Indigenous Peoples in Canada

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)

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

Dangling in the Glimmer of Hope: Academic Action on Truth and Reconciliation demonstrates actions academics have taken in relation to some of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Poetry, short stories, and children’s stories sit alongside scholarly chapters, mixing personal and academic voices to challenge and engage both the head and the heart about what Truth and Reconciliation—and the Calls to Action—require of us all.

Garry Gottfriedson, Victoria Handford, and their collaborators invite readers not only to explore the diverse facets of Indigenous identity, but also to embark on a transformative, collective journey towards mutual understanding and respect.

Contributions by Dorothy Cucw-la7 Christian, Georgann Cope Watson, Garry Gottfriedson, Victoria (Tory) Handford, Sarah Ladd, Patricia Liu Baergen, Tina Matthew, Rod McCormick, Gloria Ramirez, Fred Schaub, and Bernita Wienhold-Leahy.

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Land Acknowledgement
In Your Canada—A Thousand and Counting by Garry Gottfriedson
About the Cover Photograph
List of Poems
List of Figures
List of Tables
Foreword by Dorothy Cucw-la7 Christian

Introduction by Garry Gottfriedson and Victoria Handford

SECTION 1
Language and Culture Calls to Action

Returning from School by Garry Gottfriedson
Disrupting Colonial Practices through Indigenous Language Learning and Research by Gloria Ramirez

SECTION 2
Health Calls to Action

lessons by Garry Gottfriedson
Grave Concerns by Rod McCormick
A Walk Together by Bernita Wienhold-Leahy
Health Care Practices by Bernita Wienhold-Leahy

SECTION 3
Education for Reconciliation Calls to Action

KIRS Curriculum by Garry Gottfriedson
Change Begins with a Whisper by Georgann Cope Watson

SECTION 4
Business and Reconciliation Calls to Action

Too Much by Sarah Ladd
Cultural Dissonance: Job Interviewing and Indigenous Candidates by Sarah Ladd

SECTION 5
Commemoration Calls to Action

An Unholy Act by Garry Gottfriedson
Debwewin by Victoria Handford
Red Bridge by Victoria Handford

SECTION 6
Newcomers to Canada Calls to Action

The Flesh of Ice by Garry Gottfriedson
Encounters by Fred Schaub
Reconciliation and Decolonization: From the Shadows of Settler Shame to the Generosity of an Ethical Relationality by Fred Schaub
Exploring Curriculum as a Lived Experience of Poetic Dwelling in between Place Stories by Patricia Liu Baergen

Afterword by Tina Matthew
Contributors
Appendices

Additional Information
232 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 20 photos | Paperback

How people today create respectful relationships through peace and friendship.

Deyohahá:ge:, “two roads or paths” in Cayuga language, evokes the Covenant Chain-Two Row Wampum, known as the “grandfather of the treaties.” Famously, this Haudenosaunee wampum agreement showed how Indigenous people and newcomers could build peace and friendship by respecting each other’s cultures, beliefs, and laws as they shared the river of life.

Written by members of Six Nations and their neighbours, this book introduces readers not only to the 17th-century history of how the Dutch and British joined the wampum agreement, but also to how it might restore good relations today. Many Canadians and Americans have never heard of the Covenant Chain or Two Row Wampum, but 200 years of disregard have not obliterated the covenant. We all need to learn about this foundational wampum, because it is resurging in our communities, institutions, and courthouses—charting a way to a future.

The writers of Deyohahá:ge delve into the eco-philosophy, legal evolution, and ethical protocols of two-path peace-making. They tend the sacred, ethical space that many of us navigate between these paths. They show how people today create peace, friendship, and respect—literally—on the river of everyday life.

Reviews
"Deyohahá:ge: brilliantly reminds us of our obligations and responsibilities to one another, and the more-than-human world. It shows that pathways can only be forged by respecting the waters, earth, fires, and skies through which all creation travels.” - John Borrows, Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Toronto

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Indigenous Imaginings series.

