Service Alert
Website maintenance April 24 10pm ET
On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
On Wednesday April 24 at 10pm ET the CELA website will be unavailable for about 15 minutes for planned maintenance.
Showing 1 - 20 of 148 items
By Nahanni Shingoose. 2019
Part Ojibwe and part white, River lives with her white mother and stepfather on a farm in Ontario. Teased about…
her Indigenous heritage as a young girl, she feels like she doesn't belong and struggles with her identity.Now eighteen and just finished high school, River travels to Winnipeg to spend the summer with her Indigenous father and grandmother, where she sees firsthand what it means to be an "urban Indian."On her family's nearby reserve, she learns more than she expects about the lives of Indigenous people, including the presence of Indigenous gangs and the multi-generational effects of the residential school system. But River also discovers a deep respect for and connection with the land and her cultural traditions. The highlight of her summer is attending the annual powwow with her new friends.At the powwow after party, however, River drinks too much and posts photos online that anger people and she has her right to identify as an Indigenous person called into question.Can River ever begin to resolve the complexities of her identity — Indigenous and not?By Susan Ouriou. 2016
Ten-year-old Nathan has a number of demons to confront and overcome. One of them is the school bully who delights…
in tormenting Nathan wherever he comes upon him and that can happen in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Another challenge is that Nathan's Grampa is suffering from the early onset of Alzheimer's, and because Nathan is devoted to his grandfather, they both have to navigate this difficult new challenge in the family's life. Grampa moves in with Nathan, his mother and father, and together they try to figure out how things are going to work from here on in. Finally, Grampa introduces Nathan to a part of his heritage he knew nothing about until now: a First Nations link with a great-grandmother, now long gone, whose story of hope inspires Nathan to overcome his own worries.By Jennifer Dance. 2014
Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards 2014 — Silver Medal Forest of Reading, Silver Birch Awards — Shortlisted MYRCA Award 2016 —…
Shortlisted Chosen for the Toronto Public Library's 2015 Great Reads for Kids collection “With Red Wolf, Jennifer Dance has come howling out of the wilderness … and I'm deeply impressed.” — Joseph Boyden, Giller Prize–winning author Life is changing for Canada’s Anishnaabek Nation and for the wolf packs that share their territory. In the late 1800s, both Native people and wolves are being forced from the land. Starving and lonely, an orphaned timber wolf is befriended by a boy named Red Wolf. But under the Indian Act, Red Wolf is forced to attend a residential school far from the life he knows, and the wolf is alone once more. Courage, love and fate reunite the pair, and they embark on a perilous journey home. But with winter closing in, will Red Wolf and Crooked Ear survive? And if they do, what will they find?By Valerie Van Campen. 2015
Zoe and Zachary Jameson are 14-year-old twins who live on the Allegheny Reservation of the Seneca Nation in Western New…
York State. They are children of two cultures, struggling to find their place in the modern world while honoring the traditions of their Native American ancestors. About to begin their summer vacation from school, they prepare for long, hot days of chores, sports, and family gatherings. Every year, it's the same thing, there's never anything new happening. Then their cousin Heather gives them some exciting news. Their eccentric Aunt Fawn is coming for a visit. A storyteller, Aunt Fawn always brings fun and a bit of mischief into everyone's lives. Join the twins as they travel, listening to Aunt Fawn's tales of local ghosts, monsters, and other legends.By Robert Lipsyte. 2003
Sonny Bear is a champion. . .but he needs the help of an angel.Sonny Bear, the Tomahawk Kid, is on…
a fast downhill slide with the heavyweight championship at stake. He hardly knows who he is anymore, or why he should keep on fighting.Then the first e-mail arrives.Do not lose heart. I come on a Mission from the Creator to save you. -- Warrior AngelThe Warrior Angel might be just what Sonny Bear needs -- but will Sonny be prepared to save him, too?By Richard Bremicker. 2014
Everlasting travels down the Great River to interpret for Russian priests who have come to teach the native people of…
Alaska. Caught between ancient native ways and changes brought by the invaders, Everlasting seeks wisdom. Far from her home, swept overboard into the Great Ocean, Everlasting is rescued by a dangerous Yankee whaling ship. The spunky Déné girl confronts evil, finds a great ally, and sets out on a perilous journey.By Jeffery L Schatzer. 2009
Miss Pepper's class is going on a field trip to the local university. Once there, they meet the curious Professor…
