Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)

The Kanyen’kehà:ka (Gan-yeh-ga-ha-ga) people each belong to a clan. A clan is like a large family. There are nine clans, each one named after an animal or bird. This Kanyen'kehà:ka story is about connecting and belonging to your family and the world around us. The Kanyen'kehà:ka is one of Six Nations that together are the Haudenosaunee.

Educator & Series Information
Kanyen’kehà:ka Clans is part of the Strong Stories: Kanyen’kehà:ka series. Strong Stories focus on different First Nation territories from across Canada and the United States. These stories reflect the belief that our stories are the roots of our people, our lands and our cultures. It is from our stories that we grow and become strong and proud.

This resource is also available in French: Les clans des Kanyen’kehà:ka.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | ISBN: 9781771741163

The animals and the birds are getting ready for a game of lacrosse. Bat would love to play but neither team wants him because he is different than them. This Kanyen'kehà:ka (Gan-yeh-ga-ha-ga) story is about how we all have a special talent that we must respect in others. The book also includes information about lacrosse. The Kanyen'kehà:ka is one of Six Nations that together are the Haudenosaunee.

Educator & Series Information
The Game is part of the Strong Stories: Kanyen’kehà:ka series. Strong Stories focus on different First Nation territories from across Canada and the United States. These stories reflect the belief that our stories are the roots of our people, our lands and our cultures. It is from our stories that we grow and become strong and proud.

This resource is also available in French: La partie.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | ISBN: 9781771741187

The Kanyen'kehà:ka (Gan-yeh-ga-ha-ga) open all important meetings and gatherings with the Thanksgiving Address. This speech is about being thankful to everything around us for giving us the gifts we need to live and the importance of peace. This is a short version of the Thanksgiving Address. The Kanyen'kehà:ka is one of Six Nations that together are the Haudenosaunee.

Educator & Series Information
The Thanksgiving Address is part of the Strong Stories: Kanyen’kehà:ka series. Strong Stories focus on different First Nation territories from across Canada and the United States. These stories reflect the belief that our stories are the roots of our people, our lands and our cultures. It is from our stories that we grow and become strong and proud.

This resource is also available in French: La prière d’Action de Grâces des Haudenosaunee.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | ISBN: 9781771741170

A long time ago, the land was very dry and no plants could grow. The people had become very hungry. The Creator heard the people and made three plants - Corn, Beans and Squash. This Kanyen'kehà:ka (Gan-yeh-ga-ha-ga) story is about how the Three Sisters saved the people then, and are still feeding people today! The Kanyen'kehà:ka is one of Six Nations that together are the Haudenosaunee.

Educator & Series Information
The Three Sisters is part of the Strong Stories: Kanyen’kehà:ka series. Strong Stories focus on different First Nation territories from across Canada and the United States. These stories reflect the belief that our stories are the roots of our people, our lands and our cultures. It is from our stories that we grow and become strong and proud.

This resource is also available in French: Les Trois Sœurs.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | ISBN: 9781771741194

While an old woman is making cornbread, a stranger knocks on her door. The stranger is an old man who is tired and hungry. She lies and says she does not have much to give. This Kanyen'kehà:ka (Gan-yeh-ga-ha-ga) story is about why we ought to be generous and not greedy. The Kanyen'kehà:ka is one of Six Nations that together are the Haudenosaunee.

Educator & Series Information
The Woodpecker is part of the Strong Stories: Kanyen’kehà:ka series. Strong Stories focus on different First Nation territories from across Canada and the United States. These stories reflect the belief that our stories are the roots of our people, our lands and our cultures. It is from our stories that we grow and become strong and proud.

This resource is also available in French: Le pic-bois.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | ISBN: 9781771741200

Wampum Belts record and remind us of important events and agreements through patterns and colours. Each belt tells its own story. This Kanyen'kehà:ka (Gan-yeh-ga-ha-ga) story is about the Two Row Wampum. The Kanyen'kehà:ka is one of Six Nations that together are the Haudenosaunee.

Educator & Series Information
Two Row Wampum is part of the Strong Stories: Kanyen’kehà:ka series. Strong Stories focus on different First Nation territories from across Canada and the United States. These stories reflect the belief that our stories are the roots of our people, our lands and our cultures. It is from our stories that we grow and become strong and proud.

This resource is also available in French: Le wampum à deux rangs.

Additional Information
16 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | ISBN: 9781771741217

A young girl discovers her Cayuga heritage when she finds a mask that sings to her. 

Cass and her mom have always stood on their own against the world. Then Cass learns she had a grandmother, one who was never part of her life, one who has just died and left her and her mother the first house they could call their own. But with it comes more questions than answers: Why is her Mom so determined not to live there? Why was this relative kept so secret? And what is the unusual mask, forgotten in a drawer, trying to tell her? Strange dreams, strange voices, and strange incidents all lead Cass closer to solving the mystery and making connections she never dreamed she had.

Born of Mohawk and Cayuga descent, musical icon Robbie Robertson learned the story of Hiawatha and his spiritual guide, the Peacemaker, as part of the Iroquois oral tradition. Now he shares the same gift of storytelling with a new generation.

Hiawatha was a strong and articulate Mohawk who was chosen to translate the Peacemaker’s message of unity for the five warring Iroquois nations during the 14th century. This message not only succeeded in uniting the tribes but also forever changed how the Iroquois governed themselves—a blueprint for democracy that would later inspire the authors of the U.S. Constitution.

Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator David Shannon brings the journey of Hiawatha and the Peacemaker to life with arresting oil paintings. Together, Robertson and Shannon have crafted a new children’s classic that will both educate and inspire readers of all ages.

