First Nations

1234 First Nations Explore

There are so many wonderful and interesting facts about First Nations Culture. The 1234 book gives children a chance to count while they learn about Aboriginal Peoples from all over "Turtle Island".

Kim is a Lakota artist, teacher in Vancouver, BC and children's TV show writer.

These watercolour paintings are part of a collection that teaches about First Nation's culture. The paintings were featured in “Wakanheja“ in counting time with Terry Turtle.

Written by Richelle Lovegrove and illustrated by Amber Green, A Big Mistake? is a beautiful children’s book that explores friendship, gifts and generosity.

When Summer’s best friend compliments the necklace her kokum gave her, she remembers her Elder’s teaching and gives the necklace away. But when her kokum comes over for supper, Summer worries that she made a big mistake by giving away such a special gift.

A proud Lakota Sioux grows into manhood acting with careful deliberation, determination, and bravery, he eventually earns the new name of Sitting Bull.

The reader will discover some interesting bits of history and tradition that are not widely known. Many, for example, do not know that Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin (two of the American Founding Fathers) both attribute the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, one of the world’s oldest democracies, as the inspiration for the American Constitution. Or, that the origin of ‘Red Indian’ is not because of skin colour, but from the ochre (iron oxide) used by the now extinct Beothuk to colour their skin red – red skin.

At the bottom of each letter there is a list of Indiginous peoples that begin with that letter. The idea is that the names can be recited as a sort of poem of remembrance. This book celebrates Aboriginal heritage and culture and is beautifully illustrated by Brendan Heard, a Canadian artist who works in oil paint and digital medium.

The author, Joseph MacLean, is an historian by education, a story teller by avocation and a social entrepreneur by trade. The book was written ten years ago when Joseph was working on a literacy project in Vancouver’s infamous DTES (Downtown Eastside) – the poorest postal code in Canada.

On the White Ravens'' Outstanding New International Books for Children and Young Adults list, 2008

Canadian Children''s Book Centre Our Choice, 2009

Before the angels stars grew dim
And wondering hunters heard their hymn
One mystic flute - one hundred drums
One message clear, "A King has come!"
Not one had ever seen the like
By light of day or moon of night
Before the angels stars grew dim
And wondering hunters heard this hymn. . .

An Aboriginal Carol is the ultimate Aboriginal collaboration:

* poetry by Metis poet David Bouchard,
* paintings by First Nations artist Moses Beaver, and
* the music of Inuit performer Susan Aglukark.

Best-selling Canadian author David Bouchard reworks Canada''s oldest and most well-known carol, The Huron Carol. The art of Moses Beaver, from the fly-in reserve of Summer Beaver, Ontario (Nikinamik), resonates and awakens an awareness that is at once exciting and empowering, a way for all people to understand the birth of Christ from an Aboriginal worldview. The pride of the north, Susan Aglukark, interprets, for the first time, the revered carol.

Written in English and in Inuktituk, the language of Canada''s Inuit people, the book is accompanied by a CD, which includes a reading in both languages and a performance by Susan. An Aboriginal Carol is certain to become a classic.

One of Canada''s bestselling and award winning authors, David Bouchard is of Metis descent. The author of over two dozen best-selling books, his If You''re Not from the Prairie is on Maclean''s list of the top 20 Canadian children''s books. David Bouchard was a teacher and a principal for many years before turning to writing. For more information, visit www.davidbouchard.com.

Moses (Amik) Beaver is from the isolated fly-in community of Nibinamik, (Summer Beaver) 500 kilometers north of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario. While Moses work reflects the black lines of traditional Woodlands art, he embraces his own unique style of embedded images of spirits, human faces and animal forms, transcending physical boundaries to the outer dimensions of the spiritual realm. The images tell stories, represent ancient teachings of his people and remind those who gaze on the work, we are all connected to each other and the natural world. For more information, visit www.mosesbeaver.com.

Singer/songwriter Susan Aglukark is one of Canada''s most unique artist''s and a leading voice in Canadian music. She blends the Inuktituk and English languages with contemporary pop music arrangements to tell the stories of her people, the Unuit of Arctic Canada. She is rapidly becoming known as an uplifting motivational speaker, able to reach both youth and adult audiences alike. For more information, visit www.susanaglukark.com.

Animals of the Salish Sea is a wonderful new book for home and school. This book shares Coast Salish traditional teachings of 26 animals. Also included is the specific aspects of each animal who live in this unique marine environment.