Tuesday, the inventor of the Tuesday Teleporter and an expert on the famous Native American war chief Pontiac.The oddball professor's teleporter takes Miss Pepper's class back in time to learn about Chief Pontiac and his rebellion of 1763. The students see firsthand the native people of the Woodland Tribes, the French, the British, and the events that led up to Pontiac's War.The field trip turns upside down when the professor and one of Miss Pepper's students are captured by Chief Pontiac's warriors. The two are lost in time and their only hope rests in the hands of Miss Pepper and her students. The class has to follow the professor's clues and research the past in order to bring their friends home, but time is running out. Can they find the answers that will help them rescue their friends before one of the major battles of Pontiac's war?By Laura Adams Armer, Sidney Armer. 1931
Younger Brother lives in a dry land, and he dreams of finding the wide water of the Pacific Ocean. This…
gentle coming-of-age story, rooted in the traditional culture of the Navajo, recounts Younger Brother's journey toward finding his vocation as a medicine man. Under the guidance of his uncle, the boy learns about the ancient songs, customs, and ceremonies of his people as well as the modern-day magic of movies and airplanes.Written in the 1930s by an authority on Native American life and lore, this Newbery Medal winner offers a vivid portrait of Navajo beliefs and traditions. Its simple but poetic storytelling style is enhanced by numerous black-and-white illustrations.By Joseph Bruchac. 2008
A unique perspective on the Civil War as only Joseph Bruchac could tell it. Louis Nolette is a fifteen-year-old Abenaki…
Indian from Canada who is recruited to fight in the northern Irish Brigade in the war between the states. Even though he is too young, and not American or Irish, he finds the promise of good wages and the Union?s fight to end slavery persuasive reasons to join up. But war is never what you expect, and as Louis fights his way through battle after battle, he encounters prejudice and acceptance, courage and cowardice, and strong and weak leadership in the most unexpected places. Master storyteller and acclaimed author Joseph Bruchac tells a Civil War story based on the experiences of his own great grandfather. Chock-full of historical facts and details, this carefully researched book will give readers new insight into some of the untold stories and unsung heroes of the American Civil War.By Joseph Bruchac. 2003
In 1607, when John Smith and his "Coatmen" arrive in Powhatan to begin settling the colony of Virginia, their relations…
with the village's inhabitants are anything but warm. Pocahontas, the beloved daughter of the Powhatan chief, is just eleven, but this astute young girl plays a fateful, peaceful role in the destinies of two peoples.Drawing from the personal journals of John Smith, American Book Award winner Joseph Bruchac reveals an important chapter of history through the eyes of two legendary figures.Includes an afterword, a glossary, and other historical context.By Robert Feagan. 2010
Short-listed for the 2012 Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award and Rocky Mountain Book Award, commended for the 2011 Best Books…
for Kids and Teens Mike Watson’s team has just won the Alberta Bantam Provincial box lacrosse championships. The euphoria of victory and plans for next season are short-lived when Mike’s father, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is transferred to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The transition to life inside the Arctic Circle is a tough one. With temperatures of -30 Celsius, a hulking monster named Joseph Kiktorak threatening him at every turn, and not a lacrosse ball in site, Mike’s resentment at moving north escalates. As his friendships with local youth develop, Mike is introduced to the amazing spectacle and athleticism of traditional "Arctic Sports." When his father witnesses the natural talent of Mike’s new friends, the idea of an Inuvik lacrosse team is born! With hearts full of desire, the motley group of athletes heads south to participate in the Baggataway Lacrosse Tournament, and to face Mike’s former team, The Rams.By Robert Lipsyte. 1991
The long-awaited sequel to The Contender. 17-year-old Sonny Bear has lived most of his life on the reservation with Uncle…
Jake. Sonny's fists have found him escape, but when he takes off for New York City, his fighting instincts land him in trouble with the law. Then he meets Alfred Brooks--hero of The Contender and now a cop--who helps Sonny discover the strength that's within him.By Robert Lipsyte. 1993
A fight for his people.Sonny Bear, the Tomahawk Kid, has a championship left hook. But his boxing career's going nowhere,…
and he's ready to hang it up.Then his manager, tough ex-cop Alfred Brooks, and his "writer," college boy Martin Malcolm Witherspoon, scheme Sonny into a glitzy Las Vegas match. Suddenly he's everybody's darling and headed for Hollywood stardom.But fame isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Sonny needs to make the fight of his life to decide where he really belongs.By Robert Lipsyte. 1991
Sonny's been an outsider all his life. He has never fit into either world: the Moscondagas on the Reservation see…
him as white; whites see him as Indian. So far, Sonny's managed to harness his anger -- what he calls "the monster" -- in the boxing ring. But Sonny wants out of the Res. He's headed for New York City, where nobody can tell him what to do.Sonny doesn't count on stepping into the middle of a drug war when he gets there -- or on tangling with a tough Harlem boxer-turned-cop named Alfred Brooks. Brooks seems to think that Sonny's got the talent to make it to the top -- to be a contender. But first Sonny's got to learn to be smart, take control of his life, and beat the monster. Only it isn't as easy as it sounds....By Louise Erdrich. 2008
Here follows the story of a most extraordinary year in the life of an Ojibwe family and of a girl…
named "Omakayas," or Little Frog, who lived a year of flight and adventure, pain and joy, in 1852.When Omakayas is twelve winters old, she and her family set off on a harrowing journey. They travel by canoe westward from the shores of Lake Superior along the rivers of northern Minnesota, in search of a new home. While the family has prepared well, unexpected danger, enemies, and hardships will push them to the brink of survival. Omakayas continues to learn from the land and the spirits around her, and she discovers that no matter where she is, or how she is living, she has the one thing she needs to carry her through.Richly imagined, full of laughter and sorrow, The Porcupine Year continues Louise Erdrich's celebrated series, which began with The Birchbark House, a National Book Award finalist, and continued with The Game of Silence, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.By Lynne Reid Banks. 1998
In "The Mystery of the Cupboard, " Omri's father finds out his magical secret. Now Little Bear, Omri's Iroquois friend…
from the past, is in grave danger and needs help. As father and son struggle to solve the problem of traveling through time to reach Little Bear, they cannot know what terrors lie in wait.By Tim Tingle, Norma Howard. 2003
Oklahoma, or "Okla Homma," is a Choctaw word meaning "Red People." In this collection, acclaimed storyteller Tim Tingle tells the…
stories of his people, the Choctaw People, the Okla Homma. For years, Tim has collected stories of the old folks, weaving traditional lore with stories from everyday life. Walking the Choctaw Road is a mixture of myth stories, historical accounts passed from generation to generation, and stories of Choctaw people living their lives in the here and now.The Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers selected Tim as "Contemporary Storyteller Of The Year" for 2001, and in 2002, Tim was the featured storyteller at the National Storyteller Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee.Tim Tingle lives in Canyon Lake, Texas.By Joseph Bruchac. 2005
"Readers who choose the book for the attraction of Navajo code talking and the heat of battle will come away…
with more than they ever expected to find."--Booklist, starred review Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years. But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo Indians.An ALA Best Book for Young Adults"Nonsensational and accurate, Bruchac's tale is quietly inspiring..."--School Library JournalFrom the Trade Paperback edition.By Lee Decora Francis, Susan Drucker. 2011
Young Kunu wants to make a pack basket on his own. He's watched his dad and his grandfather make baskets…
on Indian Island, but now that he's trying to make one for himself, it s not as easy as he thought it would be. Kunu isn't a quitter, but he gets so frustrated that he has to go outside to cool off. When his grandfather asks Kunu to help him with some basket-making tasks, Kunu comes to understand that it is the tradition in his family for one generation to help the next. He also learns that it might take several tries before he gets it right. Can he be patient enough to try again and again? His grandfather shows him the way, and at last Kunu's first basket is something to celebrate.By Marcos Calo, Marcia Wells. 2016
Eddie Red, the NYPD's youngest crime-solving hero, smells trouble. Could he be the target of the elusive art thief Lars…
Heinrich, whose last robbery he ruined? If so, why won't the police let Eddie help on the case? What are they hiding from him? In the thrilling third installment of the Eddie Red Undercover series, Eddie will need some luck of the Irish as he races against the clock (and bombs and runaway subway cars) to stop what could be one of the greatest heists in history. Companion to Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on the Musuem Mile and Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery in Mayan Mexico.