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Title search results
Showing 21 - 39 of 39 items
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Arts and entertainment, General non-fiction
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Sewing new understandings Indigenous beadwork has taken the art world by storm, but it is still sometimes misunderstood as static,…
anthropological artifact. Today’s prairie artists defy this categorization, demonstrating how beads tell stories and reclaim cultural identity. Whether artists seek out and share techniques through YouTube videos or in-person gatherings, beading fosters traditional methods of teaching and learning and enables intergenerational transmissions of pattern and skill. In Bead Talk, editors Carmen Robertson, Judy Anderson, and Katherine Boyer gather conversations, interviews, essays, and full-colour reproductions of beadwork from expert and emerging artists, academics, and curators to illustrate the importance of beading in contemporary Indigenous arts. Taken together, the book poses and responds to philosophical questions about beading on the prairies: How do the practices and processes of beading embody reciprocity, respect, and storytelling? How is beading related to Indigenous ways of knowing? How does beading help individuals reconnect with the land? Why do we bead? Showcasing beaded tumplines, text, masks, regalia, and more, Bead Talk emphasizes that there is no one way to engage with this art. The contributors to this collection invite us all into the beading circle as they reshape how beads are understood and stitch together generations of artists.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Family stories, Fantasy
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Eli and Morgan embark on a dangerous mission to rescue kidnapped animal beings in this new adventure in the award-winning,…
Narnia-inspired Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series.Eli, Morgan and Emily embark on their most dangerous mission yet, to save the kidnapped animal beings of Ministik. But before they can reach the heavily guarded Land of the Sleeping Giant, Eli must rally more help, not just from old friends, but from surprising new allies. And he must rely on a new way to travel: on the back of the leader of the Bird Warriors himself, Pip. Together they will journey across the North Country, on a mission to reconnect the Bird Warriors, as well as confront old enemies. But even as he must fight for his life – and the lives of his friends and new family – Eli must also come to terms with his newfound knowledge: What does it mean that he is only part human?
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Canadian non-fiction, Indigenous peoples history, General non-fiction
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From Tanya Talaga, the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Seven Fallen Feathers, comes a riveting exploration of her family’s…
story and a retelling of the history of the country we now call Canada For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members disappeared, many of them after being sent to residential schools, “Indian hospitals” and asylums through a coordinated system designed to destroy who the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are. This is one of Canada’s greatest open secrets, an unhealed wound that until recently lay hidden by shame and abandonment. The Knowing is the unfolding of Canadian history unlike anything we have ever read before. Award-winning and bestselling Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga retells the history of this country as only she can—through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of her great-great grandmother Annie Carpenter and her family as they experienced decades of government- and Church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide. Deeply personal and meticulously researched, The Knowing is a seminal unravelling of the centuries-long oppression of Indigenous People that continues to reverberate in these communities today.
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Poetry
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CBC BOOKS 'CANADIAN POETRY COLLECTIONS TO WATCH FOR IN 2024'The Sky Woman has returned to bring down the patriarchy!This book is…
about a poet who may or may not be going crazy, who is just trying to survive in Winnipeg, where Indigenous people, especially women, are being disappeared. She is talking to a crow who may or may not be a trickster, and who brings a very important message: Sky Woman has returned, and she is ready to take down the patriarchy. This is poetry, prose and dialogue about the rise and return of the matriarch. It’s a call to resistance, a manifesto to the female self. Cree poet and broadcaster Rosanna Deerchild is an important voice for our time. Her poems – angry, funny, sad – demand a new world for Indigenous women.
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General fiction, LGBTQ+ fiction
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Miikwan and Dez are in their final year of high school. Poised at the edge of the rest of their…
lives, they have a lot to decide on. Miikwan and her boyfriend, Riel, are preparing for university, but Dez isn&’t sure if that&’s what they want for their future. Grief and anger take precedence over their plans after the remains of 215 children are found at a former residential school in British Columbia. The teens struggle with feelings of helplessness in the face of injustice. Can they find the strength to channel their frustration into action towards a more hopeful future? We Are the Medicine is the moving final volume of the best-selling Surviving the City series.
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General fiction, Indigenous peoples fiction, Short stories
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In her debut collection of short fiction, Amanda Peters describes the Indigenous experience from an astonishingly wide spectrum in time and…
place—from contact with the first European settlers, to the forced removal of Indigenous children, to the present-day fight for the right to clean water.These intimate stories meld traditional storytelling with beautiful, spare prose that portray the dignity of the traditional way of life, the humiliations of systemic racism, and the resilient power to endure. A young man returns from residential school only to realize he can no longer communicate with his own parents. A young woman finds purpose and healing on the front lines as a water protector. An old man remembers his life as he patiently waits for death. And a young girl nervously dances in her first Mawi’omi. The collection also includes the Indigenous Voices Award–nominated story “Pejipug (Winter Arrives)" as well the Indigenous Voices Award-winning title story.At times sad, sometimes disturbing, but always redemptive, the stories in Waiting for the Long Night Moon will remind you that where there is grief there is also joy, where there is trauma there is resilience and, most importantly, there is power.
