Indigenous History Booklist
For Indigenous History Month (and all year long) we've created a suggested booklist to highlight the voices of those in our Indigenous communities. Our curated selection features Canadian books for all ages. We strongly believe stories help both adults and children learn about the diverse cultures, traditions and experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada.
Picture Books

I Sang You Down from the Stars
ISBN: 978-1-7714-7408-5
Author: Tasha Spillett-Sumner
Illustrator: Michaela Goade
Publisher: Owlkids Books, 2021
Interest Level: Ages 2-5
Reading Level: Grades 2-3
Drawing from Indigenous creation stories and traditional teachings and illustrated in dazzling watercolors, I Sang You Down from the Stars is a tribute to the bond between mother and child. The narrator gathers gifts for a medicine bundle in anticipation of her baby’s birth; a fluffy white eagle plume, bunches of cedar and sage, a quilted star blanket, and a small stone from the river. When the baby arrives, the mother shares the bundle with her child and reveals the importance of each item inside. But when her family comes to meet the new arrival, she realizes the baby arrived with gifts of its own and that the baby is also a sacred bundle: a baby bundle.

The Secret Pocket
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3372-2
Author: Peggy Janicki
Illustrator: Carrielynn Victor
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2023
Interest Level: Ages 3-5
Reading Level: Grades 1-2
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.

Walking Together
ISBN: 978-1-7732-1776-5
Authors: Elder Dr. Albert D. Marshall and Louise Zimanyi
Illustrator: Emily Kewageshig
Publisher: Annick Press, 2023
Interest Level: Ages 4-7
Reading Level: 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.
Junior & Intermediate Fiction

The Barren Grounds
Series: The Misewa Saga, Book 1
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6612-4
Authors: David A. Robertson
Publisher: Puffin Canada, 2021
Interest Level: Ages 10-14
Reading Level: Grades 5-6
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home—until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything—including them.

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
Interest Level: Ages 6-10
Reading Level: Grades 2–3
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.

Weird Rules to Follow
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3558-0
Author: Kim Spencer
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2022
Interest Level: Ages 9-12
Reading Level: 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

A Blanket of Butterflies
Series: The Spirit of Denendeh, Volume 1
ISBN: 978-1-7749-2040-4
Author: Richard Van Camp
Illustrators: Scott B. Henderson, Donovan Yaciuk and Nickolej Villiger
Publisher: HighWater Press, 2022
Interest Level: Ages 12 and up
Reading Level: Grades 7–8
No one knows how a suit of samurai armour ended up in the Fort Smith museum. When a mysterious stranger turns up to claim it, Sonny, a young Tłı̨chǫ Dene boy, is eager to help. Shinobu has travelled to Fort Smith, NWT, to reclaim his grandfather's samurai sword and armour. But when he discovers that the sword was lost in a poker game, he must confront the man known as Benny the Bank. Along the way, Shinobu must rely on unlikely heroes-Sonny, his grandmother, and a visitor from the spirit world. Together, they face Benny and his men, including the giant they call Flinch. Will Shinobu be able to regain the lost sword and, with it, his family's honour? Can Sonny and his grandmother help Shinobu while keeping the peace in their community? Now in full colour, this new edition includes additional background information and cultural context. Learn about the real-life inspiration behind the story and the intersections between Indigenous and Japanese Canadian experiences during the Second World War.

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
Interest Level: Ages 13 and up
Reading Level: Grades 7-8
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.

If I Go Missing
ISBN: 978-1-4594-1451-8
Authors: Brianna Jonnie with Nahanni Shingoose
Illustrator: Neal Shannacappo
Publisher: Lorimer, 2019
Interest Level: Ages 12 and up
Reading Level: Grades 4-5
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.
Non-Fiction

Fatty Legs (10th Anniversary Edition)
ISBN: 978-1-7732-1350-7
Authors: Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton and Christy Jordan-Fenton
Illustrator: Liz Amini-Holmes
Publisher: Annick Press, 2020
Interest Level: Ages 10–12
Reading Level: Grades 4–5
Margaret Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton’s powerful story of residential school in the far North has been reissued to commemorate the memoir’s 10th anniversary with updates to the text, reflections on the book’s impact, and a bonus chapter from the acclaimed follow-up, A Stranger at Home. New content includes a foreword from Dr. Debbie Reese, noted Indigenous scholar and founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature, while Christy Jordan-Fenton, mother of Margaret’s grandchildren and a key player in helping Margaret share her stories, discusses the impact of the book in a new preface. With important updates since it first hit the shelves a decade ago, this audiobook edition of Fatty Legs will continue to resonate with readers young and old.

Mi’kmaw Moons: The Seasons in Mi'kma'ki
ISBN: 978-1-4595-0703-6
Authors: Cathy LeBlanc and David Chapman
Illustrator: Loretta Gould
Publisher: Formac Publishing, 2022
Interest Level: Ages 8-12
Reading Level: Grades 3-4
For thousands of years, the Mi’kmaq have been closely observing the natural world and the cycles of the moon and the stars to track the passage of time. Each full moon in an annual cycle was named by the Mi’kmaq to relate to a seasonal event, such as tomcod spawning, birds laying eggs or berry ripening. For the past decade Mi’kmaw Elders and Knowledge Keepers have shared stories of the traditional night sky calendar with authors Cathy LeBlanc and David Chapman. In this book Cathy relays this knowledge in stories told to her young relation Holly. Each moon’s story is richly illustrated with an evocative colour painting created for this book by the noted Mi’kmaw artist Loretta Gould. Alongside this presentation of the Mi’kmaw time-keeping traditions, this book offers a brief history of the modern Western calendar, and some basic astronomy facts about the moon’s phases and why the seasons change.

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
Interest Level: Ages 14 and up
Reading Level: Grades 7-8
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.
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