Interior Salish

From veteran hockey reporter Patrick Johnston and Gino’s longtime friend Peter Leech comes the authorized biography of Gino Odjick.

In the 1980s and ’90s, National Hockey League games were very different from the nimble, skill-focused displays we see today. One of the greatest differences—and one of the sport’s more popular facets at the time—was the widespread presence of “enforcers”: hulking, battle-scarred players whose main task was to police the sport by chasing down and brawling with opponents who had broken unwritten codes determining which aspects of violence counted as dishonorable or unjustified.

When hard-hitting Vancouver Canucks player Gino Odjick emerged in the early 1990s, he quickly became one of the game’s most feared enforcers and revered teammates, a sign of a new era for the team, racking up 296 penalty minutes in the 45 games he played in his rookie season. Hailing from Kitigan Zibi, an Algonquin community near Maniwaki, Quebec, Gino was one of the few Indigenous players in the NHL at the time. But it was Gino’s ferocious play contrasted by his genuinely affable and openhearted personality off the ice that won him a special place in the hearts of Canucks supporters.

Yet legends often obscure the human stories behind them. Patrick Johnston and Peter Leech look beyond Gino’s legendary persona, drawing on insights from family members, friends, and teammates to recount Gino’s early years in a loving household that was always ready to welcome foster children. Gino’s father, Joe, had suffered the lonely traumas of the residential school system, and the experience had instilled a commitment in the family to those who were less fortunate.

The book also details Gino’s eventual struggles with alcohol abuse, and how he responded by taking on the role of empathetic mentor to young Indigenous people, travelling from community to community to hear their stories and offer hope. He never wavered in this role, even as he confronted serious illnesses, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the rare blood disorder that he survived for years longer than expected, but that eventually led to his death at age fifty-two.

Gino is a moving tribute to a beloved hockey legend.

Reviews
"Gino was the greatest teammate; he had such a huge heart and knew his role better than anyone in the league. Gino loved being a Vancouver Canuck and gave back to the community in so many ways. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and fans. This book will give people insight into his remarkable life."—Geoff Courtnall

“Gino provides a compelling account of the life of a beloved Vancouver Canuck. From his humble beginnings in Quebec to NHL stardom and beyond, Odjick was dedicated to the well-being of teammates and the Indigenous community. This is an excellent tribute to an exceptional man.”—Randi Druzin, author of Between the Pipes and Behind the Mask

Additional Information
288 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | b&w insert | Hardcover 

This book invites readers to step into a space of reflection on your personal relationship with truth, reconciliation, and Orange Shirt Day.

Written in response to the increase of residential school denialism, Phyllis Webstad and Kristy McLeod have collaborated to create a book that encourages readers to face their own biases. This book challenges readers through a series of sensitive conversations that explore decolonization, Indigenization, healing, and every person’s individual responsibility to truth and reconciliation. Centered around the Orange Shirt Day movement, and a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, these conversations encourage readers to unpack and reckon with denialism, biases, privilege, and the journey forward, on both a personal and national level.

Within each chapter, Phyllis Webstad draws on her decade of experience (sharing her Orange Shirt Story on a global level and advocating for the rights of Indigenous Peoples) to offer insights on these topics and stories from her personal journey, which co-author and Métis scholar, Kristy McLeod, helps readers to further navigate. Each section includes real denialist comments taken from social media and Kristy's analysis and response to them. Through empathy-driven truth-telling, this book offers an opportunity to witness, reflect, heal, and be intentional about the seeds we hope to plant for the future, together.

Additional Information
350 pages | 5.70" x 8.25" | Hardcover

Tales of an Urban Indian is a one-person play that follows the trials and tribulations of Simon Douglas, a young First Nations man who moves from his rural reservation to the big city of Vancouver. This dark comedy examines the issues of race, identity, and assimilation that drive young Indigenous men to self-destruction.

In The Trickster of Third Avenue East, Roger and Mary are spiralling out of control but are too scared to let each other go. Enter J.C., a mysterious visitor who turns their lives upside down and forces them to confront their darkest secrets. J.C. pushes Roger and Mary into the realm of the supernatural and past the brink of sanity.

Additional Information
134 pages | 5.45" x 8.40" | Paperback

Le récit inspirant d’une chercheuse et écologiste autochtone qui a cherché à réconcilier sa tête (science occidentale) et son cœur (vision du monde indigène) pour trouver une voie plus juste vers la guérison écologique.La roue de médecine raconte le voyage de réconciliation personnelle et écologique vécu par la chercheuse autochtone Jennifer Grenz dans son travail sur la restauration écologique. Elle montre qu’il est possible de créer des ponts entre les savoirs autochtones et occidentaux sans tomber, pour les populations autochtones elles-mêmes, dans le piège de l’assimilation par l’inclusion. Un récit qui démontre qu’il n’est pas nécessaire de se couper de ses valeurs, de sa spiritualité, de sa vie relationnelle et de son engagement envers la communauté, mais qu’on gagne au contraire à les placer au cœur de son métier. Éloquent, inspirant et dérangeant, ce bestseller enfin traduit en français jette les bases d’une écologie autochtone et nous rappelle qu’une multiplicité de visions du monde est nécessaire pour sauvegarder notre planète.

Educator Information
This book is available in English: Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey toward Personal and Ecological Healing 

Additional Information
Paperback 

"This beautiful book can completely change how we approach science, using both Indigenous and Western perspectives, and how we can work collaboratively to help foster balance in nature." —Suzanne Simard, bestselling author of Finding the Mother Tree

For readers of Braiding Sweetgrass: Future-saving insights and approaches to science and ecology using both Indigenous and Western perspectives.

A farm kid at heart, and a Nlaka'pamux woman of mixed ancestry, Dr. Jennifer Grenz always felt a deep connection to the land. However, after nearly two decades of working as a restoration ecologist in the Pacific Northwest, she became frustrated that despite the best efforts of her colleagues and numerous volunteers, they weren't making the meaningful change needed for plant, animal and human communities to adapt to a warming climate. Restoration ecology is grounded in an idea that we must return the natural world to an untouched, pristine state, placing humans in a godlike role—a notion at odds with Indigenous histories of purposeful, reciprocal interaction with the environment. This disconnect sent Dr. Grenz on a personal journey of joining her head (Western science) and her heart (Indigenous worldview) to find a truer path toward ecological healing.

In Medicine Wheel for the Planet, building on sacred stories, field observations and her own journey, Dr. Grenz invites readers to share in the teachings of the four directions of the medicine wheel: the North, which draws upon the knowledge and wisdom of elders; the East, where we let go of colonial narratives and see with fresh eyes; the South, where we apply new-old worldviews to envision a way forward; and the West, where a relational approach to land reconciliation is realized.

Eloquent, inspiring and disruptive, Medicine Wheel for the Planet circles toward an argument that we need more than a singular worldview to protect the planet and make the significant changes we are running out of time for.

