Health

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120 pages | 3.94" x 5.44" | 44-Card Deck and Guidebook

In the dense rainforest of the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Somass River (c̓uumaʕas) brings sockeye salmon (miʕaat) into the Nuu-chah-nulth community of Tseshaht. C̓uumaʕas and miʕaat are central to the sacred food practices that have been a crucial part of the Indigenous community’s efforts to enact food sovereignty, decolonize their diet, and preserve their ancestral knowledge.

In A Drum in One Hand, a Sockeye in the Other, Charlotte Coté shares contemporary Nuu-chah-nulth practices of traditional food revitalization in the context of broader efforts to re-Indigenize contemporary diets on the Northwest Coast. Coté offers evocative stories of her Tseshaht community’s and her own work to revitalize relationships to haʔum (traditional food) as a way to nurture health and wellness. As Indigenous peoples continue to face food insecurity due to ongoing inequality, environmental degradation, and the Westernization of traditional diets, Coté foregrounds healing and cultural sustenance via everyday enactments of food sovereignty: berry picking, salmon fishing, and building a community garden on reclaimed residential school grounds. This book is for everyone concerned about the major role food plays in physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

Reviews
"A powerful philosophy of food sovereignty. Coté successfully navigates myriad scholarly and nonscholarly voices, telling a compelling comprehensive story that helps us understand the practices and policies needed to make change in our food systems." — Kyle Whyte, Michigan State University

"Adeptly uses a deep storytelling method, including both lived experience and critical analysis of history and theory, to examine experiences and transformations of Indigenous foodways." — Hannah Wittman, University of British Columbia

"I am so grateful for Charlotte Cote’s A Drum in One Hand, a Sockeye in the Other, which creates a path into the living foodways and thoughtways of her people. Her warm, storytelling voice and sharing of collective knowledge embody the generous spirit of a feast, and this book itself, is a feast." — Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomi), SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry

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208 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 17 b&w illustrations | 2 maps | Paperback

A new commemorative edition of Theodore Fontaine's powerful, groundbreaking memoir of survival and healing after years of residential school abuse.

Originally published in 2010, Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools chronicles the impact of Theodore Fontaine’s harrowing experiences at Fort Alexander and Assiniboia Indian Residential Schools, including psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse; disconnection from his language and culture; and the loss of his family and community. Told as remembrances infused with insights gained through his long healing process, Fontaine goes beyond the details of the abuse that he suffered to relate a unique understanding of why most residential school survivors have post-traumatic stress disorders and why succeeding generations of Indigenous children suffer from this dark chapter in history. With a new foreword by Andrew Woolford, professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Manitoba, this commemorative edition will continue to serve as a powerful testament to survival, self-discovery, and healing.

Reviews
"Broken Circle is a life story of Mr. Fontaine and he said it like it was; 'his personal story affirms the tragedy that occurred during this era and the impacts it has on our Indigenous people today'. Mr. Fontaine's humbleness and care for his people was remarkable and no words will ever express what he meant to his people on Turtle Island." —Chief Derrick Henderson, Sagkeeng First Nation

“Theodore Fontaine has written a testimony that should be mandatory reading for everyone out there who has ever wondered, 'Why can’t Aboriginal people just get over Residential Schools?' Mr. Fontaine’s life story is filled with astonishing and brutal chapters, but, through it all, time, healing, crying, writing, friends and family, and love—sweet love—have all graced their way into the man, father, son, brother, husband, and child of wonder Theodore has always deserved to be. What a humbling work to read. I’m grateful he wrote it and had the courage to share it. Mahsi cho." —Richard Van Camp, Tłįchǫ author of The Lesser Blessed and Moccasin Square Gardens

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224 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 2nd Edition | Paperback

Decolonizing Data explores how ongoing structures of colonialization negatively impact the well-being of Indigenous peoples and communities across Canada, resulting in persistent health inequalities. In addressing the social dimensions of health, particularly as they affect Indigenous peoples and BIPOC communities, Decolonizing Data asks, Should these groups be given priority for future health policy considerations?

