Indigenous Peoples in Canada

An intimate yet wide-sweeping story of a marine biologist working to save ocean ecosystems from climate change.

With the world’s oceans ravaged by climate change, Émeraude, a young marine biologist, works to preserve aquatic ecosystems by recreating them for zoos. When her work earns her a spot aboard a research vessel with an extended mission in the Arctic, it is the inescapable draw of the ocean that will save her when the world she leaves behind is irrevocably changed.

Stories of Émeraude’s ancestors — a young sailor abandoned at birth, a conjuror who mixes potions for her neighbours, a violent young man who hides in the woods to escape an even more violent war, and a talented young singer born to a mother who cannot speak — weave their way through her intimate reflections on a modest life, unknowingly shaped by those who came before.

Reviews
"Aquariums is a luminous, touching and comforting book, written with great clarity. In other words, a healing read. It can be read in a single sitting, and picked up again when one’s soul needs soothing." — Solaris

"J.D. Kurtness stands out on the indigenous literary scene for her unique style, inspired by dystopian and apocalyptic writing. In Aquariums, the author delivers a fragmented novel of filiation, mixing the different (non-)stories of a lineage and of the same generation, like an aquarium housing an ecosystem, to an apocalyptic end forcing a reset of the planetary population. Kurtness’s aesthetic is characterised by a holistic cosmic writing in which a sort of Glissant’s Tout-Monde is formed: the narratives of ancestors and the living communicate with the perceived and existing elements. This cosmic writing is conveyed through the fragmentary form, which is more organic than functional, the use of nature-related metaphors, that are tied to the life story of a whale, and the hybridity of the novel, which mixes the genres of life writing and dystopia. Although the author is Ilnu, the dimension of autochthony is not central to Aquariums. It is partially present in the discourse and the constellation of characters, but is not actively addressed." - Abstract from Dystopie, Fragmentation et Filiation dans Aquariums de J.D. Kurtness by Jody Danard

"This is a small book on a huge theme, set in various places and eras, featuring different perspectives. It could be confusing, but it works – so much so that I sometimes wished Kurtness had picked up some of her loose threads and developed the stories of Émeraude’s ancestors instead of returning to her protagonist’s journey. I want to know more about the scarred sailor, the blind shark, and the travelling whale. She dips her toe into the fantastical or the romantic and then pulls back, back to the science of a dying world. Aquariums is an inventive book on a grim not-so-distant future. In the end, Kurtness chooses to believe in the resilience of humanity. Like her ancestors before her, Émeraude will fight for her people’s future." - Roxane Hudon, Montreal Review of Books

Educator Information
Translated from French to English by Pablo Strauss 

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

In this new edition of her powerful debut, Plains Cree writer and National Poet Laureate Louise B. Halfe - Sky Dancer reckons with personal history within cultural genocide.

Employing Indigenous spirituality, black comedy, and the memories of her own childhood as healing arts, celebrated poet Louise B. Halfe - Sky Dancer finds an irrepressible source of strength and dignity in her people. Bear Bones and Feathers offers moving portraits of Halfe's grandmother (a medicine woman whose life straddled old and new worlds), her parents (both trapped in a cycle of jealousy and abuse), and the people whose pain she witnessed on the reserve and at residential school.

Originally published by Coteau Books in 1994, Bear Bones and Feathers won the Milton Acorn People's Poet Award, and was a finalist for the Spirit of Saskatchewan Award, the Pat Lowther Award, and the Gerald Lampert Award.

Reviews
"With gentleness, old woman's humour, and a good red willow switch, Louise chases out the shadowy images that haunt our lives. She makes good medicine, she sings a beautiful song."— Maria Campbell, author of Halfbreed

Additional Information
144 pages | 5.75" x 8.50" | Paperback

We find our way forward by going back.

The invented history of the Western world is crumbling fast, Anishinaabe writer Patty Krawec says, but we can still honor the bonds between us. Settlers dominated and divided, but Indigenous peoples won't just send them all "home."

Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps readers see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer. Settler colonialism tried to force us into one particular way of living, but the old ways of kinship can help us imagine a different future. Krawec asks, What would it look like to remember that we are all related? How might we become better relatives to the land, to one another, and to Indigenous movements for solidarity? Braiding together historical, scientific, and cultural analysis, Indigenous ways of knowing, and the vivid threads of communal memory, Krawec crafts a stunning, forceful call to "unforget" our history.

This remarkable sojourn through Native and settler history, myth, identity, and spirituality helps us retrace our steps and pick up what was lost along the way: chances to honor rather than violate treaties, to see the land as a relative rather than a resource, and to unravel the history we have been taught.

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.81" x 8.53" | Hardcover

Blood follows a Two-Spirit Indigenous person as they navigate urbanity, queerness, and a kaleidoscope of dreams, memory, and kinship.

Conceived in the same world as their acclaimed debut, Bones, Tyler Pennock's Blood centres around a protagonist who at first has difficulty knowing the difference between connection and pain, and we move with them as they explore what it means to want. Pennock weaves longing, intimacy, and Anishinaabe relationalities to recentre and rethink their speaker's relationship to the living--never forgetting non-human kin.

This book is a look at how deep history is represented in the everyday; it also tries to answer how one person can challenge the impacts of that history. It is a reminder that Indigenous people carry the impacts of colonial history and wrestle with them constantly. Blood explores the relationships between spring and winter, ice and water, static things and things beginning to move, and what emerges in the thaw.

Reviews
"Pennock's Blood shines on the parts of the self that defy the ruthlessness of empire. By turns inward to the still and sobering power of language, and again outward to the echoes of 'leaves and wind,' a music as sensitive as it is revelatory ushers us into his unique measure of aliveness. The poet here is engaged and unafraid to look long." — Canisia Lubrin, author of The Dyzgraphxst

Additional Information
104 pages | 5.75" x 8.50" | Paperback

Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things—from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen—provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.

Awards

• 2022 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year winner
• 2023 NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 winner
• 2023 Nautilus Book Awards winner
• 2023 The Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens winner
• 2022 Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year winner
• 2023 NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 winner
• 2023 Riverby Award winner
• 2024 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List winner

Reviews
"Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is my new favorite book! What a great way for young people (and anyone, really) to learn about our healing medicines. So many teachings within the pages. I love the mix of photos, illustrations, and text boxes filled with reflective questions and translations. I will be purchasing boxes of this incredible book to share with loved ones! Chii miigwech!"—Angeline Boulley, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter 

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 18.

“The themes that are interwoven throughout Braiding Sweetgrass align beautifully with both middle school and high school curriculum around social and emotional learning and environmental science. This new edition will help affirm the identities and beliefs of Indigenous teens while also introducing non-Indigenous teens to Indigenous teachings and ways of understanding the natural world.” - Shaina Olmanson, Editorial Director for Young Adult Nonfiction at Lerner Publishing Group

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.50" x 8.25" | 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

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

Trailblazer. Residential school Survivor. First Treaty Indigenous player in the NHL. All of these descriptions are true--but none of them tell the whole story.

Fred Sasakamoose, torn from his home at the age of seven, endured the horrors of residential school for a decade before becoming one of 120 players in the most elite hockey league in the world. He has been heralded as the first Indigenous player with Treaty status in the NHL, making his official debut as a 1954 Chicago Black Hawks player on Hockey Night in Canada and teaching Foster Hewitt how to pronounce his name. Sasakamoose played against such legends as Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, and Maurice Richard. After twelve games, he returned home.

When people tell Sasakamoose's story, this is usually where they end it. They say he left the NHL to return to the family and culture that the Canadian government had ripped away from him. That returning to his family and home was more important to him than an NHL career. But there was much more to his decision than that. Understanding Sasakamoose's choice means acknowledging the dislocation and treatment of generations of Indigenous peoples. It means considering how a man who spent his childhood as a ward of the government would hear those supposedly golden words: "You are Black Hawks property."

Sasakamoose's story was far from over once his NHL days concluded. He continued to play for another decade in leagues around Western Canada. He became a band councillor, served as Chief, and established athletic programs for kids. He paved a way for youth to find solace and meaning in sports for generations to come. Yet, threaded through these impressive accomplishments were periods of heartbreak and unimaginable tragedy--as well moments of passion and great joy.