Reviews
"Grenz shares her ancestral Nlaka'pamux wisdom that respect, relationship and reciprocity with all life is essential in healing the land. In telling her stories, she demonstrates how these fundamental principles underlie the good work. She also teaches us that our ability to understand nature and our success at stewardship requires that we lead with our hearts and keep our beginner’s curiosity open. When we do this, we have unlimited capacity to heal. This beautiful book can completely change how we approach science, using both Indigenous and Western perspectives, and how we can work collaboratively to help foster balance in nature.” —Suzanne Simard, author of Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

“Rooted in both Indigenous and Western ways of understanding and doing science, Medicine Wheel for the Planet challenges the simplistic, dichotomous thinking that has led well-meaning environmentalists astray for too long. In a book that is part primer in ecology, part memoir, and part manifesto, Jennifer Grenz movingly shares her own process of learning and unlearning, of connecting with traditional knowledge and practices to help unearth future-saving insights and approaches — and by doing so, generously invites the reader to undertake a similar transformation. Wise, humble, provocative, brave, and beautifully written, this book is a triumph. Read it and let it alter and expand how you see the world and your place and role within it." —Astra Taylor, author of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart

“Deeply moving and compelling, Medicine Wheel for the Planet weaves a powerful story about the limitations of restoration ecology and a Western lens, and illuminates a path forward using the power of Indigenous and reciprocal ways of being. An imperative read for all Canadians.” —Angela Sterritt, author of Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls

“In this thoughtful and heartfelt book, Dr. Grenz challenges us to reflect on how – despite the massive contributions of Western science – we humans are impacting the Earth and all life on our planet in problematic ways, most recently evident in the ongoing global climate crisis. Guiding us through the medicine wheel concept, she illuminates the deep experiences of the First Peoples, often conveyed through stories, that can inspire us to be better relatives, reminding us to focus our time and energy on healing the Earth. This is a revelatory, immersive work that illustrates, with respect and gratitude, the meaningful role that all systems of knowledge play in connecting ‘our heads and our hearts’ for a healthier planet.” —Nancy J. Turner, Distinguished Emeritus Professor in Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, author/editor of many books including The Earth’s Blanket, Member of the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia and winner of Canadian Botanical Association Lawson Medal

“Medicine Wheel for the Planet transported me gently into the dynamic world of plants and trees and offers a powerful viewing lens—one derived from Indigenous storytelling as well as from Western science. Dr. Grenz helped me to see research methods through a more holistic perspective, and skilfully shows what science could accomplish if untangled from the rigid rules of our dominant culture. With patience and humility, she convinced me that if we take the time to look and listen differently, the land will offer us crucial lessons in healing that would otherwise be left unseen and unheard.” —Dr. Jane Philpott, author of Health for All: A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthier Canada

Educator Information
This book is available in French: La roue de médecine: Un nouveau récit pour guérir la planète

Additional Information
280 pages | 5.18" x 8.00" | Paperback

Secwépemc elder, matriarch and knowledge-keeper Cecilia DeRose presents her powerful, heartfelt and inspiring memoir of overcoming racism and adversity—One Arrow Left is a celebration of Secwépemc culture, language and the importance of passing on this knowledge to future generations.

Born in 1935 in the village of Esket, Cecilia DeRose was welcomed into a loving, supportive Secwepemc family. Growing up in an isolated meadow, Cecilia was the fourth of ten children, spending much of her early years caring for younger siblings. Ranch life was in their blood; Cecilia’s mother, Amelia Joe, was the progeny of a white ranch hand, Joe Smith, and her Secwepemc mother, Martha Williams; her father, Matthew Dick, was well-known in the Williams Lake rodeo circuit and played for the famous Alkali Braves hockey team. Navigating the complexities of being a mixed-race family, both within and outside of the Secwepemc community, would be a lifelong source of tension, which Cecilia handles with grace, tenacity and humour.

Like their parents before them, Cecilia and her siblings were sent to St. Joseph’s Mission residential school near Williams Lake. At seven years old she eagerly awaited her turn to join her older sister and brother at the mission, where she could escape the drudgery of washing diapers and caring for her younger siblings at home. Nothing could have prepared her for the cruelty of institutionalized life. Dreams of an education that might lead to a career as a teacher, lawyer, or journalist were dashed. Residential school was hell, and Cecilia was left with the scars to prove it.

In 1956, Cecilia married non-Indigenous ranch hand Lenny DeRose and lost her Indigenous status. Nevertheless, on the insistence of her father Matthew Dick, Cecilia remained true to her Secwepemc roots and traditions. She eventually regained her status and became an ambassador of Secwepemc language and cultural practices. As she raised her own six children, she took great care to bestow in them the cultural teachings of the Secwepemc identity. She eventually taught the Secwepemcstin language in the public-school system, fulfilling her dream of teaching and reinforcing her belief that “we have one arrow left in our quiver and that’s education—we must use it wisely.”

Today, Cecilia is recognized nationally as an Indigenous knowledge keeper. She has provided cross-cultural training for hospitals, courts, and law enforcement institutions, and shared her knowledge on projects ranging from ethnobotany research to culturally safe elder care. In 2018, she received the Indspire Award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality. In 2024, she was honoured by Thompson Rivers University with a Doctor of Letter, honoris causa, for her indispensable contributions to language revitalization.

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

From the award-winning, bestselling author of All the Quiet Places, comes Brian Thomas Isaac's highly anticipated, haunting and tender return to the Okanagan Indian Reserve and a teenager's struggle to become a man in a world of racism and hardship.

Summer, 1968. For the first time since his big brother, Eddie, disappeared two years earlier—either a runaway or dead by his own hand—sixteen-year-old Lewis Toma has shaken off some of his grief. His mother, Grace, and her friend Isabel have gone south to the United States to pick fruit to earn the cash Grace needs to put a bathroom and running water into the three-room shack they share on the reserve, leaving Lewis to spend the summer with his cousins, his Uncle Ned and his Aunt Jean in the new house they’ve built on their farm along the Salmon River. Their warm family life is almost enough to counter the pressures he feels as a boy trying to become a man in a place where responsible adult men like his uncle are largely absent, broken by residential school and racism. Everywhere he looks, women are left to carry the load, sometimes with kindness, but often with the bitterness, anger and ferocity of his own mother, who kicked Lewis’s lowlife father, Jimmy, to the curb long ago.

Lewis has vowed never to be like his father—but an encounter with a predatory older woman tests him and he suffers the consequences. Worse, his dad is back in town and scheming on how to use the Indian Act to steal the land Lewis and his mom have been living on. And then, at summer's end, more shocking revelations shake the family, unleashing a deadly force of anger and frustration.

With so many traps laid around him, how will Lewis find a path to a different future?

Reviews
"A compelling novel, honest and compassionate, haunted by the past. Towards the end of the book, I tried to slow down, not wanting the story to end, but it wasn’t possible."—Mary Lawson, bestselling author of A Town Called Solace

"Brian Thomas Isaac reinforces his place as one of Canada’s most engaging novelists with the tender troubling coming-of-age story of Lewis, a 16-year-old growing up on the Okanagan Reserve. He’s a boy who sees and feels everything with intensity—the joy of swimming in a river, the cruelty of a racist neighbour, the complexity of his mother’s love, the sensations of his first deep kiss, the injustices of the Indian Act, which keeps turning his family’s life upside down. I couldn’t put Bones of a Giant down, wondering to the end if Lewis is just too sweet and vulnerable for the mean world around him."—Carol Off, award-winning author of At a Loss for Words

"Bones of a Giant has good bones. Isaac is a masterful storyteller with an observant eye for nature and a deep compassion for his characters. I loved this book."—Thomas Wharton, bestselling author of The Book of Rain

"A clear-eyed love story to both a people and a place. Brian Thomas Isaac is a vital voice."—David Bergen, award-winning author of Here the Dark

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.25" x 9.00" | Hardcover 

The Secwépemc term le estcwicwéy̓ (the missing) was given by Secwépemc elders who dedicated their knowledge and time to guide the community through the hell they were forced to endure in May 2021. Garry Gottfriedson’s The Flesh of Ice picks up the thread of his 2021 collection, Bent Back Tongue, describing the history and relationship of Indigenous people in Canada with the Canadian government and the Catholic church. Here is the story of those who survived Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS), and stories of descendants of KIRS who remembered "the missing” in the wake of the discovery of unmarked graves at the KIRS. Here, in hauntingly visceral poems, are the living conditions, policies and practices of the school itself, the stories of those who lived there, and the names of practitioners of the school, called out and cursed. Lastly, personal stories are given space to reclaim the narrative, taking readers on a journey of resilience, survival, pain and joy.