Decolonizing Data provides a deeper understanding of the social dimensions of health as applied to Indigenous peoples, who have been historically underfunded in and excluded from health services, programs, and quality of care; this inequality has most recently been seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drawing on both western and Indigenous methodologies, this unique scholarly contribution takes both a sociological perspective and the "two-eyed seeing" approach to research methods. By looking at the ways that everyday research practices contribute to the colonization of health outcomes for Indigenous peoples, Decolonizing Data exposes the social dimensions of healthcare and offers a careful and respectful reflection on how to "unsettle conversations" about applied social research initiatives for our most vulnerable groups.

Reviews
"Decolonizing Data is a valuable resource and guide to taking a decolonized critical approach to Indigenous research for practitioners, academics, and researchers. The book notably takes an important stance in discussing and executing allyship in Indigenous research in an important area of health and wellness. Jacqueline M. Quinless offers a unique case study that is very helpful for non-Indigenous researchers who are wanting to engage with Indigenous research in a respectful way."— Lisa Monchalin, Professor of Criminology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

"Decolonizing Data is clear and concise. The literature is sound and conducted in a professional manner. This book will be useful in courses on decolonizing approaches, Indigenous methodologies, methods, health and well-being, social sciences, and research practices." — Michael Lickers, Associate Faculty and Indigenous Scholar in Residence, School of Leadership Studies, Royal Roads University

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172 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 1 b&w map, 5 b&w figures, 5 b&w tables | Paperback

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

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 

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224 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | 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)

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208 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 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

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

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

Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars forward child welfare issues currently impacting Indigenous children in Canada.

Developed by the Prairie Child Welfare Consortium, this edited collection brings together accomplished Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars from the prairie provinces to forward critical research about a range of contemporary child welfare issues currently impacting Indigenous children in Canada.
 
Centering Indigenous knowledge and working to decolonize child welfare, contributors address the over-representation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system, the un-met recommendations of the TRC, the connections between colonialism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, the impact of Bill C-92, and more.
 
Contributors include: Jason Albert, Dorothy Badry, Cindy Blackstock, Elder Mae Louise Campbell, Peter Choate, Linda Dano-Chartrand, Michael Doyle, Koren Lightning Earle, Arlene Eaton Erickson, Yahya El-Lahib, Hadley Friedland,  Don Fuchs, Del Graff, Jennifer Hedges, Bernadette Iahtail, Jennifer King, Brittany Mathews, Eveline Milliken, Kelly Provost—Ekkinnasoyii (Sparks in a Fire), Christina Tortorelli, Gabrielle Lindstrom Tsapinaki, Susannah Walker, and Robyn Williams

Reviews
“A great contribution for all of us who conduct research, teach, and work directly in the field of Indigenous child welfare practice.”—Jeannine Carrière, author of Calling Our Families Home: Métis Peoples’ Experiences with Child Welfare

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

Indigenous Medicine Woman Asha Frost invites readers to learn the healing medicine of the 13 Ojibway moons and the spirit animals that will guide their wisdom journey.

If you are drawn to Indigenous Medicine ways, you, too, have power and beauty in your own lineage waiting to be discovered.

Follow the path of the 13 Ojibway moons with animal spirits as your guides to unlock powerful teachings that will help you directly experience your own medicine connection to your inherent healing powers. If you feel you don't have access to your roots, ancestors, or spiritual connection and you look outside of yourself for answers, you are forgetting the medicine you need lives within you.

Through storytelling, personal reflections, ceremonies, rituals, and shamanic journeys, readers will learn to apply ancient wisdom and ancestral medicine to their own lives in meaningful ways that are respectful and conscious of the stolen lands, lives, and traditions of Indigenous peoples.