This isn't just a hockey story; Sasakamoose's groundbreaking memoir sheds piercing light on Canadian history and Indigenous politics, and follows this extraordinary man's journey to reclaim pride in an identity and a heritage that had previously been used against him.

Reviews
“Fred Sasakamoose played in the NHL before First Nations people had the right to vote in Canada. This page turner will have you cheering for “Fast Freddy” as he faces off against huge challenges both on and off the ice—a great gift to every proud hockey fan, Canadian, and Indigenous person.”—Wab Kinew, Leader of the Manitoba NDP and author of The Reason You Walk

“Call Me Indian needs to be in every library and on every school curriculum in Canada. Fred Sasakamoose’s story is gripping and powerfully told—a story of triumph and tragedy, of great success and the perils of excess. There is laughter and tears here aplenty, but also inspiration. Characters as large as Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull are easily matched by the likes of Moosum, Freddy’s grandfather; Father Roussel, the only good to be found in residential school; George Vogan, who always believed in Fred—and Loretta, who loved him, gave him family, and ultimately saved him.”—Roy MacGregor, bestselling author of Chief: The Fearless Vision of Billy Diamond and Canadians: Portrait of a Country

Additional Information
288 pages | 5.20" x 7.94" | 8 pp 4/c photo insert

Meg Masters assisted Fred in writing his memoir.  She is a Toronto-based writer and editor who has worked with many bestselling Canadian authors.

In the literary tradition of The Outsiders comes a coming-of-age novel about teen boys and Indigenous gangs.

Sixteen-year-old Josh is no stranger to gang life. His dad, the leader of the Warriors, a gang on their reserve, is in jail, and Josh’s older brother has taken charge.

Josh’s mom has made it clear the Warriors and their violence aren’t welcome in her home — Josh’s dad and brother included. She wants Josh to focus on graduating high school. Josh is unsure whether gang life is for him — that is until gang violence arrives on his doorstep.

Turning to the Warriors, Josh, now known as “Creeboy,” starts down the path to becoming a full gang member — cutting himself off from his friends, family and community outside the gang.

It’s harder than ever for Creeboy to envision a different future for himself. Will anything change his mind?

Educator Information
Interest ages 13 to 18.

Written for reluctant readers.

Fry Reading Level: 2.0

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools resource collection for grades 9 to 12 for English Language Arts.

Content Warning: References death and violence. 

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.51" x 8.50" | Paperback

Davidee has always loved hockey. Lately, though, all he wants to do is play video games. He dreams of playing in the NHL, but how does a kid from Naujaat make the big league?

When Davidee tries out for the Arctic Winter Games and unexpectedly makes the team, he can’t believe his luck. But Davidee is only the backup goalie, and Team Nunavut can’t seem to find their footing. Can Davidee find a way to get the team playing together before the gold medal game?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 11 to 13.

This is a Hi-Lo book that features an engaging story at an accessible reading level for middle school and high school students.

This book shows the value of working hard, not giving up, and being a good friend and teammate.

Additional Information
72 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Dempsey Bob: In His Own Voice is based on the first full-scale solo museum exhibition of this extraordinary Tahltan-Tlingit artist, one of the finest living carvers of the Northwest Coast. Drawing from extensive interviews with the artist by the exhibition’s curator, Sarah Milroy, the book presents the story of his life told his own way, including extensive and intimate reflections on the creation of particular works. Gorgeous photographs of the artworks, which are drawn from key private collections in Canada and public collections in Canada, the US and beyond, are supplemented with material from his sketchbooks to create a vivid portrait of the creative process.

Additional Information
208 pages | 9.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover

A collaboration exploring the importance of the Ojibway-Anishinabe worldview, use of ceremony, and language in living a good life, attaining true reconciliation, and resisting the notions of indigenization and colonialization inherent in Western institutions.

Indigenization within the academy and the idea of truth and reconciliation within Canada have been seen as the remedy to correct the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canadian society. While honourable, these actions are difficult to achieve given the Western nature of institutions in Canada and the collective memory of its citizens, and the burden of proof has always been the responsibility of Anishinabeg.