Includes a CD featuring a new, original song written and performed by Robbie Robertson.

Additional Information
48 pages | 9.50" x 11.25"

A hip and hilarious fable perfect for wintertime

Rabbit loves the winter. He knows a dance, using a traditional Iroquois drum and song, to make it snow--even in springtime! The other animals of the forest don't want early snow, but Rabbit doesn't listen to them. Instead, he sings and dances until more and more snow falls. But how much snow is too much, and will Rabbit know when to stop?

This stylish and oh-so-funny story is a modern take on a traditional Native American fable from master storytellers Joseph and James Bruchac.

Additional Information

Like the other books in the First Nations Series for Young Readers, this book offers ten short and engaging biographies of First Nations/Native activists who advocate not only for the environment but for Native rights. Their stories are full of highs and lows, triumphs and setbacks. Environmental trailblazers, these men and women are role models for children everywhere.

The men and women profiled here are united by their work to protect the environment and to support indigenous rights. Their stories take us from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to the Black Mesa in Arizona.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo uses her passion to stop oil extraction in Alberta’s tar sands.
Winona LaDuke is a voice for reclaiming Native lands, advocating renewable energy resources, and protecting Native cultures.
Clayton Thomas-Muller is a dynamic advocate for indigenous self-determination and campaigner against tar sands extraction.
Ben Powless brings his youthful energy and skills to addressing climate change issues.
Tom Goldtooth protects sacred sites and organizes global direct-action campaigns for the environment.
Grace Thorpe is a grandmother who dedicated her retirement years to keeping Native reservations from becoming nuclear waste dumps.
Sarah James is a voice from northern Alaska defending the Porcupine caribou herd and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Enei Begaye & Evon Peter are married activists who work as a team on environmental issues and sustainable strategies for Native people.
Klee Benally uses the media to empower Native communities in their fight for environmental justice.
Teague Allston works to ensure a tribal voice is heard in Washington DC.

Reviews
"These short biographies of environmentalists are sure to engage a whole classroom of readers. From the focus on a particular environmental crisis, to a description of each person's native heritage, to the writing style and level, the stories are accessible to readers young and old." — Canadian Teacher Magazine, March 2012

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the First Nations Series for Young Readers. Each book is a collection of biographies of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women and men who are leaders in their fields of work, in their art, and in their communities. For ages 9-14.

Additional Information
128 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Music is their passion. Follow the journeys of ten talented musicians from the Native community as they make their way to the top. All of them, whether their music is traditional drumming or mainstream rock, bring their own cultural traditions to their music.

Rising stars Shane Yellowbird and Crystal Shawanda are steeped in country music. The Blackfire band combines punk rock with Dine’ music, while Four Rivers Drum has been drumming at powwows for more than fourteen years. Leela Gilday is an award-winning folk artist and Michael Bucher's music protects sacred sites. Contrast classical guitarist Gabriel Ayala with rock guitarist Mato Nanji and learn about the talents of jazz vocalist Jamie Coon and Native American flutist Mary Youngblood.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the First Nations Series for Young Readers. Each book is a collection of biographies of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women and men who are leaders in their fields of work, in their art, and in their communities. 

For ages 9-14.

Additional Information
128 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Baron has always been fascinated by bears—their gentle strength and untamed power. But the Bearwalker legend, passed down by his Mohawk ancestors, tells of a different kind of creature—a terrible mix of human and animal that looks like a bear but is really a bloodthirsty monster.

The tale never seemed to be more than a scary story . . . until a class camping trip deep in the Adirondacks, when Baron comes face-to-face with an evil being that is all too real.

Reviews
“This fast-paced survival story is a great read for mystery fans, and it also addresses the delicate balance between humans and nature.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Bruchac spins a striking story, filled with interesting information about bears, chilling moments around the campfire, and life–or–death chase scenes. Readers will return again and again to this adventure tale.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Additional Information
240 pages | 5.12" x 7.62"

Great Athletes from our First Nations profiles thirteen outstanding athletes in such diverse sports as figure skating, race car driving, skiing and bowling. The athletes featured in this book include: Ross Anderson, downhill skier; Richard Dionne, champion basketball player; Mike Edwards, professional bowler; Shelly Hruska, professional ringette player; Beau Kemp, professional baseball player, etc. 

Reviews
"Smoothly-written and enriched with photography and sidebars that give additional information about the sport or athlete."— Kliatt, May 2008

"A must-have in every school and public library, it can be used for cross-cultural education and healthy lifestyles."— Resource Links, June 2007

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the First Nations Series for Young Readers. Each book is a collection of biographies of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women and men who are leaders in their fields of work, in their art, and in their communities. 

For ages 9-14.

Additional Information
128 pages | 6.00" x 8.92" 

This is a quiet tale of a Native American girl who, with gentle guidance from her grandfather, learns to find strength, not fear, in her identity as a Native person living in an Anglo society. Beautifully illustrated and complete with a Seneca creation story, Muskrat Will Be Swimming demonstrates how the ancient stories of Native American cultures are used to help today's children find their way in the world. It is a treasure for all who have ever dealt with the fear of being different.

Educator Information
Recommended Grades: 3-6.

Additional Information
32 pages | 9.00" x 10.00"

Turtle lives in a beautiful little pond with everything a happy turtle needs. But one spring, Turtle awakes from hibernation to discover that her lovely home has been invaded! A pushy beaver takes over Turtle's beloved pond and refuses to share. Instead, he challenges her to a race to determine who can stay. But how can a little turtle outswim a big, powerful beaver? This charming fable of brains versus brawn is a great read for all the young readers in the forest to share!

Additional Information
32 pages | 10.06" x 8.06" | Paperback