Discover how to:
• Ground and root into your own lineage and your ancestral guides.
• Connect to spirit and your innate healing powers in your own unique way.
• Practice self-care and rest on your journey.
• Return ancestral ways of cleansing and purifying.
• Trust and surrender in order to manifest.
• Remember your dreams and use them in your daily life.
• Release self-doubt, fear, disconnection, and insecurity.

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280 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

Nowhere in the texts on counselling, recovery, or lifespan development does it make links between well-being and not having your land stolen. When an entire people are generally portrayed as mentally ill, because that is, of course, what it means to have a diagnosis of clinical depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, it is easy for the State to view these people as unfit to manage their lives. Then, all sorts of functions are performed on Indigenous families that are tantamount to victim-blaming formulations that, in the end, deny opportunities associated with full citizenship.

The author goes beyond offering social analysis, and possible pathways toward healing, and shares her own experience as an Indigenous woman with Metis, Cree and Gwichin heritage. She talks about her approach to a second cancer diagnosis, and explores the way she characterized her experience of chemotherapy and radiation in a way that cast the journey as personal and heroic, rather than merely medical and out of her control.

One of the main contributions of this book is a discussion of how mainstream counselling and the helping professions have overlooked important facts about oppression, including the reminder from Gloria Steinem that the personal is political.

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135 Pages | 6” x 9” | Paperback

Though First Nations communities in Canada have historically lacked access to clean water, affordable food, and equitable health care, they have never lacked access to well-funded scientists seeking to study them. Inventing the Thrifty Gene examines the relationship between science and settler colonialism through the lens of “Aboriginal diabetes” and the thrifty gene hypothesis, which posits that Indigenous peoples are genetically predisposed to type 2 diabetes and obesity due to their alleged hunter-gatherer genes.

Hay’s study begins with Charles Darwin’s travels and his observations on the Indigenous peoples he encountered, setting the imperial context for Canadian histories of medicine and colonialism. It continues in the mid-twentieth century with a look at nutritional experimentation during the long career of Percy Moore, the medical director of Indian Affairs (1946–1965). Hay then turns to James Neel’s invention of the thrifty gene hypothesis in 1962 and Robert Hegele’s reinvention and application of the hypothesis to Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario in the 1990s. Finally, Hay demonstrates the way in which settler colonial science was responded to and resisted by Indigenous leadership in Sandy Lake First Nation, who used monies from the thrifty gene study to fund wellness programs in their community.

Inventing the Thrifty Gene exposes the exploitative nature of settler science with Indigenous subjects, the flawed scientific theories stemming from faulty assumptions of Indigenous decline and disappearance, as well as the severe inequities in Canadian health care that persist even today.

Reviews
“Inventing the Thrifty Gene puts a much needed nail in the coffin of the ‘thrifty gene hypothesis’ by exposing its place within a long lineage of exploitative and extractive scientific research on Indigenous peoples.”– Ian Mosby, Department of History, Ryerson University

Educator Information
Afterword from Theresa Redsky Fiddler, who is an Anishinabe Elder originally from Big Grassy and Shoal Lake First Nation. She is an educator, an advocate, and an important figure in Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s Health Transformation initiative.

Table of Contents
Introduction: Underserviced and Over-Studied

Ch 1: On the Origins of Thrifty Genes: Charles Darwin and The H.M.S. Beagle

Ch 2: ‘The Operation of Being Civilized’: Sir Francis Bond Head the Foundations of Federal Indian Policy

Ch 3: Studied to Death: Chief Medical Officers and the Scientization of Federal Indian Policy

Ch 4: The Marrow Thief: James V. Neel and the Invention of the Thrifty Gene

Ch 5: Chief Josias Fiddler: Remembering the Hunger Strike of ’88

Ch 6: The Return of the Thrifty Gene: From the DNA Deal to Its Curious Afterlife

Conclusion: The Grandfather Rocks of Josias Fiddler

Afterword: Josias Fiddler’s Life and Legacy, by Teri Redsky Fiddler