National Indigenous History Month
Bear for breakfast
Munsch, Robert N., 1945- author
2019
Donovan looks in the fridge but is disappointed to see that there is no bear, since his grandfather says he used to eat bear for breakfast. So Donovan sets off to bag a bear of his own. In a "going on a lion hunt" adventure, he stalks and is stalked by an ant, a squirrel, and a dog -- but they are not bears, so he shoos them away. Finally Donovan meets a real bear, which GROWLS at him! Donovan runs all the way home but the bear follows him into the kitchen and chases his mom around the table until grandfather hits it on the head with a frying pan: BONGGGGG! and the bear runs away. Then they all sit down to a nice breakfast that doesn't have any teeth: Pizza!
Birdsong
Flett, Julie, author, illustrator
2020
When a young girl moves from the country to a small town, she feels lonely and out of place. But soon she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of arts and crafts. Can the girl navigate the changing seasons and failing health of her new friend? Acclaimed author and artist Julie Flett's textured images of birds, flowers, art, and landscapes bring vibrancy and warmth to this powerful story, which highlights the fulfillment of intergenerational relationships and shared passions.
Blanket toss under midnight sun : portraits of everday life in eight Indigenous communities
Seesequasis, Paul, author
2019
Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun consists of approximately 80 archival black-and-white and colour photographs of Indigenous family life from 1925 to 1985, a period of sixty years. The images will portray the resilience and resourcefulness of Indigenous communities across Canada, and will illustrate a way of life that has been diminished or lost in modern times and is little known today. The high-resolution photos will be selected from the works of 12 photographers who spent significant time in each region: Cape Dorset (Kinngait) in Nunavut; Lake Superior Region in Ontario; Plains (Medicine Line) in Southern Alberta, Southern Saskatchewan and Northern Montana; Fort Rae (Bechoko) in the Northwest Territories, and Teslin - Old Crow in the Yukon. The narrative essay for each community will focus on exploration of its history, its families, and its cultural characteristics; including anecdotal stories, profiles of significant individuals, and analysis of how the community adapted to change.
Borders
King, Thomas, 1943- author
2021
Borders is a masterfully told story of a boy and his mother whose road trip from Alberta to Salt Lake City is thwarted at the border when they identify their citizenship as Blackfoot. Refusing to identify as either American or Canadian first bars their entry into the US, and then their return into Canada. In the limbo between countries, they find power in their connection to their identity and to each other.
The case of the missing auntie
Hutchinson, Michael, 1971- author
2020
The Mighty Muskrats have a new case to solve: to find the whereabouts of their grandpa's long-lost sister. Once in the bright lights of the big city, the cousins get distracted, face off with bullies, meet some heroes and unlikely teachers, and experience many of the difficulties First Nations kids can face in the city. The Muskrats' search for their missing auntie takes them all the way to the government, and reveals hard truths about their country's treatment of First Nation families.
Dakwäkãda warriors
Pauls, Cole, author, artist
2019
Artist~~ Cole Pauls wanted to reclaim the Southern Tutchone language he had learned as a youth while performing in the traditional song and dance group the Dakwakada Dancers, based in Whitehorse (YT). So, he created a comic about two Earth Protectors saving the Earth from evil pioneers and cyborg sasquatches. But he also went to his elders and asked them to translate his comic into the two dialects of Southern Tutchone. The resulting work is an allegory of colonialization done in an accessible format, a whimsical young adult graphic novel which helps to revitalize the language.
From where I stand : rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a stronger Canada
Wilson-Raybould, Jody, 1971- author
2019
"From Where I Stand is a timely, forthright, and optimistic book for all Canadians. Drawn from speeches made over a ten-year period both at home and abroad, Jody Wilson-Raybould reveals why true reconciliation will occur only when Canada moves beyond denial, recognizes Indigenous Rights, and replaces the Indian Act. We have the solutions. Now is the time to end the legacy of colonialism and replace it with a future built on foundations of trust, cooperation, and Indigenous self-government."-- Provided by publisher.
In my Anaana's amautik
Sammurtok, Nadia, author
2019
"Nadia Sammurtok lovingly invites the reader into the amautik--the pouch in the back of a mother's parka used to carry a child--to experience everything through the eyes of the baby nestled inside, from the cloudlike softness of the pouch to the glistening sound of Anaana's laughter."-- Provided by publisher.
