Browse Books for Adults
Synopsis:
The struggle to reform Canada’s justice system is nothing short of a cry for justice itself, and the response to this cry is too slow and too narrow. The essays collected in Moving Toward Justice include analyses of the challenges of legal pluralism, restorative justice, gender and race in sentencing, notions of community, and reconciliation in Aboriginal justice. Part I of the book examines the legal and political context for Aboriginal justice, theories of law and the constitution, as well as theories of development and administration that compel much broader initiatives of Aboriginal self-government.
Part II examines specific initiatives and the problems some of them have created. Justice reform is complex and controversial. The challenges increase when the context for reform includes the search for greater safety and security in Aboriginal communities, recognition of cultural integrity, and the need to promote inter-societal respect.
This book aims to underscore the urgent need for Aboriginal justice reform, to suggest the outlines of the constitutional and administrative changes that will allow reform to occur, and to explore a series of specific issues that have arisen from reforms already made. It is a book for scholars, policy makers, and all those interested in or working with justice issues.
Synopsis:
This gorgeous volume draws from the vast archives of the National Museum of the American Indian and the voices of some of the most prominent Native American scholars, writers, activists and tribal leaders. More than 300 full-color illustrations depict the artistry and culture of our hemisphere’s diverse indigenous peoples. With its insightful, firsthand prose, the book is a reminder that the ancient philosophies and folkways are just as valuable and relevant in today’s world as they were generations ago.
Synopsis:
Indigenous researchers are knowledge seekers who work to progress Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing in a modern and constantly evolving context. This book describes a research paradigm shared by Indigenous scholars in Canada and Australia, and demonstrates how this paradigm can be put into practice. Relationships don’t just shape Indigenous reality, they are our reality. Indigenous researchers develop relationships with ideas in order to achieve enlightenment in the ceremony that is Indigenous research. Indigenous research is the ceremony of maintaining accountability to these relationships. For researchers to be accountable to all our relations, we must make careful choices in our selection of topics, methods of data collection, forms of analysis and finally in the way we present information. I’m an Opaskwayak Cree from northern Manitoba currently living in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia. I’m also a father of three boys, a researcher, son, uncle, teacher, world traveller, knowledge keeper and knowledge seeker. As an educated Indian, I’ve spent much of my life straddling the Indigenous and academic worlds. Most of my time these days is spent teaching other Indigenous knowledge seekers (and my kids) how to accomplish this balancing act while still keeping both feet on the ground.
Synopsis:
Love is meant to be supportive. But what happens when you are hurt by the one you love? This book will help women interpret their relationship in valuable new ways. Drawing on their own wisdom and the wisdom of many women who share their experience, When Love Hurts helps women find the answers they’re looking for. When Love Hurts explores many difficult questions...
Synopsis:
Blood Sports is the tough, gritty story of the brutal cat-and-mouse relationship between two cousins — Tom and Jeremy Bauer — set in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.
Tom, a young man, hardly innocent, has been caught up over the years in Jeremy’s world of drugs, extortion, and prostitutes, while Jeremy, vindictive, vicious, either protects Tom or uses him, but always controls him. Added to the mix is Paulie, a junkie two years clean and Tom’s girlfriend, and also the mother of his daughter. This lethal triangle shifts when word gets out Tom has been talking to the police, and men from the past who have a lot to lose reappear. Suddenly Tom and Paulie are pawns in a much larger game, with everything at stake.
With the storytelling skill and engrossing characterizations that have made her previous books so popular, Robinson keeps the tension humming in this riveting novel. This is Eden Robinson at the height of her powers.