Table of Contents
The Words That Come Before All Else
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Daniel Coleman, Ki’en Debicki, and Bonnie Freeman

Section One: Original Instructions
Gä•sweñta’ Reflections. Oren Lyons
Where the Roots Touch: tsi niyothahinen ne Tehontatenentshonteronhtáhkwa, Amber Meadow Adams
Wunnáumwash: Wampum Justice, Kelsey Leonard The Chain, Naturally Understood, Kayanesenh Paul Williams

Section Two: Learning from the River
Guswenta Space: An Invitation to Dialogue, David Newhouse
Navigating the Two Row in the Academy, Vanessa Watts
Two Rows of Reconciliation, Rick Hill
Below Decks in the Covenant: Blackness in the Two Row Tradition, Phanuel Antwi
Towards Peace: Living in the Three White Rows of the Two Row”, Sarah General

Section Three: Living on the River
The Pen Pal Project: Bridging the Divide with the Teachings of the Two Row Wampum Treaty,” Susie Miller and Scot Cooper
Deyohahage Gihe gowa’hneh: Living the Two Row Wampum, on the Grand River, Ellie Joseph and Jay Bailey
The Deep and Rippling Consciousness of Water: The Transition of Youth Experiences with the Two Row on the Grand River Paddle, Bonnie Freeman and Trish van Katwyk
Contributors
Endnotes
Bibliography
Glossary
Index

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

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 

What does it mean to be Secwepemc? And how can an autobiographical journey to recover Secwepemc identity inform teaching and learning? Drumming Our Way Home demonstrates how telling, retelling, and re-storying lived experiences not only passes on traditional ways but also opens up a world of culture-based learning.

Georgina Martin was taken from her mother not long after her birth in a segregated tuberculosis hospital. Her experience is representative of the intergenerational trauma inflicted by the Canadian state on Indigenous peoples. Here she tells her story and invites Elder Jean William and youth Colten Wycotte to reflect critically on their own family and community experiences. Together they journey, exchanging thoughts about personal and collective identity, culture and language, and the challenging process of gaining traditional knowledge.

This process of reaching into memories not only uncovers the pain of separation from culture but also provides a powerful example of reconnection through healing, affirmation, and intergenerational learning. Throughout this journey, Georgina Martin is guided by her hand drum, reflecting on its use as a way to uphold community protocols and honour teachings.

Drumming Our Way Home is evidence of the value of storytelling as pedagogy, demonstrating that it can offer vital lessons in teaching, learning, and meaning making.

This significant contribution to Indigenous pedagogical methodology is an excellent resource for educators, education students, and eduational policy makers. It should also be read by scholars and students in Indigenous studies and anthropology. Those in the helping fields of social work and health, education, and sociology will find the narrative of a personal healing journey inspiring and informative.

Reviews

Additional Information
176 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 7 b&w photos, 1 map | Paperback

A testimony to Indigenous resilience in business.

Despite investments in nation building, self-autonomy, and cultural resurgence, Indigenous economic development has remained an underexplored and underestimated area of research. Engraved on Our Nations overturns the discouraging deficit perspective too common in policy and academia and amplifies the largely undocumented history of successful Indigenous economic activity in Canada.

Following David Newhouse’s overview of Indigenous economic history, the authors of this collection illustrate how First Nation and Métis individuals and communities have met and overcome an array of challenges. Case studies focus on First Nations from Membertou (Nova Scotia) to Tahltan (British Columbia) and Indigenous-led enterprises like McDonald Brothers Electric (Northwest Territories) and Neechi Commons (Manitoba). Simultaneously celebrating Indigenous entrepreneurs and exploring concerns around sustainable development, the book also asks: can capitalism be Indigenized?

This first-of-its-kind collection shares stories not only of entrepreneurial excellence and persistence but savvy leadership, innovation, and reciprocity. In doing so, Engraved on Our Nations provides hope to Indigenous business leaders, youth, and elected officials working on the front lines to improve economic conditions and achieve "a good life" for their communities.