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Indigenous peoples biography, Journals and memoirs, General non-fiction
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Named a Book to Read This Fall by CBC Books and the Toronto Star • One of Indigo&’s Most Anticipated…
BooksJudge, senator, and activist. Father, grandfather, and friend. This is Murray Sinclair&’s story—and the story of a nation—in his own words, an oral history that forgoes the trappings of the traditionally written memoir to center Indigenous ways of knowledge and storytelling. As Canada moves forward into the future of Reconciliation, one of its greatest leaders guides us to ask the most important and difficult question we can ask of ourselves: Who are we?For decades, Senator Sinclair has fearlessly educated Canadians about the painful truths of our history. He was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba, and only the second Indigenous judge in Canadian history. He was the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and remains one of the foremost voices on Reconciliation. And now, for the first time, he shares his full story—and his full vision for our nation—with readers across Canada and beyond.Drawing on Senator Sinclair&’s perspectives regarding Indigenous identity, human rights, and justice, Who We Are examines the roles of history, resistance, and resilience in the pursuit of finding a path forward, one that heals the damaged relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. In doing so, it reveals Senator Sinclair&’s life in a new and direct way, exploring how all of these unique experiences have shaped him as an Anishinaabe man, father, and grandfather.Structured around the four questions that have long shaped Senator Sinclair&’s thinking and worldview—Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? Who am I?—Who We Are takes readers into the story of his remarkable life as never before, while challenging them to embrace an inclusive vision for our shared future.
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Ghost and horror stories, Family stories
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In this moving graphic novel, thirteen-year-old Reanna grieves the loss of her older sister. Can she find comfort through her…
family&’s Ojibwe traditions? It&’s been a year since Reanna&’s sister, Chelsea, went missing on her way home from school. Without any idea of what happened, Reanna and her family struggle to find closure. Driven from her home by memories, Reanna&’s mom moves to the big city. Left behind on the reserve, Reanna and her little brother go to live with their dad. Reanna is hurt and angry that her mom has run away. She feels lonely and abandoned…but she is not alone. Lights turn on in empty rooms, and objects move without being touched. There are little moons everywhere.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
General fiction
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Young Ryan Fox gets good grades, but he&’s not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. It…
isn&’t until he meets a Blackfoot doctor during a school assembly that he starts to dream big.However, becoming a doctor isn&’t easy. University takes Ryan away from his family and the Siksikaitsitapi community, and without their support, he begins to struggle. Faced with more stress than he&’s ever experienced, he turns to partying. Distracted from his responsibilities, his grades start to slip. His bills pile up. Getting into med school feels impossible. And now his beloved uncle is in jail. Can Ryan regain his footing to walk the path he saw so clearly as a boy?This inspiring graphic novel for young adults is based on a true story.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
General fiction, War stories, Spy stories
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A sweeping, dazzling dual-timeline novel centering on two unforgettable women—and their inextricable link to each other decades apart.Ukraine, 1944As the world…
around her is ripped apart by war and infiltrated by Nazi soldiers, Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance, stitching wounds by day, stealing supplies by night, and dodging firefights between the SS and Soviet partisans. When her husband, Marko, a reluctant member of the Waffen-SS, forces her to deliver a coded message to an underground bunker, she&’s terrified. But when her mission doesn&’t go as planned, and her son, Taras, is kidnapped by the KGB, Savka fears she&’ll never see him again.Salt Spring Island, 1972For Jeanie Esterhazy, the world, with its whispers and curious eyes, is too much to bear. Ever since the horrific accident that left her badly scarred, Jeanie, unable to remember anything about that awful day, has pulled away from society, utterly isolated.Then a mysterious stranger appears at her house, and Jeanie suddenly begins having flashbacks about the night of her wedding—flashbacks that hold answers to the questions she&’s had for years; flashbacks that make her realize the world around her is not as it seems. Weaving together Savka and Jeanie's stories with artful precision, The Last Secret is at once luminous and transporting, a brilliant and impossible-to-forget story of love, hope, and the breathtaking resilience of women.