Reviews
"Drawing on the work of the late legal scholar Patricia Monture-Angus, I find fitting words for this book and for the former students of KIRS: first we were victims, then we were survivors and now we are warriors. Those warriors have now become teachers—teachers for those who learn to listen to the voices in this book."—from the prologue by Celia Haig-Brown

Additional Information
126 pages | 5.50" x 8.00" | Paperback

A special abridged version of the award-winning book Orange Shirt Day: September 30th. Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an official day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and to remember the children who did not come home. What was initially envisioned as a way to keep the conversations going about all aspects of Residential Schools in Williams Lake and the Cariboo Region of British Columbia, Canada, has now expanded into a movement across Turtle Island and beyond. Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters aims to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation and promote the message that 'Every Child Matters'. This version also explores a number of important topics including the historical, generational, and continual impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous Peoples, the journey of the Orange Shirt Day movement, and how you can effectively participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. With end of chapter reflection questions and a series of student art submissions, readers are guided to explore how they, and others, view and participate in Residential School reconciliation.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 17.

This book is available in English: Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters: Condensed Edition

Additional Information
112 pages | 8.46" x 10.97" | Paperback 

A provocative, historical investigation into the displacement of the Snayackstx (Sinixt) First People of British Columbia’s West Kootenays.

This compact book records a quest for understanding, to find the story behind the Snayackstx (Sinixt) First Nation. Known in the United States as the Arrow Lakes Indians of the Colville Confederated Tribes, the tribe lived along the upper Columbia River and its tributaries for thousands of years. In a story unique to First Nations in Canada, the Canadian federal government declared them “extinct” in 1956, eliminating with the stroke of a pen this tribe’s ability to legally access 80 per cent of their trans-boundary traditional territory.

Part travelogue, part cultural history, the book details the culture, place names, practices, and landscape features of this lost tribe of British Columbia, through a contemporary lens that presents all readers with an opportunity to participate in reconciliation.

Educator Information
Please note that the author of this work is not Indigenous, but the text content is about the Snayackstx (Sinixt) First People. Shelly Boyd, Sinixt/Arrow Lakes Cultural Facilitator provides a Foreword.

In an Introduction to the work, the author notes: "First and foremost, every word of the story of their culture as presented here has been confirmed and accepted as true by the contemporary Sinixt.... Second, because the story also exists within a colonial context, it refers to written materials, published history and textual memories, information that was often recorded by the hand of non-Indigenous People but nonetheless reflects the knowledge of Indigenous generations.... The result is a tapestry, combining threads of history, ethnography, science and personal essays on the natural word.... Sinixit leaders, local historians, and academic experts review[ed] the text prior to publication.... Some non-Indigenous people criticized me for writing about Indigenous People at all, telling me it was not 'my story to tell.' This was, I realize now, a subtle form of silencing. While racism toward Indigenous People still exists across this culture, a groundswell of recognition has begun. In working alongside the Sinixt all these years, I have come to understand that integrating Indigenous perspectives into contemporary culture is not exclusively the responsibility of Indigenous People. As Shelly Boyd so aptly reminds all of us, we, the settlers, need to listen well and with respect. We need to pick up our pens or cameras or drawing pencils, and dig in to help."  

It is up to readers to determine if this resource will be useful for their purposes.

Additional Information
280 pages | 6.00" x 8.90" | Paperback 

Rock art – etched in blood-red lines into granite cliffs, boulders, and caves – appears as beguiling, graffiti-like abstraction. What are these signs? The petroglyphs and red-ochre pictographs found across Nlaka’pamux territory in present-day British Columbia and Washington State are far more than a collection of ancient motifs.

Signs of the Time explores the historical and cultural reasons for making rock art. Chris Arnett draws on extensive archival research and decades of work with Elders and other Nlaka’pamux community members, their oral histories and oral tradition, to document the variability and similarity of practices. Rock art was and is a form of communication between the spirit and physical worlds, a way to pass information to later generations, and a powerful protection against challenges to a people, land, and culture.

Nlaka’pamux have used such culturally prescribed means to forestall external threats to their lifeways from as early as the sixteenth century – when they were aware of incipient European encroachment – until well into the twentieth. As this important work attests, rock art remains a signature of resilience and resistance to colonization among Nlaka’pamux today.

As well as providing essential reading for scholars and students of archaeology, cultural and applied anthropology, Indigenous studies, and art history, Signs of the Time will also fascinate rock art specialists and amateur enthusiasts.

Reviews
"Signs of the Time is innovative and provocative, adding dramatically to the discussion of how Western science interacts with and accommodates Indigenous knowledge, concerns, and heritage." — David S. Whitley, author of Cave Paintings and the Human Spirit: The Origin of Creativity and Belief

"Signs of the Time is informative and accessible, giving equal voice to Indigenous knowledge keepers and academics in presenting the ideas in petroglyphs and pictographs. It is an excellent example of how Eurowestern academics can work alongside Indigenous knowledge experts to understand the Indigenous world. I highly recommend it." — Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams EdD; OC; OBC; Lil’watul; professor emerita, University of Victoria

Additional Information
256 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 40 b&w photos 

From bestselling true-crime author Peter Edwards and Governor General's Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring, two sons of Lytton, BC, the town that burned to the ground in 2021, comes a meditation on hometown―when hometown is gone.

Before it made global headlines as the small town that burned down during a record-breaking heat wave in June 2021, while briefly the hottest place on Earth, Lytton, British Columbia, had a curious past. Named for the author of the infamous line, “It was a dark and stormy night,” Lytton was also where Peter Edwards, organized-crime journalist and author of seventeen non-fiction books, spent his childhood. Although only about 500 people lived in Lytton, Peter liked to joke that he was only the second-best writer to come from his tiny hometown. His grade-school classmate’s nephew Kevin Loring, Nlaka’pamux from Lytton First Nation, had grown up to be a Governor General's Award-winning playwright.

The Nlaka’pamux called Lytton “The Centre of the World,” a view Buddhists would share in the late twentieth century, as they set up a temple just outside town. In modern times, many outsiders would seek shelter there, often people who just didn’t fit anywhere else and were hoping for a little anonymity in the mountains. You’ll meet a whole cast of them in this book.

A gold rush in 1858 saw conflict with a wave of Californians come to a head with the Canyon War at the junction of the mighty Fraser and Thompson rivers, one that would have changed the map of what was soon to become Canada had the locals lost. The Nlaka’pamux lost over thirty lives in that conflict, as did the American gold seekers. A century later, Lytton hadn’t changed much. It was always a place where the troubles of the world seemed to land, even if very few people knew where it was.