Reviews
"Robinson’s sting worked precisely as the trickster in her intended. . . . Like Leonard Cohen, Robinson combines a variety of narrative forms and conflicting styles with such a high degree of technical virtuosity that the very act of reading a cracked and splintered narrative becomes spellbinding, addictive, unstoppable."—Globe and Mail
"Eden Robinson writes with the violent beauty of a seasoned knifefighter. . . . In her hands, language is a weapon that can leave you bleeding, unsure of just how you were cut. Reading Eden Robinson feels dangerous." —National Post
"Blood Sports is a stomach-churning sucker punch of a read for a very talented risk taker."—NOW magazine
"A gripping page-turner of a tale. . . . Blood Sports is a novel of extreme, even diabolical contrasts that explore by the awful and the beautiful faces of Vancouver. . . . Robinson imbues her novel with continual suspense, carnal voyeurism, and of course, hope." —Calgary Herald
"Eden Robinson writes some of the most disturbing fiction that Canadian literature has ever seen."—Quill & Quire
Educator Information
Eden Robinson has referred to this work as a contemporary retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
Additional Information
296 pages | 5.58" x 8.18"
Synopsis:
Copper Thunderbird is a play on canvases based on the life of Norval Morrisseau. Inside the power-lines which Morrisseau boldly defined in his art were the colours he experienced between his Ojibwa cosmology, his life on the street, and his spiritual and philosophical transformations to become the Father of Contemporary Native Art and a Grand Shaman. Appearing simultaneously in this multi-layered drama as a small boy, a young warrior and an old man, Morrisseau confronts his many selves over the Faustian destiny he encountered during his vision quest—a momentary terror that led to a life wracked by both triumph and ordeal, drawing his vibrant colours, both luminous and dark, from the life-force within him.
Norval Morrisseau is notorious for the life he has led, the company he has kept, the wives, lovers, parasitic drinking buddies and abusive family members he has had and passed through as if they were merely insubstantial phantoms. The paintings he has sold to buy another bottle of alcohol, to get through another brutal day, hang in galleries around the world, a phenomenon Morrisseau himself simply took for granted. Framed variously with the identities of Indian, Artist and Shaman, Copper Thunderbird interrogates both the stereotypes and the politically correct judgments that have manufactured Morrisseau’s public personae, creating a power-figure that transcends culture and morality, earth and water, fire and air.
Additional Information
84 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"
Synopsis:
Neal McLeod examines the history of the nêhiyawak (Cree People) of western Canada from the massive upheavals of the 1870s and the reserve period to the vibrant cultural and political rebirth of contemporary times. Central to the text are the narratives of McLeod's family, which give first hand examples of the tenacity and resiliency of the human spirit while providing a rubric for reinterpreting the history of Indigenous people, drawing on Cree worldviews and Cree narrative structures.
In a readable style augmented with extensive use of the Cree language throughout, McLeod draws heavily on original research, the methodology of which could serve as a template for those doing similar work. While the book is based on the Cree experience of the Canadian prairies, its message and methodology are applicable to all Indigenous societies.
Neal McLeod holds a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies, and currently teaches Indigenous Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. In addition to being a visual artist and entertainer, he has published a book of poetry, Songs to Kill a Wihtikow, and has another forthcoming entitled Gabriel's Beach. He is Cree and Swedish, and was born and raised in Saskatchewan.
Synopsis:
Flight is a powerful, fast and timely story of a troubled foster teenager — a boy who is not a “legal” Indian because he was never claimed by his father — who learns the true meaning of terror. About to commit a devastating act, the young man finds himself shot back through time on a shocking sojourn through moments of violence in American history. He resurfaces in the form of an FBI agent during the civil rights era, inhabits the body of an Indian child during the battle at Little Big Horn, and then rides with an Indian tracker in the 19th Century before materializing as an airline pilot jetting through the skies today. When finally, blessedly, our young warrior comes to rest again in his own contemporary body, he is mightily transformed by all he’s seen. This is Sherman Alexie at his most brilliant — making us laugh while breaking our hearts. Simultaneously wrenching and deeply humorous, wholly contemporary yet steeped in American history, Flight is irrepressible, fearless, and again, groundbreaking Alexie.
Additional Information
208 pages | 5.50" x 8.25" | Paperback
Synopsis:
The best-selling author of multiple award-winning books returns with his first novel in ten years, a powerful, fast and timely story of a troubled foster teenager — a boy who is not a “legal” Indian because he was never claimed by his father — who learns the true meaning of terror. About to commit a devastating act, the young man finds himself shot back through time on a shocking sojourn through moments of violence in American history. He resurfaces in the form of an FBI agent during the civil rights era, inhabits the body of an Indian child during the battle at Little Big Horn, and then rides with an Indian tracker in the 19th Century before materializing as an airline pilot jetting through the skies today. When finally, blessedly, our young warrior comes to rest again in his own contemporary body, he is mightily transformed by all he’s seen. This is Sherman Alexie at his most brilliant — making us laugh while breaking our hearts. Simultaneously wrenching and deeply humorous, wholly contemporary yet steeped in American history, Flight is irrepressible, fearless, and again, groundbreaking Alexie.