There are as many Creation stories as there are First Nations on Turtle Island. The story of a Great Flood is known to indigenous people in every corner of the world. But what about the Moon? Who made her? What was her intended purpose?

Beneath Raven Moon is an enchanting tale of the creation of Grandmother Moon and of the first time she wove her spell on a young, unsuspecting couple.

The story unfolds in the territory of the Kwakwaka’wakw people – now also known as British Columbia’s Inside Passage – where Raven and Eagle join together in good-natured conspiracy to foster a heart-warming romance.

Follow the magical vision of Métis author David Bouchard and Kwakwaka’wakw artist Andy Everson to learn why Raven found it necessary to bless us with the heavenly sphere that guides we two-leggeds and illuminates our night sky. And enjoy the enchantment of the music and flute of Mary Youngblood as you sit in wonder ... Beneath Raven Moon.  

The Bearpaw children learn of a white buffalo calf that is born on a ranch far from their home. The family leaves on a spontaneous pilgrimage in their camper to take gifts to the newborn. The children had grown up with the story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, the powerful spirit who saved a starving tribe in ancient times, and had been reborn in the form of a white buffalo. But the white calf is protected by its large mother. What will happen to the children in the moonlight inside the corral? A contemporary story that resonates with young readers of all backgrounds is based on an oral story passed down in the Bearpaw family. The White Buffalo Calf Woman, the powerful spirit who had saved a starving tribe in ancient times, had been reborn in the form of a white buffalo calf. Now that story seems to be coming true for the Bearpaw children. The book includes the retelling of the original legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman as well as step-by-step instructions with illustrations showing how to make your own dreamcatcher.

A traditional Native American character gets a modern update in this charming Christmas tale.

On Christmas Eve, Coyote wants to find some people to trick out of a hot meal. Sneaky Coyote is known in the Native American tradition as the Trickster. He knows that there's one character people can't refuse on Christmas Eve: Santa Claus! Using straw for a jolly belly and wool for his Santa's beard, the Trickster fools a family into welcoming him to their Christmas meal. But just when he thinks he's gotten away with his ruse, taking their food and leaving the family with nothing, he's foiled by a strange occurrence. Could it be a Christmas miracle?

Coyote's antics, beautifully told and illustrated by S. D. Nelson, will delight readers, and his eventual comeuppance just in time for Christmas makes this a perfect holiday tale.

Chi finds herself feeling comforted after the loss of her grandmother, knowing her Temma will always be a part of her and looking forward to the new child who will be a part of their lives.

Long ago, when a great flood cleansed the land of unhappiness, the Grandfather sent Wanjblí the eagle to save one virtuous member of the human race and teach her how to live a good life. The eagle is a powerful symbol of courage, wisdom, and strength. In Kevin’s book he shares an inspiring vision of unity and hope for a new generation teaching children to recognize the eagle in themselves and others and always to soar above the darkness into the light.

Dragonfly Kites is the third book in Tomson Highway's magical Songs of the North Wind trilogy. Like Fox on the Ice and Caribou Song, it has a bilingual text, written in English and Cree. And once again Tomson Highway brilliantly evokes the very essence of childhood as he weaves a deceptively simple story about the power of the imagination.


Joe and Cody, two young Cree brothers, along with their parents and their little dog Ootsie, are spending the summer by one of the hundreds of lakes in northern Manitoba. Summer means a chance to explore the world and make friends with an array of creatures, But what Joe and Cody like doing best of all is flying dragonfly kites. They catch dragonflies and gently tie a length of thread around the middle of each dragonfly before letting it go. Off soar the dragonflies into the summer sky and off race the brothers and Ootsie too, chasing after their dragonfly kites through trees and meadows and down to the beach before watching them disappear into the night sky. But in their dreams, Joe and Cody soar through the skies with their kites until it's time to wake up.

After a poor harvest, two children regain the Corn Maidens' blessings for their people with the aid of a cornstalk toy, the dragonfly.

Now that his Mishoomis, his grandfather, is gone, a young man remembers walking with him in the bush and listening to stories of the old days; he remembers being honored with an eagle feather at the powwow and not knowing what he had done to deserve this honor; he remembers his grandfather telling him that I had achieved a good deed from the first day he held me, as a baby, in his arms.

Plains illustrations perfectly complement this deep little story and express the many layers of life's experiences.

When frogs suddenly vanish from a lake behind a village on the Northwest Coast, a nearby volcano awakens and an native girl is called to a dangerous adventure. Following the rich mythic traditions of Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, the stories often tell of individuals cast mysteriously into parallel worlds inhabited by animals in human form.