This book is the story of Lytton, told from a shared perspective, of an Indigenous playwright and the journalist son of a settler doctor who quietly but sternly pushed back against the divisions that existed between populations (Dr. Edwards gladly took a lot of salmon as payment for his services back in the 1960s). Portrayed with all the warmth, humour and sincerity of small-town life, the colourful little town that burned to the ground could be every town’s warning if we don’t take seriously what this unique place has to teach us.

Additional Information
376 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover 

Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an official day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and to remember the children who did not come home. What was initially envisioned as a way to keep the conversations going about all aspects of Residential Schools in Williams Lake and the Cariboo Region of British Columbia, Canada, has now expanded into a movement across Turtle Island and beyond. Orange Shirt Day: September 30th aims to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation and promote the message that 'Every Child Matters'. This award-winning book explores a number of important topics including the historical, generational, and continual impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous Peoples, the journey of the Orange Shirt Day movement, and how you can effectively participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. With end of chapter reflection questions and a series of student art submissions, readers are guided to explore how they, and others, view and participate in Residential School reconciliation.

Awards

• 2021 First Nation Communities Read 2021 Winner 

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 10+

Orange Shirt Day was inspired by the story of a survivor named Phyllis Webstad. When Phyllis was 6 years old she went to residential school for the first time wearing a brand new shiny orange shirt. When she arrived at the school her shirt was taken away and never to be seen again. To Phyllis the colour orange was a symbol that she did not matter. Today she has learned to accept the colour and even have fun with it and now the orange shirt has become a symbol of hope and reconciliation. By wearing an orange shirt on Orange Shirt Day, you make a powerful statement that residential schools were wrong and commit to the concept that EVERY CHILD MATTERS.

The Orange Shirt Society is a non-profit organization with its home in Williams Lake, BC where Orange Shirt Day began in 2013. The society has both Indigenous and non-Indigenous board members, and one of the editors of this book, Phyllis Webstad, is Indigenous.  Therefore, the Authentic Indigenous Text label has been applied. It is up to readers to determine if this book is authentic for their purposes.

This is the Revised 2023, 2nd Edition

Additional Information
156 pages | 8.23" x 11.06" | Revised, 2nd Edition

In 1973, fifteen-year old, or "Squito" Bob, is a mixed-blood NłeᎮkepmx boy trying to find his place in a small, mostly Native town. His closest friends are three nłeᎮkepmx boys and a white kid, an obnoxious runt who thinks himself superior to his friends. Accepted as neither Native nor white, Squito often feels like the stray dog of the group and envisions a short, disastrous life for himself. HOME WALTZ follows the boys over thirty-six hours on what should be one of the best weekends of their lives. With a senior girls volleyball tournament in town, Squito's favourite band performing, and enough alcohol for ten people, the boys dream of girls, dancing and possibly romance. A story of love, heartbreak and tragedy, HOME WALTZ delves into suicide, alcohol abuse, body image insecurities, and systemic racism. A coming of age story like no other, HOME WALTZ speaks to one indigenous youth's experience of growing up in a world that doesn't want or trust him.

Reviews
"In Squito Bob, Gordon Grisenthwaite has given us a latter-day Holden Caufield, fighting hormones, toxic friendships, and the general stupidity of others in the fleeting hope of his own brief shot at transcendence. Home Waltz is a tour de force, full of compassion and insight and humour and utterly unflinching in its look at the hard truths of life on the res." —Nino Ricci, author of Lives of the Saints, and Testament

"Grisenthwaite weaves the classic coming-of-age tale into a story of deep grief and longing for place, the unfair treatment of First Nations people, but also the heart and kinship of First Nation’s communities."—Crystal Mackenzie, Freefall Magazine

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.25" x 8.25" | Paperback 

Curious, uncanny tales blending Indigenous oral storytelling and meticulous style, from an electric voice in Canadian fiction.

These are stories that are a little bit larger than life, or maybe they really happened. Tales that could be told 'round the campfire, each one-upping the next. Tales about a car that drives herself, ever loyal to her owner. Tales about an impossible moose hunt. Tales about the Real Santa(TM) mashed up with the book of Genesis, alongside SPAM stew and bedroom sets from IKEA.

G.A. Grisenthwaite's writing is electric and inimitable, blending meticulous literary style with oral storytelling and coming away with a voice that is entirely his own. Tales for Late Night Bonfires is truly one of a kind, and not to be missed.

Reviews
"Tales for Late Night Bonfires is funny, dark, and rich all at once; each story is immense and alive. Grisenthwaite shows us what fiction can be when story leads the way." - QUILL & QUIRE starred review

"With his first book, Home Waltz, G.A. Grisenthwaite had arrived. With Tales for Late Night Bonfires, he has fully moved in. His writing is so vivid and fresh that the reader inhabits his characters, in their homes, on the land, in their talking cars. Gord has a great gift for dialogue and he writes with flinty humour and such love. I felt more completely human when I finished this book." - SHELAGH ROGERS founding host and co-creator, The Next Chapter, CBC Radio

"Grisenthwaite is a master storyteller, with a voice capable of roasting us and all the other ‘two-leggeds’ while keeping us at the bonfire, hungry for more. The lives of these unforgettable characters are at once comic and heart-crushing, precarious and buoyed by the undying embrace of interlaced dimensions, imbricate worlds." - SUSAN HOLBROOK author of Throaty Wipes and Ink Earl

"Gordon has a voice that is authentic campfire. I felt like I was holding a mug of tea in one hand, and enjoying a fish fry with the other - while waiting for his words to paint a vibrant canvas of characters. Sitting around the campfire, and ingesting memory with stories that need to be told, and retold. These stories visit places in the heart, where we each share, words that need to be said, words that beg to be read." - CAROL ROSE GOLDENEAGLE author of Bearskin Diary and Essential Ingredients

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

A special abridged version of the award-winning book Orange Shirt Day: September 30th.

Orange Shirt Day, observed annually on September 30th, is also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an official day to honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and to remember the children who did not come home. What was initially envisioned as a way to keep the conversations going about all aspects of Residential Schools in Williams Lake and the Cariboo Region of British Columbia, Canada, has now expanded into a movement across Turtle Island and beyond.

Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters aims to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation and promote the message that 'Every Child Matters'. This version also explores a number of important topics including the historical, generational, and continual impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous Peoples, the journey of the Orange Shirt Day movement, and how you can effectively participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. With end-of-chapter reflection questions and a series of student art submissions, readers are guided to explore how they, and others, view and participate in Residential School reconciliation.

Educator Information
Recommended for Young Adults (ages 10+)

This is an abridged version (condensed version) of Orange Shirt Day: September 30th.

This book is available in French: La journee du chandail orange: Chaque enfant compte

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

Andy has had a rough school year and is ready for summer vacation. But when Grandpa Rick tells him that he will be participating in a canoe journey instead of enjoying his usual summer activities, Andy feels he is being punished.

Join Andy as he experiences a Tribal Canoe Journey for the first time and learns what it’s like to belong to a canoe family. Follow along as Andy navigates physical and emotional challenges and finds an answer to the important question: “Who am I?”

