The People Shall Continue

Traces the progress of the Indians of North America from the time of the Creation to the present.

Further discussion of this book found in WOW Currents: Indigenous Children’s Literature: Stories Matter, Part IV.

The World Before This One

Crow is a Seneca boy, coming of age in a time of war, in a time before stories. Cast out of the Seneca tribe, Crow and his grandmother struggle merely to find enough food to make it through the harsh winter. Then Crow finds a boulder in the woods that startles him by speaking. The Storytelling Stone tells Crow the great legends of the Seneca–tales of the Long Ago Time, when the Sky Women trod the Above World and a child could alter the ways of a people. Crow comes to realize his own power to effect change and his destiny as a Seneca man. But can the Stone be trusted?

Family Poems For Every Day Of The Week

This bilingual collection of poems that takes us through the week day by day. Children spend Sunday visiting their grandparents, play with school friends on Monday, daydream on Tuesday, eat popcorn at the local market on Wednesday, and more, until we arrive at Saturday, when they get to play nonstop all day. Along the way, we also learn how the names of the seven days came to be. Partly based on the real life experiences of Alarcon’s own family, this festive, celebratory collection of poems highlights the daily life of children while also honoring the experiences of the poet’s Latino family in the United States. With her vibrant illustrations, illustrator Maya Christina Gonzalez has created a loving tribute to childhood, to family, and to Francisco Alarcon.* *Francisco X. Alarcon passed away in January 2016.

The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Massey Lectures)

“Stories are wondrous things,” award-winning Canadian author and scholar Thomas King declares in his 2003 CBC Massey Lectures. “And they are dangerous.” Stories assert tremendous control over our lives, informing who we are and how we treat one another as friends, family and citizens. With keen perception and wit, king illustrates that stories are the key to, and the only hope for, human understanding, He compels us to listen well.

Indian Signals and Sign Language

Photographs and text describe non-verbal signals used by the Indians of the Great Plains, including more than 800 signs, smoke signals, picture writing and the language of feathers and body paint.

The Red Sash

This story centers on a young Metis (mixed blood) boy growing up outside Fort Williams, a major Canadian fur trading post linking northern and central Canada to the North West Trading Company in Montreal. The boy longs to become one of the voyagers, or fur traders, who wear red sashes as they travel the rivers of northern and central Canada. The Red Sash provides readers an authentic picture of life at a fur trading post in the early 1800s.

In Mad Love and War

This collection includes poems that explore human relationships, music, death … universal concerns written about in a way that recognizes and uses the universality while selecting the images from her Cree background. We are privileged to glimpse another way of relating to the world while being presented with the difficulties of growing up in a minority culture.

The Crow’s Tale

In the dark depths of winter, snow is falling and the animals are freezing and famished. Brave Crow sets out on a dangerous journey to find the Sun, and beg for warmth. Will Crow succeed, and what will happen to his colourful rainbow feathers? Inspired by a Lenape Native American myth, this beautiful debut picture book shows how courage and kindness are what really matter.

Bears Make Rock Soup: And Other Stories

A collection of stories inspired by paintings that depict the special relationships betweens the Plains Indians and such animals as bear, deer, moose, crows, and loons.