National Indigenous History Month
21 things you may not know about the Indian Act : helping Canadians make reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a reality
Joseph, Robert P. C., 1963-, author
2018
As we have always done : indigenous freedom through radical resistance
Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake, 1971- author
2017
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.
Call me Indian : from the trauma of residential school to becoming the NHL's first Treaty Indigenous player
Sasakamoose, Fred, 1933- author
2021
Fred Sasakamoose, torn from his home at the age of seven, endured the horrors of residential school for a decade before becoming one of 120 players in the most elite hockey league in the world. When people tell his story, this is usually where they end it. Sasakamoose's story was far from over. He paved a way for youth to find solace and meaning in sports for generations to come. This ground breaking memoir intersects Canadian history and Indigenous politics, and follows his journey to reclaim pride in an identity that had previously been used against him.
Clearing the Plains : disease, politics of starvation and the loss of aboriginal life
Daschuk, James W., (James William), 1961- author
2014
Disinherited generations : our struggle to reclaim treaty rights for First Nations women and their descendants
Carlson, Nellie
2013
For king and Kanata : Canadian Indians and the First World War
Winegard, Timothy C. (Timothy Charles), 1977- author
2012
From treaties to reserves : the federal government and Native peoples in territorial Alberta, 1870-1905
Hall, D. J. (David John), 1943- author
2015
An illustrated history of Canada's Native people : I have lived here since the world began
Ray, Arthur J., author
2016
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.
The inconvenient Indian : a curious account of native people in North America
King, Thomas, 1943-
2012
Mamaskatch : a Cree coming of age
McLeod, Darrel J., author
2018
Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family's history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school. Darrel was comforted by her presence and that of his many siblings and cousins, the smells of moose stew and wild peppermint tea, and his deep love of the landscape. Bertha taught him to be fiercely proud of his heritage and to listen to the birds that would return to watch over and guide him at key junctures of his life. However, in a spiral of events, Darrel's mother turned wild and unstable, and their home life became chaotic. Sweet and innocent by nature, Darrel struggled to maintain his grades and pursue an interest in music while changing homes many times, witnessing violence, caring for his younger siblings and suffering abuse at the hands of his surrogate father. Meanwhile, his older brother's gender transition provoked Darrel to deeply question his own sexual identity. In spite of the traumas of Darrel's childhood, deep and mysterious forces handed down by his mother helped him survive and thrive: her love and strength stay with him to build the foundation of what would come to be a very fulfilling and adventurous life
A mind spread out on the ground
Elliott, Alicia, author
2019
In an urgent and visceral work that asks essential questions about Native people in North America while drawing on intimate details of her own life and experience with intergenerational trauma, Alicia Elliott offers indispensable insight and understanding to the ongoing legacy of colonialism. What are the links between depression, colonialism and loss of language--both figurative and literal? How does white privilege operate in different contexts? How do we navigate the painful contours of mental illness in loved ones without turning them into their sickness? How does colonialism operate on the level of literary criticism? A Mind Spread Out on the Ground is Alicia Elliott's attempt to answer these questions and more.
Nibi is water = Nibi aawon nbiish
Robertson, Joanne, 1960- author
2020
A board book about the importance of Nibi, which means water in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), and our role to thank, respect, love and protect it. Written from an Anishinaabe water protector's perspective, the book is in dual language--English and Anishinaabemowin. Babies and toddlers can follow Nibi as it rains and snows, splashes or rows, drips and sips.
Seven fallen feathers : racism, death, and hard truths in a northern city
Talaga, Tanya, author
2017
Over the span of ten years, seven high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of miles away from their families, forced to leave their reserve because there was no high school there for them to attend. Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this northern city that has come to manifest, and struggle with, human rights violations past and present against aboriginal communities.
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.
This place : 150 years retold
2019
Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.
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.
Up Ghost River : a chief's journey through the turbulent waters of Native history
Metatawabin, Edmund, 1947- author
2015
What the eagle sees : indigenous stories of rebellion and renewal
Yellowhorn, Eldon, 1956- author
2019
Indigenous people across Turtle Island have been faced with disease, war, broken promises, and forced assimilation. Despite crushing losses and insurmountable challenges, they formed new nations from the remnants of old ones, they adopted new ideas and built on them, they fought back, they kept their cultures alive, and they survived. Key events in Indigenous history with accounts of the people, places, and events that have mattered from the 12th century to present day are told from a vastly under-represented perspective--an Indigenous viewpoint.