Awards

• 2024-2025 Hackmatack Children's Choice Award Shortlisted 

Reviews
“Andy's Tribal Canoe Journey is a fantastic book to use for reading groups. We were able to have amazing discussions.… Students loved the pictures and the story. I hope to read this with as many students as possible.” – Holly Polischuk, Cayoosh Elementary School educator 

"This graphic novel highlights how First Peoples connect to their culture and honour their past. The first-hand perspectives of participants in the 2019 journey help showcase the human emotions and physical challenges it involves. Teachers across elementary and secondary levels can use this short graphic novel as a read-aloud in a classroom or literature circles to help students learn about Tribal Canoe Journeys. Students could also be invited to explore their own traditions and experiences, and the art in the book could inspire projects that are based on the illustrations in this story." – Focused Education Resources 

Educator Information
Recommended for grades 3 to 8.

Additional Information
72 Pages | 8" x 10" | Paperback | ISBN: 978-1-77174-600-7

In May 2021, the world was shocked by news of the detection of 215 unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS) in British Columbia, Canada. Ground-penetrating radar confirmed the deaths of students as young as three in the infamous residential school system, which systematically removed children from their families and brought them to the schools. At these Christian-run, government-supported institutions, they were subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse while their Indigenous languages and traditions were stifled and denounced. The egregious abuses suffered in residential schools across the continent caused - as the 2021 discoveries confirmed - death for too many and a multigenerational legacy of trauma for those who survived.

"Tsquelmucwilc" (pronounced cha-CAL-mux-weel) is a Secwepemc phrase loosely translated as "We return to being human again." Tsqelmucwilc is the story of those who survived the Kamloops Indian Residential School, based on the 1988 book Resistance and Renewal, a groundbreaking history of the school - and the first book on residential schools ever published in Canada. Tsqelmucwilc includes the original text as well as new material by the original book's author, Celia Haig-Brown; essays by Secwepemc poet and KIRS survivor Garry Gottfriedson and Nuu-chah-nulth elder and residential school survivor Randy Fred; and first-hand reminiscences by other survivors of KIRS, as well as their children, on their experience and the impact of their trauma throughout their lives.

Read both within and outside the context of the grim 2021 discoveries, Tsqelmucwilc is a tragic story in the history of Indigenous peoples of the indignities suffered at the hands of their colonizers, but it is equally a remarkable tale of Indigenous survival, resilience, and courage.

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240 pages | 6.00" x 8.00" | B&W photos throughout | Paperback

A collection of authentic Orange Shirt Day books from the founder of the Orange Shirt Day movement, Phyllis Webstad. Package includes four books and three accompanying lesson plans, The Orange Shirt Story, Phyllis's Orange Shirt, Orange Shirt Day and Beyond the Orange Shirt Story.

Educator Information
Includes picture books for children, as well as books for young adults.  Review individual titles for more information about each include:

• The Orange Shirt Story
• Phyllis's Orange Shirt
• Orange Shirt Day
• Beyond the Orange Shirt Story

Additional Information
9.00" x 12.00"

In this extraordinary memoir, best-selling author Nicola I. Campbell deftly weaves rich poetry and vivid prose into a story basket of memories orating what it means to be an intergenerational survivor of Indian Residential Schools.

If the hurt and grief we carry is a woven blanket, it is time to weave ourselves anew. We can’t quit. Instead, we must untangle ourselves from the negative forces that have impacted our existence as Indigenous people.

Similar to the “moccasin telegraph,” Spíləxm are the remembered stories, also “events or news” in the Nłeʔkepmx language. These stories were often shared over tea, in the quiet hours between Elders. Rooted within the British Columbia landscape, and with an almost tactile representation of being on the land and water, Spíləxm explores resilience, reconnection, and narrative memory through stories.

Captivating and deeply moving, this exceptional memoir tells of one Indigenous woman’s journey of overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength and resilience through creative works and traditional perspectives of healing, transformation, and resurgence.

Reviews

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304 pages | 6.50" x 8.50" | Hardcover

Brian Isaac's powerful debut novel All the Quiet Places is the coming-of-age story of Eddie Toma, an Indigenous (Syilx) boy, told through the young narrator's wide-eyed observations of the world around him.

It's 1956, and six-year-old Eddie Toma lives with his mother, Grace, and his little brother, Lewis, near the Salmon River on the far edge of the Okanagan Indian Reserve in the British Columbia Southern Interior. Grace, her friend Isabel, Isabel's husband Ray, and his nephew Gregory cross the border to work as summer farm labourers in Washington state. There Eddie is free to spend long days with Gregory exploring the farm: climbing a hill to watch the sunset and listening to the wind in the grass. The boys learn from Ray's funny and dark stories. But when tragedy strikes, Eddie returns home grief-stricken, confused, and lonely.

Eddie's life is governed by the decisions of the adults around him. Grace is determined to have him learn the ways of the white world by sending him to school in the small community of Falkland. On Eddie's first day of school, as he crosses the reserve boundary at the Salmon River bridge, he leaves behind his world. Grace challenges the Indian Agent and writes futile letters to Ottawa to protest the sparse resources in their community. His father returns to the family after years away only to bring chaos and instability. Isabel and Ray join them in an overcrowded house. Only in his grandmother's company does he find solace and true companionship.

In his teens, Eddie's future seems more secure—he finds a job, and his long-time crush on his white neighbour Eva is finally reciprocated. But every time things look up, circumstances beyond his control crash down around him. The cumulative effects of guilt, grief, and despair threaten everything Eddie has ever known or loved.

All the Quiet Places is the story of what can happen when every adult in a person's life has been affected by colonialism; it tells of the acute separation from culture that can occur even at home in a loved familiar landscape. Its narrative power relies on the unguarded, unsentimental witness provided by Eddie.

Awards

• 2022 Indigenous Voices Awards winner

Reviews
"What a welcome debut. Young Eddie Toma’s passage through the truly ugly parts of this world is met, like an antidote, or perhaps a compensation, by his remarkable awareness of its beauty. This is a writer who understands youth, and how to tell a story." —Gil Adamson is the winner of the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for Ridgerunner

"All the Quiet Places is a deftly crafted, evocative story about the trials of growing up Indigenous. Brian Thomas Isaac’s characters are complex, relatable, and overall, beautifully human." —Waubgeshig Rice is the bestselling author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

"All the Quiet Places is the kind of novel that works its way into your soul. Essentially, it's a tale of childhood, all the wonders and tragedies, that befall a young boy on an Okanagan Reserve in the middle of the last century. Familiar, yet unique, Eddie's story will captivate the reader. The best compliment I could bestow on this book is. . . I wish it was one or two chapters longer. I wanted more." —Drew Hayden Taylor is from the Curve Lake First Nation and is the author of many books including Chasing Painted Horses

"On par with the brilliance of James Welch's Winter in The Blood and Ruby Slipperjack's Little Voice, Brian Thomas Isaac has given us a startling read that'll live wire your soul and haunt you for a good long while. Pure brilliance. Wow." —Richard Van Camp is the author of The Lesser Blessed and Moccasin Square Gardens

Educator Information
Keywords: Coming of Age; Own Voices; Indigenous

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools resource collection as being useful for grades 11 and 12 for English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Additional Information
288 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

You take your seat in the theatre. You are given a remote control. The play begins.

