Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice: A search for ways forward
“The horrors of the Indian residential schools are by now well-known facts, and they have certainly found purchase in the Canadian consciousness in recent years. The history of violence and the struggles of survivors for redress resulted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which chronicled the harms inflicted by the residential schools and explored ways […]
Porcupines and China Dolls
A haunting story that explores with frank and honest words the dark legacy of the residential school system and its impact on individuals, families and communities. James Nathan and Jake Noland have been best friends for life. After finishing mission school they return to their Gwich’in community in the Northwest Territories. Their lives revolve around […]
People of the Land: Legends of the Four Host First Nations
The sacred legends of the four host First Nations, the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh, have been passed down from generation to generation through the Elders and are integral to the teachings and oral traditions of First Nations peoples. These stories link people to the land and to each other and pass on traditional knowledge […]
Out of the Depths: The Experiences of Mi’kmaw children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
In the 1880s, through an amendment to the Indian Act of 1876, the government of Canada began to require all Aboriginal children to attend schools administered by churches. Separating these children from their families, removing them from their communities and destroying Aboriginal culture by denying them the right to speak Indigenous languages and perform native […]
Orange Shirt Day
“Orange Shirt Day is observed annually on September 30th to honour residential school survivors and their families, and to remember those who did not make it. This book explores the historical impact on Indigenous people in order to create champions who will walk a path of reconciliation through Orange Shirt Day, promoting the message that […]
Ohpikiihaakan-ohpihmeh (Raised somewhere else)
“During the 60s Scoop, over 20,000 Indigenous children in Canada were removed from their biological families, lands and culture and trafficked across provinces, borders and overseas to be raised in non-Indigenous households. Ohpikiihaakan-ohpihmeh delves into the personal and provocative narrative of Colleen Cardinal’s journey growing up in a non- Indigenous household as a 60s Scoop […]
Not my Girl
Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and complemented by evocative illustrations, Not My Girl makes the original, award-winning memoir, A Stranger at Home, accessible to younger children. It is also a sequel to the picture book When I Was Eight. A poignant story of a determined young girl’s struggle to belong, it will both move and inspire […]
My name is Seepeetza
Seepeetza loves living on Joyaska Ranch with her family. But when she is six years old, she is driven to the town of Kalamak, in the interior of British Columbia. Seepeetza will spend the next several years of her life at an Indian residential school. The nuns call her Martha and cut her hair. Worst […]
Mush Hole: Memories of Residential School
Mush-Hole: Memories of a Residential School written by Maddie Harper explains her years attending the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford. When she was seven years old Maddie was forced to attend the school until the age of fifteen. She writes with clarity and power as she describes her experiences. She includes a painful episode […]
Memory Keeper
“Memory Keeper is a collection of stories which offers anecdotes and stories, from the author’s life, living on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. These stories helped her to circumnavigate constructively the residual pain and dysfunction that is the legacy of the Residential School System. As a Registered Social Worker and Community Health […]