Reviews
“There are few books that can compare to this. The strengths-based approach used by each author is refreshing and will be of service to First Nations communities and to Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars in community economic development.” — Shelley T. Price

“Engraved on Our Nations clearly articulates the strength, courage, and foresight of Indigenous people. The uplifting stories within this volume will open the eyes of readers and elicit hope, inspiration, and pride.” — Bob Kayseas

Educator Information

Table of Contents
Preface: Exploring Indigenous Economic Tenacity in Canada – Wanda Wuttunee and Fred Wien

Introduction: Indigenous Economic History as the History of Tenacity – David Newhouse

Part One: Strategic Leadership

1. How Does First Nation Social and Economic Development Contribute to the Surrounding Region? A Case Study of Membertou – Mary Beth Doucette and Fred Wien

2. Incremental Planning: The Tsawwassen First Nation Experience – Daniel M. Millette

3. Fulfilling Treaty Promises: Treaty Land Entitlement and Urban Reserves in Saskatchewan – Charlotte Bezamat-Mantes

Part Two: Culturally on Point

4. Trading on Tradition: Innovative Indigenous Enterprise – Isobel M. Findlay

5. Capitalism: Can It Be Indigenized? – Clifford Gordon Atleo

6. Challenges and Opportunities for BC First Nations’ Economic Self-Determination – J. Sayers

Part Three: Family Connections

7. Honouring Entrepreneurial Resilience: Atlantic Region Lifetime Achievers – Chris Googoo, Catherine Martin, and Fred Wien

8. A Métis Light in the Northern Darkness—Case Study – Wanda Wuttunee

9. Neechi Commons Case Study: A Lost Love Letter to Winnipeg – Wanda Wuttunee

Part Four: Partnering for Success

10. Tahltan Economic Tenacity—From Affluence to Poverty to Affluence – Jerry Asp

11. Stronger Together: First Nation Community/Municipality Collaborations – Wanda Wuttunee

Conclusion: What Did We Learn About Indigenous Tenacity? Fred Wien and Wanda Wuttunee

Acknowledgements

Contributors

Index

Additional Information
304 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Index, Bibliography | Paperback

Revived from a coma after a traumatic event, Megan’s injuries leave her capable of great violence, forcing her desperate physician Cassandra to recruit Alison, an Indigenous clinician, as her consultant. Alison uses an innovative form of technologically enhanced expressive arts therapy to augment the rehabilitative effects of speaking Lenape, their shared (and almost extinct) language. However, this reminder of cultural expression and identity triggers Megan, putting herself into a life-threatening situation. With Megan’s safety in jeopardy, Alison must internalize a life-changing lesson to be able to save her: pain is often unjust, but it also reminds us that we’re alive.

Everything I Couldn’t Tell You is a potent reminder of the healing and rehabilitative power within Indigenous languages.

Reviews
“Science, music, art and language combine in the search of a healing prayer in [the] . . .  mind-blowing, heart-wrenching Everything I Couldn’t Tell You.” — Life With More Cowbell

Additional Information
112 pages | 5.37" x 8.38"

A Sixties Scoop survivor's journey back to her Nation and the truth of who she is

Otipemisiwak is a Plains Cree word describing the Metis, meaning "the people who own themselves."

Andrea Currie was born into a Metis family with a strong lineage of warriors, land protectors, writers, artists, and musicians - all of which was lost to her when she was adopted as an infant into a white family with no connection to her people. It was 1960, and the Sixties Scoop was in full swing. Together with her younger adopted brother, also Metis, she struggled through her childhood, never feeling like she belonged in that world. When their adoptions fell apart during their teen years, the two siblings found themselves on different paths, yet they stayed connected. Currie takes us through her journey, from the harrowing time of bone-deep disconnection, to the years of searching and self-discovery, into the joys and sorrows of reuniting with her birth family.