An urban couple are on a getaway to visit her father at his vast rural estate. But when they arrive, they find him missing and a local Indigenous man staying there instead. They ask him to leave … and with an anonymous click of your remote, you choose what happens next.

When it’s revealed that the colonial rights to this entire property are actually up for grabs, you must continue to decide how the story unfolds, ultimately determining how the land will be stewarded, and by whom.

With humour, suspense, and a race against time, Inheritance is an interactive stage play – with over fifty possible variations – that thrusts you into the middle of a land dispute and asks you to work it out.

Replete with additional material, this unique book includes insightful forewords by President of the Haida Nation Miles Richardson and environmentalist David Suzuki, a brief history of the Secwépemc People, a detailed study guide for students and teachers, and an interview with the co-creators.

Reviews
"The creative team is definitely onto something … digs into land claims and entitlement in engaging new ways, using a lively mix of humour and interactive technology to work through heavy concepts. Viewers go out into the night with the knowledge that land issues will never be solved with an easy click of the button. And more importantly, with plenty to think about their own role in the matter."—the Georgia Straight

"Inheritance is what theatre should be. It breaks boundaries, embraces new technology … It is excellent. It should be required viewing. See it, ask questions, and enjoy the beauty of these incredible artists along the way."—Vancouver Presents

Educator Information
Includes a detailed study guide for students and teachers.

Additional Information
256 pages | 8.50" x 5.50"

Beyond the Orange Shirt Story: A collection of stories from family and friends of Phyllis Webstad - Before, during, and after their Residential School experiences.

Beyond the Orange Shirt Story is a unique collection of truths, as told by Phyllis Webstad's family and others, that will give readers an up-close look at what life was like before, during, and after their Residential School experiences. In this book, Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors share their stories authentically and in their own words. Phyllis Webstad is a Residential School Survivor and founder of the Orange Shirt Day movement. Phyllis has carefully selected stories to help Canadians educate themselves and gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of the Residential School System. Readers of this book will become more aware of a number of challenges faced by many Indigenous peoples in Canada. With this awareness comes learning and unlearning, understanding, acceptance, and change. Phyllis's hope is that all Canadians honour the lives and experiences of Survivors and their families as we go Beyond the Orange Shirt Story.

Educator Information
This book gives readers an up-close look at what life was like for many Survivors — before, during, and after their Residential School experiences. These personal Survivor accounts, relayed in a number of one on one interviews, are authentically shared in their own voices.

Young Adult Nonfiction (Ages 12+).

This book has a Teacher Lesson Plan: Beyond the Orange Shirt Story Teacher Lesson Plan

This book is available in French: Derrière l'histoire du chandail orange

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

Little Red Warrior is the last remaining member of the Little Red Warrior First Nation. One day, he discovers a development company has begun construction on his ancestral lands. In a fit of rage, Little Red attacks one of the engineers and is arrested for assault and trespassing on his own lands. In jail he meets his court-appointed lawyer, Larry, who agrees to help Little Red get his lands back. Larry convinces his wife, Desdemona, to allow Little Red to move into their basement while they sort out Red’s case. Desdemona and Red strike up an uneasy relationship. When Red notices that one of Desdemona’s eyes is slightly lazy she becomes increasingly neurotic, convinced that Little Red is up to something. Despite herself Desdemona, who is not accustomed to being thrown off her game, is increasingly drawn to Red’s apparently hypnotic Indigenous charisma. As sparks begin to fly between them Larry prepares to fight for Little Red’s Land Rights. An unexpected intervention by a greater power occurs in the court case, and nothing will ever be the same.

Educator Information
Cast of one Indigenous man; two settler men; one settler woman; and one male, female, or non-binary person in drag.

Additional Information
96 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

Beaver shares his teachings on how he shapes the land.

kʷu‿c̕əx̌ʷəntim təl stunx isck’ʷuls / Lessons From Beaver’s Work teaches children through storytelling to hold reverence for all life forms. The book depicts a conflict between Tapit, a rancher, and stunx (beaver), as they both try to meet their water needs. The touching humanity of stunx (Beaver) softens Tapit’s outlook, as he reminds Tapit that he is not the only one that depends on water.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 10 to 13.

Author Harron Hall has written several children's books that incorporate her Indigenous heritage and her deep commitment to protecting the land and water, including The Water Sings to Suli?, Water Changeling and We Go with Muskrat to Those Living Underwater.

This fictional story teaches the importance of watersheds and protecting our water systems.

Includes words in n'syilxwcn, the language spoken by the Sylix/Okanagan peoples.

This book is part of the Follow the Water series.

Additional Information
26 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

Charged with fresh material and new perspectives, this updated edition of the groundbreaking biography From Brotherhood to Nationhood brings George Manuel and his fighting tradition into the present.

George Manuel (19201989) was the strategist and visionary behind the modern Indigenous movement in Canada. A three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, he laid the groundwork for what would become the Assembly of First Nations and was the founding president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. Authors Peter McFarlane and Doreen Manuel follow him on a riveting journey from his childhood on a Shuswap reserve through three decades of fierce and dedicated activism.

In these pages, an all-new foreword by celebrated Mi'kmaq lawyer and activist Pam Palmater is joined by an afterword from Manuel’s granddaughter, land defender Kanahus Manuel. This edition features new photos and previously untold stories of the pivotal roles that the women of the Manuel family played and continue to play in the battle for Indigenous rights.

Reviews
“Brotherhood to Nationhood is more than just a biography of the life of George Manuel; it demonstrates the roots of an Indigenous internationalism and political theory that is grounded in the ethics, knowledge, and practices of the Secwepemc people.” – Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of As We Have Always Done

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword - Dr. Pamela Palmater
Preface - Peter McFarlane
Preface - Doreen Manuel

Part I. The Neck of the Chicken
1. Paradise, Paradise Lost, 1960
2. The Hard-Luck Shuswap Kid, 1920–1932
3. White Plague, Red Victims, 1932–1954
4. Local Agitator to Provincial Leader, 1955–1960
5. A Future for Your Children, 1960–1963

Part II. Building the National Movement
6. Community Development and the Arthur Laing Gang, 1965–1967
7. Down the Garden Path: Chretien Andras Consultations, 1968–1969
8. From White Paper to Red Paper, 1969–1970
9. The National Chief
10. The National Indian Philosophy, 1971–1972

Part III. Indian Shogun
11. International Travels
12. Land Title and the James Bay Battle, 1972–1973
13. Red Power
14. Political Eruptions in British Columbia, 1975
15. A Voice for the Fourth World, 1975–1976
16. Back to British Columbia,1976–1977
17. The Peoples’ Movement, 1977–1979
18. Constitutional Express, 1980

Part IV. Final Days
19. European Express, 1981–1982
20. Passing the Torch, 1982–1989

Epilogue
Afterword - Kanahus Manuel

Additional Information
402 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Revised, 2nd Edition

TIME: All.
SPACE: The Multiverse.
Come along for the ride to Kamloopa, the largest Powwow on the West Coast. This high-energy Indigenous matriarchal story follows two urban Indigenous sisters and a lawless Trickster who face our postcolonial world head-on as they come to terms with what it means to honour who they are and where they come from. But how to go about discovering yourself when Christopher Columbus allegedly already did that? Bear witness to the courage of these women as they turn to their Ancestors for help in reclaiming their power in this ultimate transformation story.

