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Selected Books and Reflections
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Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-niimi'idim
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Brenda J. Child (writer), Jonathan Thunder (artist) and Gordon Jourdain (translator)
When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs.
The Creators:
Brenda J. Child is the author of several award-winning books of history. Her bestselling book for children, Bowwow Powwow, won the American Indian Youth Literature Award for best picture book. She is Northrop Professor at the University of Minnesota and a citizen of the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation.
Jonathan Thunder is a painter, illustrator, animator, designer, and storyteller. He is a member of the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation in northern Minnesota.
Gordon Jourdain grew up in the Ojibwe community of Lac La Croix in northwest Ontario. He teaches at the Misaabekong Ojibwe Language Immersion program in Duluth.
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A Digital Bundle: Protecting and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge Online
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Jennifer Wemigwans
Based on interviews and discussions with active users of Four Directions Teachings, a website created by Jennifer Wemigwans, A Digital Bundle makes a case for a new online social movement that embraces Indigenous perspectives. Key to this movement is the redefinition of online Indigenous knowledge projects as "digital bundles," thus elevating the cultural protocols and responsibilities that come with such a designation and grounding these projects within an Indigenous epistemological paradigm
The Creator:
Jennifer Wemigwams is Anishnaabekwe (Ojibwe/ Potawatomi) from Wikwemikong First Nation. She is a new media producer, writer and scholar specializing in the convergence between education, Indigenous Knowledge and new media technologies. She lives in Toronto.
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The Gathering
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Theresa Meuse-Dallien (writer) and Art Stevens (artist)
Alex is attending her first Mi'kmaw spiritual gathering, or mawiomi. Though she is timid at first, older cousin Matthew takes her under his wing. Meeting Elders along the way, they learn about traditional Mi'kmaw culture: the sacred fire, drumming, tanning and moccasin decorating, basket-and canoe-making, and enjoy a Mi'kmaw feast. Most importantly, Alex finds her voice in the talking circle.
The Creators:
Theresa Meuse-Dallien was born and raised in the Bear River First Nation. She is a First Nations educator and advisor and the author of The Sharing Circle and L'n'uk. Theresa lives in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia.
Art Stevens is a Mi'kmaq community member from Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia. Throughout his professional and personal life Arthur has worked with and for Indigenous peoples and organizations across Atlantic Canada. As a published artist, illustrator, and graphic designer, Arthur is an award-winning Indigenous professional who takes pride in sharing his creative works and is always looking for artistic opportunities that engage and promote connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
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Heart Berries: A Memoir
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Terese Marie Mailhot
Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in British Columbia. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar II, Terese Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners; a story of reconciliation with her father--an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist--who was murdered under mysterious circumstances; and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame.
The Creator:
Terese Marie Mailhot graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with an MFA in fiction and is the Saturday Editor at The Rumpus and a columnist for Indian Country Today (where her work has been recognized by the Native American Journalists Association). Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, Carve Magazine, The Offing, The Toast, Yellow Medicine Review and elsewhere.
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Hiraeth
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Carol Rose Daniels
Hiraeth is about women supporting and lending strength and clarity to other women so they know that moving forward is always possible-- and always necessary. It documents a journey of struggle that pertains to a dark point in Canadian history that few talk about and of which even fewer seem aware. Poems speak to the 1960's "scoop up" of children and how this affected the lives of (one or thousands) of First Nations and Metis girls-- girls who later grew to be women with questions, women with wounds, women who felt like they had no place to call home. That is, until they allowed themselves to be open to the courage others have lived and shared.
The Creator:
Carol Rose Daniels is Cree/Dene with roots in Sandy Bay, northern Saskatchewan. She is a published novelist, poet, playwright, visual artist, and musician. Before pursuing her art on a full-time basis, Carol worked as a journalist for more than 30 years in television and radio at APTN, CTV, and CBC. She lives in Regina.
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Putuguq & Kublu and the Qalupalik!
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Roselynn Akulukjuk (writer), Danny Christopher (writer) and Astrid Arijanto (artist)
What creatures lurk beneath the sea ice? Putuguq and Kublu – two siblings who can’t seem to get along- are about to find out! On their way to the shoreline, Putuguq and Kublu run into their grandfather, who has a stern warning for the pair: always beware when playing on the shore, because you never know if a qalupalik, a mythical creature that snatches children, is lying in wait under the ice. Kublu is pretty sure their grandfather is just trying to spook them with a scary story from the past….but maybe not?
The Creators:
Roselynn Akulukjuk is a young Inuit filmmaker and writer living in Iqaluit. She was born in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic. Part of Roselynn’s love of filmmaking is the ability to interview elders, listen to their traditional stories, and share them with the world. In 2015, Roselynn wrote and directed her first film, the live-action and puppetry short The Owl and the Lemming, on which her book by the same title is based.
Danny Christopher has travelled all over Nunavut as an instructor for Nunavut Arctic College. He lives in Toronto with his wife and three children, who keep his life in a constant state of chaos.
Astrid Arijanto is a designer and illustrator living in Toronto, Ontario. She spends a lot of time working on her drawing tablet, but in her free time enjoys exploring other cultures and the great outdoors with her partner and chasing after their wild and rambunctious puppy, Spanky.
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Welcome to the 2020 - 2021 Longlist!
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Chasing Painted Horses
by
Drew Hayden Taylor
Chasing Painted Horses has a magical, fable-like quality. It is the story of four unlikely friends who live in Otter Lake, a reserve north of Toronto. Ralph and his sister, Shelley, live with their parents. On the cusp of becoming teenagers, they and their friend William befriend an odd little girl, from a dysfunctional family. Danielle, a timid 10-year-old girl, draws an amazing, arresting image of a horse that draws her loose group of friends into her fantasy world. But those friends are not ready for what that horse may mean or represent. It represents everything that’s wrong in the girl’s life and everything she wished it could be. And the trio who meet her and witness the creation of the horse, are left trying to figure out what the horse means to the girl, and later to them. And how to help the shy little girl.
The Creator:
Drew Hayden Taylor was born on July 1, 1962 and is an Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations. In addition to his plays and books, he has worked as a scriptwriter and documentary filmmaker. Taylor lives on the Curve Lake Reserve in Ontario.
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Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii
by
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson (writer), Sara Florence Davidson (writer), Alyssa Koski (artist), and Judy Hilgemann (artist)
Embedded in Haida culture and drawn from ancient oral narratives are a number of Supernatural Beings, many of them female, who embody connections to the land, the sea, and the sky. Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii features ten of these ancient figures and presents them to children as visually engaging, empowering, and meaningful examples of living in balance with nature. Developed by renowned Haida activist, lawyer, performer, and artist Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson and Haida educator Sara Florence Davidson, this book challenges stereotypes, helps advance reconciliation, and celebrates Indigenous identity and culture.
The Creators:
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson is an activist through art and music, and also through law. Born in Haida Gwaii, Terri-Lynn has been a promoter of Haida music and culture since the age of thirteen. Since 1995, she has successfully represented the Haida Nation at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. An effective advocate, she integrates cultural knowledge and an Indigenous voice into her legal work.
Sara Florence Davidson is a Haida educator and scholar with a PhD in Literacy Education. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department at the University of the Fraser Valley, where she works with teacher candidates to bring Indigenous content, perspectives, and pedagogies into their classrooms.
Alyssa Koski is an illustrator and member of the Kainai Nation. She holds a BA in Visual Communications from the Alberta College of Art and Design.
Judy Hilgemann has been creating art since childhood. She has illustrated many books, including B is for Basketball, Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii, and Children of the Sea. She lives in Queen Charlotte on Haida Gwaii, BC.
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