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Indigenous peoples biography, Journals and memoirs, Politics and government biography, Biography, Indigenous peoples history
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The political life of Dene leader Georges Erasmus — a radical Native rights crusader widely regarded as one of the…
most important Indigenous leaders of the past fifty years.For decades, Georges Erasmus led the fight for Indigenous rights. From the Berger Inquiry to the Canadian constitutional talks to the Oka Crisis, Georges was a significant figure in Canada’s political landscape. In the 1990s, he led the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and afterward was chair and president of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, around the time that Canada’s residential school system became an ongoing frontpage story. Georges’s five-decade battle for Indigenous rights took him around the world and saw him sitting across the table from prime ministers and premiers. In the 1980s, when Georges was the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, he was referred to as the “Thirteenth Premier.” This book tells the personal story of his life as a leading Indigenous figure, taking the reader inside some of Canada’s biggest crises and challenges.
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Environment, General non-fiction
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Reclaiming crops and culture on Turtle Island Manomin, more commonly known by its English misnomer “wild rice,” is the only…
cereal grain native to Turtle Island (North America). Long central to Indigenous societies and diets, this complex carbohydrate is seen by the Anishinaabeg as a gift from Creator, a “spirit berry” that has allowed the Nation to flourish for generations. Manomin: Caring for Ecosystems and Each Other offers a community-engaged analysis of the under-studied grain, weaving together the voices of scholars, chefs, harvesters, engineers, poets, and artists to share the plant’s many lessons about the living relationships between all forms of creation. Grounded in Indigenous methodologies and rendered in full colour, Manomin reveals and examines our interconnectedness through a variety of disciplines—history, food studies, ethnobotany, ecology—and forms of expression, including recipes, stories, and photos. A powerful contribution to conversations on Indigenous food security and food sovereignty, the collection explores historic uses of Manomin, contemporary challenges to Indigenous aquaculture, and future possibilities for restoring the sacred crop as a staple. In our time of ecological crisis, Manomin teaches us how to live well in the world, sustaining our relations with each other, our food, and our waterways.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Indigenous peoples biography, Indigenous peoples history, General non-fiction
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One of Indigo's Top 10 History Books of 2024 and Top 100 Books of 2024 • One of the Toronto Star&’s…
25 books to read this seasonFrom the #1 national bestselling author of 'Indian' in the Cabinet and True Reconciliation, a truly unique history of our land—powerful, devastating, remarkable—as told through the voices of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.The totem pole forms the foundation for this unique and important oral history of Canada. Its goal is both toweringly ambitious and beautifully direct: To tell the story of this country in a way that prompts readers to look from different angles, to see its dimensions, its curves, and its cuts. To see that history has an arc, just as the totem pole rises, but to realize that it is also in the details along the way that important meanings are to be found. To recognize that the story of the past is always there to be retold and recast, and must be conveyed to generations to come. That in the act of re-telling, meaning is found, and strength is built.When it comes to telling the history of Canada, and in particular the history of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, we need to accept that the way in which our history has traditionally been told has not been a common or shared enterprise. In many ways, it has been an exclusive and siloed one. Among the countless peoples and groups that make up this vast country, the voices and experiences of a few have too often dominated those of many others.Reconciling History shares voices that have seldom been heard, and in this ground-breaking book they are telling and re-telling history from their perspectives. Born out of the oral history in True Reconciliation, and complemented throughout with stunning photography and art, Reconciling History takes this approach to telling our collective story to an entirely different level.
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Biography, Indigenous peoples history, General non-fiction
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NATIONAL BESTSELLERFrom ground zero of this country's most important project: reconciliationNiigaan Sinclair has been called provocative, revolutionary, and one of…
this country's most influential thinkers on the issues impacting Indigenous cultures, communities, and reconciliation in Canada. In his debut collection of stories, observations, and thoughts about Winnipeg, the place he calls "ground zero" of Canada's future, read about the complex history and contributions of this place alongside the radical solutions to injustice and violence found here, presenting solutions for a country that has forgotten principles of treaty and inclusivity. It is here, in the place where Canada began—where the land, water, people, and animals meet— that a path "from the centre" is happening for all to see.At a crucial and fragile moment in Canada's long history with Indigenous peoples, one of our most essential writers begins at the centre, capturing a web spanning centuries of community, art, and resistance. Based on years' worth of columns, Niigaan Sinclair delivers a defining essay collection on the resilience of Indigenous peoples. Here, we meet the creators, leaders, and everyday people preserving the beauty of their heritage one day at a time. But we also meet the ugliest side of colonialism, the Indian Act, and the communities who suffer most from its atrocities. Sinclair uses the story of Winnipeg to illuminate the reality of Indigenous life all over what is called Canada. This is a book that demands change and celebrates those fighting for it, that reminds us of what must be reconciled and holds accountable those who must do the work. It's a book that reminds us of the power that comes from loving a place, even as that place is violently taken away from you, and the magic of fighting your way back to it.