In developing matriarchal relationships and shared Indigenous values, Kamloopa explores the fearless love and passion of two Indigenous women reconnecting with their homelands, Ancestors, and stories. Kim Senklip Harvey’s play is a boundary-blurring adventure that will remind you to always dance like the Ancestors are watching.

Kamloopa: An Indigenous Matriarch Story is the work of Kim Senklip Harvey, a proud Indigenous woman from the Syilx, Tsilhqot’in, Ktunaxa, and Dakelh First Nations, listed for the Gina Wilkinson Prize for her work as an emerging director and widely considered to be one of this land’s most original voices among the next generation of Indigenous artists.

Awards

• 2020 Governor General's Award for English-language drama

Reviews
"A thoughtful, funny, and compelling exploration of the complexities of Indigenous community making and knowledge reclamation."—BC Studies

“Kamloopa is a hilarious and courageous transformation story. Kim Senklip Harvey makes a generous invitation for all of us to bear witness to the joy, resilience, and brilliance of Indigenous women.”—Christine Quintana

“This story about three women who are actively trying to decolonize themselves (whether they realize it or not) resonated deeply … Uplifting the voices of Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, and non-binary folks is incredibly important to our resistance and our communities. Kamloopa is one of those stories providing that platform.”—Yolanda Bonnell

“Kamloopa brought me an empowerment of self and a reclaiming of knowledge. It brought me sisterhood and ties that have shaped the way I create and approach life. As an Indigenous woman I felt seen, heard, and valid, something we should all experience. Miigwech.”—Samantha Brown

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 8 to 12 for Acting, Drama, Theatre, and English Language Arts.

The Syilx language, Nsyilxcǝn, is used throughout this play.  Also included is the resource "Fire Zine! A Kamloopa Study Buddy" by Kimi Clark.  It discusses Indigenous artistic ceremony Protocol, Indigenous Theatre terms, and guides users in facilitating a Talking Circle.

Additional Information

Two grown sisters face off over their mother's deathbed. Together they confront one another, their own identities, and what will remain when their mom leaves this world. A contemporary look at the significance of faith and family, Honour Beat evokes both laughter and tears as three women grapple with one of life's most difficult inevitabilities.

Reviews
"Honour Beat is an important work of art...It celebrates -- honours --women as the givers and sustainers of life...The ending is extraordinary." -Globe & Mail

"The final uplifting, spiritual moments of Honour Beat will linger with you long after you've left the theatre...the beautiful sentiments at the heart of the play." -Calgary Herald

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list as being useful for grades 10 to 12 for English Language Arts, Acting, Drama, and Social Studies.

Includes mature subject matter with references to trauma, rape, and sexual and physical abuse.

Additional Information
80 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

In They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever, ‘Nlaka’pamux elder Annie York explains the red-ochre inscriptions written on the rocks and cliffs of the lower Stein Valley in British Columbia. This is perhaps the first time that a Native elder has presented a detailed and comprehensive explanation of rock-art images from her people’s culture. As Annie York’s narratives unfold, we are taken back to the fresh wonder of childhood, as well as to a time in human society when people and animals lived together in one psychic dimension.

This book describes, among many other things, the solitary spiritual meditations of young people in the mountains, once considered essential education. Astrological predictions, herbal medicine, winter spirit dancing, hunting, shamanism, respect for nature, midwifery, birth and death, are some of the topics that emerge from Annie’s reading of the trail signs and other cultural symbols painted on the rocks. She firmly believed that this knowledge should be published so that the general public could understand why, as she put it, “The Old People reverenced those sacred places like that Stein.”

They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever opens a discussion of some of the issues in rock-art research that relate to “notating” and “writing” on the landscape, around the world and through the millennia. This landmark publication presents a well-reasoned hypothesis to explain the evolution of symbolic or iconic writing from sign language, trail signs and from the geometric and iconic imagery of the dreams and visions of shamans and neophyte hunters. This book suggests that the resultant images, written or painted on stone, constitute a Protoliteracy which has assisted both the conceptualization and communication of hunting peoples’ histories, philosophies, morals and ways life, and prepared the human mind for the economic, sociological and intellectual developments, including alphabetic written language.

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.75" x 9.75" | 2nd Edition

Garry Gottfriedson's Clinging to Bone digs into the marrow, heart and soul of the human condition. Looking deeply into the Secwepemc (Shuswap) world of today, he examines betrayal, grief, love and survival. He states, "the broken winged sparrows are lost in flight, surviving starvation in the empty belly of wind." In "Foreigner" he describes how "my skin is the scent of Secwepemcúlucw / a rez Indian, a foreigner / in my own homeland / can you imagine that?" (where "Secwepemcúlucw" means land of the Shuswap). But he also sees humour in the very mechanics of surviving as an Indigenous individual in the Canada of today. His poetry will draw you into love, laughter and sorrow, but leave you contemplating your own survival. A glossary of Secwepemc words is included.

Reviews
"Secwepemc poet, rancher, and teacher Garry Gottfriedson brings themes of identity, environment, and politics in his newest work Clinging to Bone. This collection of poems emerges from Gottfriedson’s journey as a Secwepemc man growing up in his traditional territory. Throughout the work are many beautiful and colourful images of nature. His work explores how land shapes one’s identity and how concepts of home have been altered by settlement and colonialism. Gottfriedson also touches upon many difficult intersections including Residential Schools, church abuses, and environmental destruction. In the end, his work is a (re)affirmation of
Secwepemc sovereignty through narratives of caregiving and relationship to place. Thought-provoking and accessible for high school students, this work is valuable in our schools today." - Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 11 and 12 for English, Creativie Writing, Literary Studies and Social Justice.  Also a useful for Teacher Resource.

Additional Information
100 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Andy and Phyllis Chelsea met during their years spent at the St. Joseph’s Mission School in Williams Lake, BC. Like the thousands of others forced into the church-run residential school system, Andy and Phyllis are no strangers to the ongoing difficulties experienced by most Indigenous peoples in Canada. The couple married in 1964 but brought the trauma of their mission school years into their marriage. The Chelseas’ struggle with alcohol came to an abrupt halt in 1971 when their daughter, Ivy, then aged seven, stated that she and her brothers did not want to live with their parents because of the drinking, that they would stay with their Grandmother, their Kye7e. Andy and Phyllis chose sobriety to preserve their family. This decision sparked a lifetime of activism for the couple, which included overcoming the challenges caused by Canada’s disregard for their community. Throughout the twenty-seven years Andy was Chief of the Alkali Lake Esk’et First Nation, the Chelseas worked to eradicate alcoholism and took steps to overcome the rampant intergenerational trauma that existed for the people of Alkali Lake. Their efforts, their story and the perseverance of the members of their village have inspired Indigenous groups facing similar struggles throughout the world.

Resolve: The Chelsea Story and a First Nation Community’s Will to Heal explores the harrowing, personal journey of the Chelseas. By combining personal interviews and historical records, biographer Carolyn Parks Mintz shares the Chelseas’ transition from residential schools to state-sanctioned reservations to international recognition of their activism in the face of ongoing repression. A simultaneous celebration of strength and a condemnation of systemic racism, Resolve is a personal and deeply moving story that calls for a closer look at the status of Canada’s reconciliation efforts from the Chelseas’ perspective.

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 10 to 12 for English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Social Justice.

Caution: Alcoholisms, trauma, physical and sexual abuse.