Authors Makwa Ogimaa (Jerry Fontaine) and Ka-pi-ta-aht (Don McCaskill) tell their di-bah-ji-mo-wi-nan (Stories of personal experience) to provide insight into the cultural, political, social, and academic events of the past fifty years of Ojibway-Anishinabe resistance in Canada. They suggest that Ojibway-Anishinabe i-zhi-chi-gay-win zhigo kayn-dah-so-win (Ways of doing and knowing) can provide an alternative way of living and thriving in the world. This distinctive worldview — as well as Ojibway-Anishinabe values, language, and ceremonial practices — can provide an alternative to Western political and academic institutions and peel away the layers of colonialism, violence, and injustice, speaking truth and leading to true reconciliation.

Reviews
"Fontaine and McCaskill write in a way our own Indigenous People can understand and feel; their passion is tangible." — Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Distinguished Professor, Massey University - NZ

"There are multiple ways to inhabit our deepest principles. There are also many ways to honor land and our elders by embodying the teachings of both. Here is life found in kindness, loving, and truth. How do we access healing and how do we share this healing with others? Reading this book is one way. Tears of gratitude are for you both, Jerry Fontaine and Don McCaskill. Mahalo nui no ko ?ike nahenahe. Thank you for this mutual emergence shaped as much by friendship as it is by ?ike kupuna - elder knowledge. What is within these pages are ceremonial gifts offered to all who will take the time to connect with what is inevitable about our collective evolution." — Manulani Aluli Meyer, University of Hawai‘i

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

From poet and visual artist Frederick McDonald, an illuminating collection that explores the intricacies of existing within two worlds.

Daydreams turn into night dreams that carry the author on a journey of self-awareness and personal discovery while living and travelling in two worlds: that of his reality as a member of the Fort McKay First Nation and existing as part of Canadian culture within its mainstream paradigm of savage stereotypes and ancient archetypes. Wondering at the intricacies of these worlds and what was, what could have been and what could be as his community navigates a myriad of political policies and propaganda, McDonald weaves experiences of injustice and hardship with the glory and beauty of his culture, all while contemplating the endurance of the natural environment amid human destruction.

Reviews
"Frederick McDonald is a master of the poetic image. His people spring to vivid life, loud and colourful in our mind’s eye. We join their dreams and journeys. We come visit. We walk traplines and float in an old canoe. We feel the cold as lazy sled dogs hitch a ride behind a snowmobile. We ride a palomino on our birthday. We share some hot pea soup. We laugh out loud and cry alone. We follow the Raven. We are the better for it." — Therese Greenwood, author of What You Take with You

"Dreams and Journeys is a collection of poetry meant to be shared and read aloud. It is a conversation with Frederick McDonald, where a brown boy tells his story and recounts history. It is a particular narrative based on his life experiences and, simultaneously, a universal tale, so that we are involved in its unfolding. The collection becomes alive when recited… In it, the past is contemporary and open to future possibilities." — Karim-Aly S. Kassam, International Professor of Environmental and Indigenous Studies, Cornell Univer

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

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+.

This is the third book in the Girl Called Echo (Elle s'appelle Echo) series, which includes the following titles:
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 1: La guerre du Pemmican
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 2: La résistance de la rivière Rouge
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 3: La résistance du Nord-Ouest
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 4: L'ère des réserves routières

This book is available in English: Northwest Resistance

Additional Information
50 Pages | Hardcover 

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+.

This is the fourth book in the Girl Called Echo (Elle s'appelle Echo) series, which includes the following titles:
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 1: La guerre du Pemmican
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 2: La résistance de la rivière Rouge
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 3: La résistance du Nord-Ouest
Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 4: L'ère des réserves routières

This book is available in English: Road Allowance Era

Additional Information
50 Pages | Hardcover 

Faller mixes Roshoman style storytelling with traditional stories to describe the meeting, or juxtapositions, of a few characters on a Reservation. All of these characters are damaged in one way or the other. Faller is not narrative so much as bursts and flashes. It is not about what happens as much as moments in time. The stories fall together rather than follow each other. Faller is dark and funny in places, less sane and rational than yearning. Haunted. Not like every other book, Faller is the first work by an old young Indigenous writer, not trying to make sense of life on the Reservation, but giving a glimpse into the world he grew up in.

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

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