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Canadian non-fiction, Drama
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It’s summertime on the rez. The frybread is sizzling, and the local radio station plays bluegrass, Anishinaabemowin lessons, and Friday-night…
bingo numbers. Lenna, the youngest of the Little family, is preparing to leave home for her first year of college, with little enthusiasm or help from her stubborn father and reckless brother. Amidst lingering doubts about departing the family flock, Lenna collides into a meet-cute with the charming and awkward Sam Thomas, who is returning to the reserve after many years away. With the promise of a romance budding between them, Lenna is caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty, wondering if she’s ready to bid farewell just as she's about to take flight.Filled with Indigenous humour, small-town seasoning, and dream-world interludes, this heartwarming love story captures the bittersweet highs and lows of a rural teenage upbringing. A love letter to community, Niizh is a refreshing coming-of-age romcom about two young lovebirds leaving the nest.
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Residential school life through the eyes of a child Enos Montour’s Brown Tom’s Schooldays, self-published in 1985, tells the story…
of a young boy’s life at residential school. Drawn from Montour’s first-hand experiences at Mount Elgin Indian Residential School between 1910 and 1915, the book is an ironic play on “the school novel,” namely 1857’s Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes. An accomplished literary text and uncommon chronicle of federal Indian schooling in the early twentieth century, Brown Tom’s Schooldays positions Brown Tom and his schoolmates as citizens of three worlds: the reserve, the “white man’s world,” and the school in between. It follows Tom leaving his family home, making friends, witnessing ill health and death, and enduring constant hunger. Born at Six Nations of the Grand River in 1899, Montour earned degrees in Arts and Divinity at McGill University and served as a United Church minister for more than thirty years, honing his writing in newspapers and magazines and publishing two books of family history. Brown Tom’s Schooldays reflects Montour’s intelligence and skill as well as his love of history, parody, and literature. This critical edition includes a foreword by the book’s original editor, Elizabeth Graham, and an afterword by Montour’s granddaughters, Mary Anderson and Margaret McKenzie. In her introduction, historian Mary Jane Logan McCallum documents Montour’s life and work, details Brown Tom’s Schooldays’s publication history, and offers further insight into the operations of Mount Elgin. Entertaining and emotionally riveting, Montour’s book opens a unique window into a key period in Canada’s residential school history.
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Biography, Social issues, Indigenous peoples in Canada
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Michael might be young, but he&’s got a big heart and a strong sense of right and wrong. He knows…
it&’s right to help people when they need it—but what can he do when so many people need help? When Michael finds out about an upcoming youth conference, he sees his chance to learn more about helping others. But when he gets to the conference, he&’s the youngest person there! And the speaker on stage is saying things about his community that aren&’t true. Will Michael be brave enough to use his voice to stand up for what he knows is right? Little by Little is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about how one Indigenous child sparked change and inspired others.
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Humourous fiction
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“Brilliant, funny, unputdownable.”– Alice Kuipers, award-winning children’s authorFor fans of Remarkably Ruby and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, comedy and…
cringe come together in this sweet novel about facing your fears.It’s nothing short of a catastrophe when someone secretly signs up Belinda Houle, the school’s shyest kid, to audition for a play. Belinda turns to Sally—her unflappable best friend and resident witch—for help. Belinda doesn’t believe in magic, but if Sally says she has a spell for confidence...well, it couldn’t hurt to try it. Could it?What follows the spell is a series of disasters so disastrous they would have been funny—if only they weren’t happening to Belinda! From eating dog food, to losing her hair in a straightening mishap, to wrecking a mural and ending up with globs of paint on her head, things get worse and worse for Belinda until she must face the facts: One piece of bad luck can be explained away, but this? This is a straight-up curse!Can she break the curse before the dreamy Ricky Daniels takes notice of her crooked wig? More importantly, can Belinda battle the very thing she hoped the spell would take away: her embarrassment?
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Politics and government, General non-fiction
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There have been many things written about Canada’s violent siege of Kanehsatà:ke and Kahnawà:ke in the summer of 1990, but…
When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance is the first book from the perspective of Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, who was the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) spokesperson during the siege. When the Pine Needles Fall, written in a conversational style by Gabriel with historian Sean Carleton, offers an intimate look at Gabriel’s life leading up to the 1990 siege, her experiences as spokesperson for her community, and her work since then as an Indigenous land defender, human rights activist, and feminist leader. More than just the memoir of an extraordinary individual, When the Pine Needles Fall offers insight into Indigenous language, history, and philosophy, reflections on our relationship with the land, and calls to action against both colonialism and capitalism as we face the climate crisis. Gabriel’s hopes for a decolonial future make clear why protecting Indigenous homelands is vital not only for the survival of Indigenous peoples, but for all who live on this planet.