Nattiq and the land of statues : a story from the Arctic
Landry, Barbara, author
2020
A ringed seal, known in Inuktitut as nattiq, has returned to his Arctic home after a long journey south. His friends -- a polar bear, caribou, raven, walrus and narwhal -- gather round to hear about his adventures. "What did you see beyond our land?" shouts the polar bear. Nattiq describes the amazing sights he has seen -- from crystal clear waters full of giant icebergs to the tundra in full summertime bloom to strange, tall statues, far to the south. The statues swayed in the autumn breeze, howled when winter storms set in and opened their arms to nesting birds in the spring.
Split tooth
Tagaq, 1975- author
2019
Fact can be as strange as fiction. It can also be as dark, as violent, as rapturous. In the end, there may be no difference between them. A girl grows up in Nunavut in the 1970s. She knows joy, and friendship, and parents' love. She knows boredom, and listlessness, and bullying. She knows the tedium of the everyday world, and the raw, amoral power of the ice and sky, the seductive energy of the animal world. She knows the ravages of alcohol, and violence at the hands of those she should be able to trust. She sees the spirits that surround her, and the immense power that dwarfs all of us. When she becomes pregnant, she must navigate all this. Veering back and forth between the grittiest features of a small arctic town, the electrifying proximity of the world of animals, and ravishing world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions between good and evil, animal and human, victim and transgressor, real and imagined lose their meaning, but the guiding power of love remains. Haunting, brooding, exhilarating, and tender all at once, Tagaq moves effortlessly between fiction and memoir, myth and reality, poetry and prose, and conjures a world and a heroine readers will never forget.
Sufferance : a novel
King, Thomas, 1943-
2022
Jeremiah Camp, a.k.a. the Forecaster, can look into the heart of humanity and see the patterns that create opportunities and profits for the rich and powerful. Problem is, Camp has looked one too many times, has seen what he hadn't expected to see and has come away from the abyss with no hope for himself or for the future. So Jeremiah does what any intelligent, sensitive person would do. He runs away. Goes into hiding in a small town, at an old residential school on an even smaller Indian reserve, with no phone, no Internet, no television. With the windows shut, the door locked, the mailbox removed to discourage any connection with the world, he feels safe at last. Except nobody told the locals that they were to leave Jeremiah alone. And then his past comes calling. Ash Locken, head of the Locken Group, the multinational consortium that Jeremiah has fled, arrives on his doorstep with a simple proposition. She wants our hero to formulate one more forecast, and she's not about to take no for an answer. Before he left the Locken empire, Jeremiah had created a list of twelve names, every one a billionaire. The problem is, the people on the list are dying at an alarming and unnatural rate. And Ash Locken wants to know why.
Surviving the city. Volume 1
Spillett-Sumner, Tasha, 1988- author
2018
Tasha Spillet's graphic-novel debut, Surviving the city, is a story about womanhood, friendship, resilience, and the anguish of a missing loved one. Miikwan and Dez are best friends. Miikwan's Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Together, the teens navigate the challenges of growing up in an urban landscape - they're so close, they even completed their Berry Fast together. However, when Dez's grandmother becomes too sick, Dez is told she can't stay with her anymore. With the threat of a group home looming, Dez can't bring herself to go home and disappears. Miikwan is devastated, and the wound of her missing mother resurfaces. Will Dez's community find her before it's too late? Will Miikwan be able to cope if they don't? Colonialism and the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People are explored in Natasha Donovan's beautiful illustrations.
Those who dwell below
Johnston, Aviaq, author.
2019
Haunted by the creatures of his past, Pitu tries to return to normal life as his new role as shaman, but soon he learns he must travel to the bottom of the ocean to appease Nuliajuk, the vengeful sea goddess.
Tuktut innaruqpallianingit / titiraqtuq Maanika Ittuksaarjuat ; titiqtugaqtuq Ima Piitusan = Life cycles of caribou
Ittusardjuat, Monica, author
2019
"This book shares six Inuktitut terms for caribou throughout their life cycles, giving the youngest of readers an understanding of the rich Inuktitut terminology for these important animals."--Page [4] of cover.