In crisp black-and-white photographs, Ulli Steltzer documents the beauty and precision of an igloo’s construction – from stacking blocks of snow to cutting a door – in this informative picture book.
Building An Igloo
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Dance On A Sealskin
In today’s Alaskan Yupik Eskimo communities, villagers still gather in the kashim to sing, drum, and dance, carrying forward the ancient traditions of their forebears. This is the heartwarming fictional story of Annie’s “first dance,” a coming-of-age ceremony to signify official entry into the Eskimo community. 20 color illustrations.
My Kokum Called Today
A telephone call from her grandmother has a young native girl in the city looking forward to visiting the reserve. In gentle, joyous ways we see how women — especially grandmothers — are often the spiritual glue when families are separated by long miles.
Where Did You Get Your Moccasins?
Children in an urban school are curious about a classmate’s moccasins.
How The Robin Got Its Red Breast: A Legend Of The Sechelt People (Legends Of The Sechelt Nation)
These traditional teaching legends come straight from the oral traditions of the Sechelt Nation. Simple enough to be understood by young children, yet compelling enough for adults, they are gentle, beautifully presented cautionary tales. You’ll want to read them again and again – and you’ll learn a few words of the Shishalh language while you’re at it. Charlie Craigan is a young Sechelt artist who works in a tiny studio set up in his bedroom. He studied traditional wood carving with Sechelt Nation carvers, but learned to draw and paint by studying books.
The Snow Bear
“The bear came into town in the Autumn to feed at the dump. Her cubs had been killed by hunters and she was weary. Only Bruun saw her plight…” So begins a friendship between two unlikely companions Bruun, an Inuit Eskimo boy, and a snow bear from the wild. As they spend the winter out on the sea-ice together, Bruun learns the ways of the polar bear. But when spring comes, he must return home to the ways of his own people. What will happen, years later, when the two meet again and Bruun has become a hunter?
Adventure On Thunder Island (Blue Kite Series)
In this book, children of the Ojibwa First Nation learn the stories of their culture by living them.Jessica takes a ride on her brother’s raft and is washed ashore on Thunder Island. Jack Waboose meets a troll in Colony Creek and trades a golden walnut for a Frisbee. Troy accepts a dare to catch birds on Pidgeon Bridge and gets trapped. Milton Whitehawk takes a walk in Ebony Forest and meets a mysterious girl who says that she’s his sister.These are the stories that you will read about in Adventure on Thunder Island, tales in which the supernatural is everywhere, and exciting events happen every day.
Ice Drift
The year is 1868, and fourteen-year-old Alika and his younger brother, Sulu, are hunting for seals on an ice floe attached to their island in the Arctic. Suddenly they hear the terrible sound of the floe breaking free from land. The boys watch with horror as they start drifting south–away from their home, their family, and everything they’ve ever known. Throughout their six-month-long journey down the Greenland Strait, the boys face bitter cold, starvation, and vicious polar bears. And yet, in this moving testament to the bond between brothers, Alika and Sulu remain hopeful that one day they’ll be rescued . Includes a map, a glossary of Inuit words and phrases, and an author’s note.
The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering (We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today)
Glen Jackson, Jr., an eleven-year-old Ojibway Indian in northern Minnesota, goes with his father to harvest wild rice, the sacred food of his people.
Byron Through The Seasons: A Dene-English Story Book
This Dene-English story book was produced by the students and teachers of Ducharme Elementary School in La Loche, Saskatchewan, with assistance from local advisors and elders. Together, they wrote the story, translated it, and worked on the pictures. Their goal was to highlight some aspects of Dene culture that were vital in the past and are still important today. They wanted to show the continuity of a genuine and successful way of life, and emphasize culturally-significant events and attitudes.To produce the book, over 400 hundred students provided ideas for the story line and art samples for the illustrations. Two hundred letters went out to the community families, asking for ideas and information with regard to story content. A dozen elders were consulted to provide accurate and culturally-correct information. A teacher committee of six worked on the project for two years.Byron Through the Seasons is a story told by Grandfather Jonas and imagined by his grandson, Byron. The balloon diagram in each picture represents the symbolic journey taken by Byron as he listens to stories of what Dene life is like during the four seasons of the year.