Additional Information
240 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

downstream: reimagining water brings together artists, writers, scientists, scholars, environmentalists, and activists who understand that our shared human need for clean water is crucial to building peace and good relationships with one another and the planet. This book explores the key roles that culture, arts, and the humanities play in supporting healthy water-based ecology and provides local, global, and Indigenous perspectives on water that help to guide our societies in a time of global warming. The contributions range from practical to visionary, and each of the four sections closes with a poem to encourage personal freedom along with collective care.

This book contributes to the formation of an intergenerational, culturally inclusive, participatory water ethic. Such an ethic arises from intellectual courage, spiritual responsibilities, practical knowledge, and deep appreciation for human dependence on water for a meaningful quality of life. downstream illuminates how water teaches us interdependence with other humans and living creatures, both near and far.

Reviews
"Downstream stakes out a bold and creative claim to collaborative and cross-cultural eco-spiritual-neo-traditional knowing and, with it, new approaches to policy and action. A timely read that lends depth and resonance to some of the material and voices [in other books on the subject]." — Heather Menzies, Literary Review of Canada, June 2017

"This rich collection brings together the work of artists, writers, scientists, scholars, environmentalists, and activists, all focusing on the looming global water crisis. ... Writing styles vary from piece to piece throughout the book—poetic, personal, journalistic, and academic—but the shifts between each are well worth navigating for any reader interested in human futures on Earth."— Publishers Weekly, August 2017

"This collection of works successfully expands our knowledge of and experience with water by merging natural science, social science, arts, and humanities approaches to water. It offers new, innovative, and engaging ways to think about and experience water, especially as it relates to life and vitality."— Sara Beth Keough, American Review of Canadian Studies, November -0001

Educator Information
This collection of essays is useful for these course/subject areas or topics: Language Arts & Disciplines; Creative Writing; Indigenous Studies; Poetry; Environmental Studies; Environmental Humanities.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Re-storying Waters, Re-storying Relations / Rita Wong and Dorothy Christian

Part I: Contexts for Knowing and Unknowing Water
1. Planetary Distress Signals / Alanna Mitchell
2. Water / Lee Maracle
3. Interweaving Water: The Incremental Transformation of Sovereign Knowledge into Collaborative Knowledge / Michael D. Blackstock
4. Water and Knowledge / Astrida Neimanis
5. Excerpts from “a child’s fable” / Baco Ohama

Part II: Water Testimonies: Witness, Worry, and Work
6. Water: The First Foundation of Life / Mona Polacca
7. From Our Homelands to the Tar Sands / Melina Laboucan Massimo
8. Keepers of the Water: Nishnaabe-kwewag Speaking for the Water / Renee Elizabeth Mzinegiizhigo-kwe Bedard
9. Water Walk Pedagogy / Violet Caibaiosai
10. A Response to Pascua Lama / Cecilia Vicuna

Part III: Shared Ethical and Embodied Practices
11. Moving with Water: Relationship and Responsibilities / Alannah Young Leon and Denise Marie Nadeau
12. Bodies of Water: Meaning in Movement / Seonagh Odhiambo Horne
13. Upstream: A Conversation with Water / Cathy Stubington
14. Ice Receding, Books Reseeding / Basia Irland
15. Tsunami Chant / Wang Ping

Part IV: A Respectful Co-existence in Common: Water Perspectives
16. Listening to the Elders at the Keepers of the Water Gathering /Radha D’Souza
17. Coastal Waters in Distress from Excessive Nutrients / Paul J. Harrison
18. Bodies of Water: Asian Canadians In/Action with Water /Janey Lew
19. Permeable Toronto: A Hydro-Eutopia / Janine MacLeod
20. Saturate/Dissolve: Water for Itself, Un-Settler Responsibilities, and Radical Humility / Larissa Lai
21. Bring Me Back / Janet Rogers

Additional Information
300 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" 

“We Are All Connected” is a series that explores how we all live together in a shared balance upon Mother Earth. Each book explores a specific ecosystem with a focus on one animal and its adaptations for survival within that ecosystem. Indigenous interviewees, each living within the same area, have responded to strategic questions as to how their community interacts with the land, their traditional territory. Explore each text with a sense of inquiry in mind.

8 We Are All Connected Titles Coast Salish, Coastal Rainforests and Cougars Haisla, Rivers and Chinook Salmon Inuit, Tundra and Ravens Lakota, Mixed Grasslands and Bald Eagles Métis, Wetlands and Mallards Nisga'a, Ponds and Leopard Frogs Nlaka'pamux, Grasslands and Rattlesnakes Sto:lo, Riparian Forests and Black Bears Each title covers the following curricular areas. Traditional storytelling and artwork begin each title from the focus Indigenous territory. Science: Biodiversity, classification, life cycles, food chains, food webs and connections between living and non-living things are just some of the science concepts included in each book. Social Studies: Contemporary and historical Indigenous cultural knowledge flows throughout each book. Local land forms, gatherings, harvesting practices and government are some of the social studies concepts included in each book.

2 Foundation Titles The two foundational books provide deeper understanding of the content of the “We Are All Connected” titles. We Are All Connected: The Earth, Our Home- explores biomes, ecosystems and biodiversity. We Are All Connected: The Earth, We Share- explores the interconnectedness between living and non-living things. 

Authenticity Note: This title includes some authentic Indigenous photographs.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.50" x 11.00" | ISBN: 9781771742528

Like all First Nations languages, Lillooet (Lil'wat) is a repository for an abundantly rich oral literature. In These Are Our Legends, the fifth volume of the First Nations Language Readers series, the reader will discover seven traditional Lillooet sptakwlh (variously translated into English as "legends," "myths," or "bed-time stories.")

These texts are presented in a technical transcription that can be used by linguists, and also in a practical orthography that can be used by Lillooet speakers themselves. An English translation is also given. Basic information on the Lillooet language, its grammar, and a glossary are included in the volume.

With thanks to the Mount Currie Cultural Centre and the Tszil Publishing House.

Series Information
These Are Our Legends is part of the First Nations Language Readers series. With a mix of traditional and new stories, each First Nations Language Reader introduces an Indigenous language and demonstrates how each language is used today. The University of Regina Press’s long-term goal is to publish all 60+ Indigenous languages of Canada.

Additional Information
120 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Narrated by Lillooet Elders | Transcribed and Translated by Jan van Eijk 

Authenticity Note: This book has been labelled as containing Authentic Indigenous Text because of the narration from Lillooet Elders.  It is up to readers to determine if this text will work as an authentic resource for their purposes.

Like thousands of Aboriginal children in Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu'll chief Bev Sellars spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school.

These institutions endeavored to "civilize" Native children through Christian teachings; forced separation from family, language, and culture; and strict discipline. Perhaps the most symbolically potent strategy used to alienate residential school children was addressing them by assigned numbers only-not by the names with which they knew and understood themselves.

In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school's lasting effects on her and her family-from substance abuse to suicide attempts-and eloquently articulates her own path to healing. 'Number One' comes at a time of recognition-by governments and society at large-that only through knowing the truth about these past injustices can we begin to redress them.

Awards

• 2014 Burt Award Third Place Winner

Educator Information
Grades 10-12 BC English First Peoples resource for the unit Place-Conscious Learning - Exploring Text through Local Landscape.

Additional Information
256 pages | 5.67" x 8.20"