Woman, Pipe Carrier, Sundancer, Sweat Lodge Keeper, and medical doctor (graduate MD 1987). She believes the approach for healing must be holistic and that our Traditional Healers work alongside physicians in our Indigenous communities. Dr. Marlyn Cook shares her own experiences of colonialism and how this affected her, her family and her community. Through her reflections of her Indigenous Knowledge, her Traditional Teachings of Ceremonies and Medicines, she acknowledges the resilience of communities in their healing and provides ways to heal. Dr. Cook’s intention in this powerful book is to bring us together in Truth and Reconciliation. This book will resonate with health, social, and justice prac

Educator Information
Keywords / Themes: Adult Education, Health & Healing, Traditional Teachings, Indigenous Knowledge, Truth and Reconciliation.

Additional Information
Pages: 200 | Paperback

This collection takes a holistic view of well-being, seeking complementarities between Indigenous approaches to healing and Western biomedicine. Topics include traditional healers and approaches to treatment of disease and illness; traditional knowledge and intellectual property around medicinal plant knowledge; the role of diet and traditional foods in health promotion; culturally sensitive approaches to healing work with urban Indigenous populations; and integrating biomedicine, alternative therapies, and Indigenous healing in clinical practice. Throughout, the voices of Elders, healers, physicians, and scholars are in dialogue to promote Indigenous community well-being through collaboration. This book will be of interest to scholars in Indigenous Studies, medicine and public health, medical anthropology, and anyone involved with care delivery and public health in Indigenous communities.

Contributors: Darlene Auger, Dorothy Badry, Margaret David, Meda DeWitt, Hal Eagletail, Gary L. Ferguson III, Marc Fonda, Annie Goose, Angela Grier (Pioohksoopanskii), Leslie Main Johnson, Allison Kelliher, Patrick Lightning, Mary Maje, Maria Mayan, Ruby E. Morgan, Richard T. Oster, Ann Maje Raider, Camille (Pablo) Russell, Ginetta Salvalaggio, Ellen L. Toth, Harry Watchmaker

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272 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback