For the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (and all year long) we've created a booklist to highlight the voices of First Nations, Inuit and Métis writers from across Canada. We believe in the power of storytelling to share important truths and bring people together. Sharing stories can spark meaningful conversations and teach us how to move forward in a good way.
Picture Books
Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know
ISBN: 9781773063263
Authors: Brittany Luby
Illustrator: Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd., 2021 Ages: 3-7 Grades: p-2
In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings. We accompany them through warm summer days full of wildflowers, bees and blueberries, then fall, when bears feast before hibernation and forest mushrooms are ripe for harvest. Winter mornings begin in darkness as deer, mice and other animals search for food, while spring brings green shoots poking through melting snow and the chirping of peepers.
Brittany Luby and Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley have created a book inspired by childhood memories of time spent with Knowledge Keepers, observing and living in relationship with the natural world in the place they call home — the northern reaches of Anishinaabewaking, around the Great Lakes.
Walking Together
Authors: Elder Dr. Albert D. Marshall and Louise Zimanyi
Illustrator: Emily Kewageshig
ISBN: 978-1-7732-1776-5
Publisher: Annick Press, 2023
Ages: 4-7 Grades: 1-2
A poetic, joyful celebration of the Lands and Waters as spring unfolds: we watch for Robin's return, listen for Frog's croaking, and wonder at maple tree's gift of sap. Grounded in Etuaptmumk, also known as Two-Eyed Seeing—which braids together the strengths of Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing—and the Mi’kmaq concept of Netukulimk—meaning to protect Mother Earth for the ancestors, present, and future generations—Walking Together nurtures respectful, reciprocal, responsible relationships with the Land and Water, plant-life, animals and other-than-human beings for the benefit of all.
Dad, I Miss You: A Residential School Story
ISBN: 9781772274820
Author: Nadia Sammurtok
Illustrator: Simji Park
Publisher: Inhabit Media, 2024
Ages: 6-8 Grades: 1-3
Told in the voice of a boy and his father by turns, this book takes a thoughtful and heartfelt look at the emotional toll of a child being taken from their family and community to attend residential school. While the child’s internal monologue expresses his fear, confusion, and loss, the father’s monologue conveys his own sadness, fears, and hopes for the future of his child. The narrative gives voice to the things left unsaid between a parent and child experiencing this heart-rending separation. Upon his return to his community, when father and son are reunited, they must start the long process of reconnection.
Based on the author’s family history of residential school separation, this book provides a unique perspective on the difficult cycle of loss, reconnection, and regaining hope for the future.
The Secret Pocket
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3372-2
Author: Peggy Janicki
Illustrator: Carrielynn Victor
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2023
Ages: 6-8 Grades: Grades 1-3
Mary was four years old when she was first taken away to the Lejac Indian Residential School. It was far away from her home and family. Always hungry and cold, there was little comfort for young Mary. Speaking Dakelh was forbidden and the nuns and priest were always watching, ready to punish. Mary and the other girls had a genius idea: drawing on the knowledge from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers who were all master sewers, the girls would sew hidden pockets in their clothes to hide food. They secretly gathered materials and sewed at nighttime, then used their pockets to hide apples, carrots and pieces of bread to share with the younger girls.
Junior & Intermediate Fiction
Giju's Gift
Series: Adventures of the Pugalatmu'j
ISBN: 978-1-5537-9947-4
Author: Brandon Mitchell
Illustrators: Veronika Barinova and Britt Wilson
Publisher: HighWater Press, 2022
Ages: 6-8 Grades: 1–3
When her hair clip disappears, Mali is devastated. It was special, made by her giju'. Her mom thinks she lost it, but Mali knows it was stolen by the pugulatmu’j. Soon after, Mali is surprised to meet Puug―and he’s wearing her hair clip. If she helps him find what he needs, she has a chance of getting it back. As they hunt for the objects on Puug’s list, Mali uncovers a lot of unanswered questions along the way. Why is there a giant chasing them? Will she really get her hair clip back? And why is Puug collecting these things anyway? Join Mali and Puug as they race to keep one step ahead of an ancient giant in the first volume of this graphic novel series for young readers.
The Case of the Pilfered Pin
Series: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery, Book 5
ISBN: 9781772603705
Author: Michael Hutchinson Publisher: Second Story Press, 2024
Ages: 9-12 Grades: 4-7
The Windy Lake First Nation’s lands have been shared with cottagers for fifty years, but no one can agree on where the reserve land ends. The only thing that can prove the boundary is a steel surveyor’s pin with the borders of the Windy Lake reserve etched into its head. When the Mighty Muskrats hear that the pin was stolen years ago—and that it is connected to their grandpa’s mysterious past—they make it their mission to find the missing pin and prove that the land belongs to their people. But the mystery gets tense when Grandpa becomes a suspect. Cousins Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee must find that pilfered pin!
The Kodiaks: Home Ice Advantage
ISBN: 9781774921012
Authors: David A. Robertson
Publisher: HighWater Press, 2024
Ages: 9-12 Grades: 4-6
Everything is changing for 11-year-old Alex Robinson. After his father accepts a new job, Alex and his family move from their community to the city. For the first time in his life, he doesn’t fit in. His fellow students don’t understand Indigenous culture. Even a simple show of respect to his teacher gets him in trouble. Things begin to look up after Alex tries out for a local hockey team. Playing for the Kodiaks, Alex proves himself as one of the best, but he becomes a target because he’s Indigenous. Can Alex trust his teammates and stand up to the jerks on other teams? Can he find a way to fit in and still be who he’s meant to be?
Watch an interview with author David A. Robertson.
Weird Rules to Follow
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3558-0
Author: Kim Spencer
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2022
Ages: 9-12 Grades: 4-5
In the 1980s, the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert is booming. There is plenty of sockeye salmon in the nearby ocean, which means the fishermen are happy and there is plenty of work at the cannery.
Eleven-year-old Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten. Like most tweens, they like to hang out and compare notes on their crushes and dream about their futures. But even though they both live in the same cul-de-sac, Mia’s life is very different from her non-Indigenous, middle-class neighbor. Lara lives with her mom, her dad and her little brother in a big house, with two cars in the drive and a view of the ocean. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives―her churchgoing grandmother, binge-drinking mother and a rotating number of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Even though their differences never seemed to matter to the two friends, Mia begins to notice how adults treat her differently, just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers, even Lara’s parents―they all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first.
Young Adult Fiction
Hopeless in Hope
ISBN: 9781774920831
Author: Wanda John-Kehewin
Publisher: HighWater Press, 2023
Ages: 12-14 Grades: 7-9
For Eva Brown, life feels lonely and small. Her mother, Shirley, drinks and yells all the time. She’s the target of the popular mean girl, and her only friend doesn’t want to talk to her anymore. All of it would be unbearable if it weren’t for her cat, Toofie, her beloved nohkum, and her writing, which no one will ever see. When Nohkum is hospitalized, Shirley struggles to keep things together for Eva and her younger brother, Marcus. After Marcus is found wandering the neighbourhood alone, he is sent to live with a foster family, and Eva finds herself in a group home. Furious at her mother, Eva struggles to adjust—and being reunited with her family seems less and less likely. During a visit to the hospital, Nohkum gives Eva Shirley’s diary. Will the truths it holds help Eva understand her mother?
Watch an interview with author Wanda John-Kehewin.
We Are the Medicine
Series: Surviving the City, Volume 3
ISBN: 9781774921104
Author: Tasha Spillett
Illustrator: Natasha Donovan
Publisher: HighWater Press, 2024
Ages: 12 and up Grades: 7-12
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.
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet
Authors: Jen Ferguson
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2022
ISBN: 9780063086166
Ages: 13 and up Grades: 8-12
Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She’ll be working in her family’s ice-cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend—whose kisses never made her feel desire, only discomfort—and her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago without a word. But when she gets a letter from her biological father—a man she hoped would stay behind bars for the rest of his life—Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him, no matter how much he insists. While King’s friendship makes Lou feel safer and warmer than she would have thought possible, when her family’s business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can’t ignore her father forever.
Bad Medicine
ISBN: 9781772620870
Authors: Christopher Twin
Illustrator: Christoper Twin
Publisher: Conundrum Press, 2023
Ages: 14 and up Grades: 9-12
After wandering out to the river near their homes, five teens decide to build a fire and exchange horror stories. Chad begins by telling the group about an unfortunate fisher who encountered a cluster of small, malevolent creatures while navigating the river in his canoe. Attempting to defend himself, Carl lashed out with an oar. . . and his world changed forever. One by one, the teens try to outdo each other, and the evening evolves into an impromptu storytelling competition. Inspired by Cree folklore and modern Cree life, Bad Medicine will transport readers to terrifying new worlds that only exist at the edges of human imagination.
Non-Fiction
The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation
ISBN: 9781459836129 Authors: Carey Newman & Kirstie Hudson
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2022
Ages: 9-12 Grades: 4–8
Artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket to make sure that history is never forgotten. The Blanket is a living work of art—a collection of hundreds of objects from those schools. It includes everything from photos, bricks, hockey skates, graduation certificates, dolls and piano keys to braids of hair. Behind every piece is a story. And behind every story is a residential school Survivor, including Carey's father. This book is a collection of truths about what happened at those schools, but it's also a beacon of hope and a step on the journey toward reconciliation.
Sky Wolf's Call: The Gift of Indigenous Knowledge
ISBN: 978-1-7732-1629-4
Authors: Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger Publisher: Annick Press, 2022
Ages: 11-18 Grades: 6-12
How do knowledge systems get passed down over generations? Through the knowledge inherited from their Elders and ancestors, Indigenous Peoples throughout North America have observed, practiced, experimented, and interacted with plants, animals, the sky, and the waters over millennia. Knowledge keepers have shared their wisdom with younger people through oral history, stories, ceremonies, and records that took many forms. In Sky Wolf’s Call, award-winning author team of Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger reveal how Indigenous knowledge comes from centuries of practices, experiences, and ideas gathered by people who have a long history with the natural world. Indigenous knowledge is explored through the use of fire and water, the acquisition of food, the study of astronomy, and healing practices.
If I Go Missing
ISBN: 978-1-4594-1451-8
Authors: Brianna Jonnie with Nahanni Shingoose
Illustrator: Neal Shannacappo
Publisher: Lorimer, 2019
Ages: 12 and up Grades: 7-12
Combining graphic fiction and non-fiction, this young adult graphic novel serves as a window into one of the unique dangers of being an Indigenous teen in Canada today. The text of the book is derived from excerpts of a letter written to the Winnipeg Chief of Police by fourteen-year-old Brianna Jonnie―a letter that went viral and was also the basis of a documentary film. In her letter, Jonnie calls out the authorities for neglecting to immediately investigate missing Indigenous people and urges them to "not treat me as the Indigenous person I am proud to be," if she were to be reported missing. Indigenous artist Neal Shannacappo provides the artwork for the book. Through his illustrations he imagines a situation in which a young Indigenous woman does disappear, portraying the reaction of her community, her friends, the police and media.
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
ISBN: 978-1-7284-5899-1
Authors: Robin Wall Kimmerer and Monique Gray Smith
Illustrator: Nicole Neidhardt
Publisher: Zest Books, 2022
Ages: 13 and up Grades: 7-12
Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things—from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen—provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.