Additional Information
208 pages | 5.50" x 8.25" | Paperback
Synopsis:
This is the first in a series of readers in the First Nations languages of the prairie provinces meant for language learners and language users. The stories in this volume come from a variety of sources, all being narrated or written by fluent speakers of Cree, whether students or instructors of the Cree language or Elders. Funny Little Stories is a collection of nine stories representing the Plains Cree, Woods Cree, and Swampy Cree dialects, with a pronunciation guide and a Cree-to-English glossary.
Students and Elders come together in this volume to offer samples of three distinct genres of Cree storytelling: word play, humorous accounts of life experiences, and traditional stories about Wisahkecahk, the trickster-hero.
Each story is illustrated and is presented in both Standard Roman Orthography and syllabics, with English translation.
Educator & Series Information
Funny Little Stories 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
110 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Narrated by Cree-speaking students, instructors, and Elders | Transcribed and Translated by Cree Linguistics Students | Edited and with a glossary and syllabics by Arok Wolvengrey
Authenticity Note: Because of the contribution of Indigenous Peoples, such as Cree-speaking Elders, to this work on Cree storytelling, it has received the Authentic Indigenous Text label.
Synopsis:
A framework for using read-aloud and other oral language experiences to build reading comprehension skills and help readers record, share, value, and interpret ideas
This comprehensive guide offers a framework for using read-aloud and other oral language experiences to build reading comprehension skills and help students record, share, value, and interpret ideas. These organizational tools free students to listen more attentively; organize their responses; and watch for subtle clues, such as body language, that are an important part of listening. The book is organized around common reading strategies, including making inferences and predictions, making connections, visualizing, asking questions, and synthesizing. Tools to complement these strategies include reproducible graphic organizers, rubrics, forms for recording student progress, and numerous worksheets.
Synopsis:
Favorite recipes for a popular fish. Halibut has become increasingly popular in fish stores and supermarkets nationwide. The firm, succulent flesh of halibut is low in fat and well suited for all cooking methods. This collection includes 120 recipes traditional favorites along with 40 new ones from award-winning author and chef Karen Barnaby, one of North America's leading seafood chefs.
Halibut: The Cookbook surveys the culinary and natural history of the fish, and provides tips on how to choose the freshest catch at the store. Conveniently organized by meal course, Halibut includes marinades, curing instructions and different cooking methods. The recipes are easy to follow, ranging from simple dishes to elaborate meals.
Here are samples of the 120 recipes:
- Grilled halibut steaks with pink peppercorn chive butter
- Baked halibut tapenade crust and caponata
- Riesling braised halibut with tarragon and chives
- Alaskan halibut chowder.
Comprehensive and clearly written, Halibut: The Cookbook will be welcomed by home chefs who have long enjoyed this popular fish, as well as those just adding it to their list of favorites.
Additional Information
184 pages | 8.25" x 9.50"
Synopsis:
Louis Riel devoted his life to the Métis cause. A fiery activist, he struggled against injustice as he saw it. He was a pioneer in the field of Aboriginal rights and land claims but was branded an outlaw in his own time. In 1885, he was executed for treason. In 1992, the House of Commons declared Riel a founder of Manitoba. November 16 is now designated Louis Riel Day in Canada.
Additional Information
208 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"
Synopsis:
Based on Métis artist Christi Belcourt’s painting “Medicines to Help Us,” this innovative and vibrant resource honours the centuries-old healing traditions of Métis women. With contributions from Métis Elders Rose Richardson and Olive Whitford, as well as key Michif phrases and terminology, Medicines to Help Us is the most accessible resource relating to Métis healing traditions produced to date.
Educator Information
This resource guide does not include the study prints referred to on the back cover and within the book.
Michif Translators: Laura Burnoff and Rita Flamand
Elder Validation: Rose Richardson
Format: Book Only - English, with plant names in Michif, Nehiyawewin (Cree), and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway)
Synopsis:
Payepot and His People was first published serially by The Western Producer. In 1957 it was published in book form by the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society. Abel Watetch was a nephew of Chief Payepot and a veteran of World War I. As noted in the introduction to the 1957 edition, Watetch had earlier set down in "fine, clear handwriting" the previously unwritten history of his people, having "assembled many of the recollections of his kin to 'set the record right'." These writings were the basis of the story told here, supplemented by further recollections by Watetch and his friend, Chief Sitting Eagle Changing Position (Harry Ball), documented either on tape or through written correspondence.