Finding Otipemisiwak weaves lyrical prose, poetry, and essays into an incisive commentary on the vulnerability of Indigenous children in a white supremacist child welfare system, the devastation of cultural loss, and the rocky road some people must walk to get to the truth of who they are. Her triumph over the state's attempts to erase her as an Indigenous person is tempered by the often painful complexities of re-entering her cultural community while bearing the mark of the white world in which she was raised. In Finding Otipemisiwak, one woman's stories about surviving, then thriving as a fully present member of her Nation and the human family are a portal. Readers who walk through will better understand the impact of the Sixties Scoop in the country now called Canada.

Reviews
"Finding Otipemisiwak is a stunning, illuminating, and gutting journey through the life of a Sixties Scoop survivor. Page turning, genre bending, personal and political, staggeringly honest, heartbreaking, and glorious, it is a story of resistance, possibility, healing, and hope, of reclamation and reconciliation. With words to stop you in your tracks, Currie braids together heart, soul, and smarts in memoir, poems, threads of her family histories, the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, unflinching questions, and courage, making herself magnificently vulnerable. This book cuts to the heart of the Sixties Scoop crisis, addresses the intergenerational trauma of not only its survivors but its effects on all of us. It gives us all a chance to relearn the history of Canada and to dream of a healing in it. It is part of the truth-telling change this country so desperately needs." — Camille Fouillard, author of Precious Little

"Finding Otipemisiwak is a beautifully written story of tragedy and triumph, as well as one of escape from a false family into the embrace of a loving one. Threading through Currie's remarkable tale is a heart-wrenching bond between her and her adoptive brother, Rob. This book contains a story that desperately needs to be told." —Frank Macdonald, author of A Forest for Calum

"This book takes on the quality of a great radio documentary, splicing prose, poetry, and actuality as Andrea Currie cross-examines colonization and the story that settler society placed over her like a net. When she comes to know who she and her people are, there is joy and there is sadness, but also truth and belonging, a firm scaffolding as Andrea comes to own herself. Finding Otipemisiwak is a powerful act of resistance and gripping to read. It is a balm. —Shelagh Rogers, founding host and co-creator of The Next Chapter CBC Radio

"Finding Otipemisiwak is a poignant story of self-discovery, weaving Red River Metis heritage with personal narrative and ancestral lore and honouring resilience amidst the Sixties Scoop." —Albert G.D. Beck, Director, Manitoba Metis Federation

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

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

Matt and Masha hit it off during a theatre research trip in Ukraine. At first they seem like opposites: Masha loves the sea, Matt loves mountains. Masha is Ukrainian, Matt is Métis. But the passionate spark ignited between them cannot be denied. Despite the improbabilities of a cross-continental relationship, a few fairy-tale visits overseas solidifies their bond. But when it seems distance could be the only obstacle in their path, a series of extreme circumstances put their commitment to the ultimate test.

Based on actual events, First Métis Man of Odesa is the extraordinary true story of a whirlwind romance that withstands a global pandemic, a surprise pregnancy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Transcending the usual tropes of documentary theatre, this heartwarming how-we-got-together tale turns art of the here and now into a catalyst for action and a hopeful ode for a better future.

Awards

• 2024 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play winner

Reviews
“A star-crossed, windswept, war-torn romcom that waltzes back and forth across the threshold that separates dreams from nightmares.” — Ben Waldman, Winnipeg Free Press

“Many of the best tales in the show are so deeply improbable, or so straightforwardly honest, that the plot lines could never have held up as fiction; but as the true stories they are, they triumph.” — Julia Peterson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

“For all its full-blown drama, First Métis Man of Odesa retains a dreamy charm without ever letting go of the truth.”— Liane Faulder, Edmonton Journal

Additional Information
80 pages | 5.12" x 7.62" | Paperback

Delores Churchill, Haida weaver, shares the stories of her life, her culture and the importance of passing cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. Told with humility, humour and deep respect, From a Square to a Circle is a testament to the values of her people, a technical guide to her masterful weaving skills and a gift to the reader at every point along her journey.

Part memoir, part how-to guide, this book shines light on Delores’s weaving teachers, including her strong-minded mother Selina (Ilst’ayaa), whose teachings Delores once resisted as a child. The Haida are connected to weaving through their history, which goes back thousands of years ago as shown through discoveries like the 4,000-year-old baskets at south Baranof.

Walk with Delores as she harvests cedar bark for baskets, Selina teaching “by modelling and then leaving the learner to imitate.” Learn the weaving harvest and preparation terminology. Follow the steps of how to prepare cedar bark, harvest spruce roots, and learn natural dye recipes. Photos and diagrams are visual aids that accompany the steps to Haida weaving techniques and instructions.

Having passed her skills on to hundreds of people, believing that “weaving belongs to all of us,” Delores wishes to share the knowledge of basketweaving where beginners and skilled weavers are able to express their distinct selves, just as every coastal Indigenous weaving style is unique. The love for basketweaving displayed in Delores’s writing is sure to make readers yearn to try their own hand at the craft.

Additional Information
256 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | 240 Photographs | Paperback 

We clothed the royals. We fed the worker. We guided the traveler. We abetted the soldier. We are not afraid to love. So begins Carl Gawboy's groundbreaking graphic history of the Fur Trade Era. From 1650 to 1850, the Ojibwe Nation was the epicenter of the first global trading network. Trade goods from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America flowed into the Great Lakes region, floating along Ojibwe waterways in birchbark canoes paddled by mixed-race Voyageurs. Gawboy offers a fresh perspective on the fur trade era, placing Ojibwe technology, kinship systems, cultural paradigms, and women at the heart of this remarkable era, where they have always belonged.

Additional Information
202 pages | 8.25" x 11.00" | Hardcover 

Award-winning author Christina Myers navigates the uncharted territory of midlife in a time of rapid social, cultural, and environmental change.

Modern midlife is finding oneself halfway home but without any reliable maps for the route ahead. With wit and warmth, these personal essays move from a first bra to first hot flashes to consider the lessons we learn through media and culture--and from each other--about bodies, sexuality, fatphobia, gender roles, and what we should want in life. Christina Myers explores the ways that beauty standards and cultural expectations around femininity have shaped our identities and how we might shed those going forward; the power of friendships and the value of having other women to learn from; the anxiety of moving through motherhood into menopause in a time of global environmental crisis and political upheaval; and the uncertainty of how this stage of life should unfold, as old systems shift and crumble. Though our maps for midlife are never identical, we discover familiar paths and common landmarks in each other's stories; these essays remind us there are others on this trail with us, just behind or just ahead, out of sight. We are not alone.

Reviews
"Reading Halfway Home feels like having a conversation with a very wise, witty friend. Christina Myers's delightful collection of essays about the stages of a woman's life is personal, but also universal. We've all been there, and it's a joy to realize that we're not alone on the journey." — Elizabeth Renzetti, author of Shrewed: A Wry and Closely Observed Look at the Lives of Women and Girls

"Christina Myers effortlessly charts the often-overlooked territory of being a woman in today's complex society. Through insightful personal essays, she explores the intricate intersections of femininity, friendship, motherhood, and environmental turbulence, all with a nostalgic flair. With much-needed humour and wisdom, Myers reminds us that even in the midst of uncertainty, we're never alone on this journey. This book is a necessary, heartfelt guide for those seeking their own unique path through the maze of midlife. A must read!" — Chelene Knight, award-winning author of Let It Go: Free Yourself from Old Beliefs and Find a New Path to Joy

"Halfway Home is a love letter to mothers and grandmothers, sisters and daughters, witches and crones. Christina Myers's storytelling is gentle and honest, a must-read memoir for women of all ages. So many times, I found myself nodding and exclaiming, 'Yes! That's exactly it!' It's a mirror but also an invitation to join a secret coven of wise women." — K. J. Aiello, author of The Monster and the Mirror: Mental Illness, Magic, and the Stories We Tell

Educator Information
Includes one chapter focusing on the author's Indigenous identity. 

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