Indigenous

The Story Of Colors / La Historia De Los Colores: A Bilingual Folktale From The Jungles Of Chiapas

When the NEA -rescinded funding for The Story of Colors, the news hit the cover of the New York Times and made the book an instant bestseller. But far from being subversive, this beautifully illustrated folktale teaches us all about the value of diversity. Old man Antonio tells how a long time ago the world was just black and white and gray. This bored the gods, so they went looking for bright colors and they found them in the most peculiar places!

No one exactly knows who -Subcomandante Marcos is, but since New Year’s Day 1994, when the Zapatistas declared war on the Mexican government, he has become a post-modern revolutionary hero.

La Sirena Y El Pescador

La sirena y el pescador is a traditional folktale of the Rio Balsas region of Mexico, written in the Nahuatl language of San Agustín Oapan, Guerrero and accompanied by a Spanish translation. It tells the story of a young boy who must escape from his family after “Aalamatsin”, the mermaid and mother of all fish, wants the boy as a sacrifice in exchange for the release and pardon of his father, who betrayed his own wife and exploited the inhabitants of the river by overfishing it.

Grandma’s Chocolate / El chocolate de abuelita

Abuela’s visits from Mexico are always full of excitement for young Sabrina. She can’t wait to see what’s in her grandmother’s yellow suitcase covered in stickers from all the places she has visited. Opening it is like opening a treasure chest, and this year is no different. With her grandmother’s help, Sabrina learns all about the cacao tree, which was first cultivated by Mexico’s Indigenous tribes. Today, seeds from the cacao tree give us chocolate, but years ago the seeds were so valuable they were used as money. This charming bilingual picture book that depicts a loving relationship between grandmother and granddaughter and shares the history and customs of the native peoples, Mayan and Aztec, of Mexico.

Nutik and Amaroq Play Ball

Amaroq is a lively Eskimo boy who fives at the top of the world with his best friend, Nutik, the wolf pup. Amaroq was named after a great wolf leader; Nutik is the wolf leader’s grandpup. The boy and the wolf pup are like brothers.One day Amaroq and Nutik want to play football, but their ball has disappeared. What shall they do? Listening to and observing Nutik’s wolf talk, Amaroq follows him outside. The two friends wander out onto the tundra, where there are no trees, no paths, and no landmarks to help them find their way home again. Amaroq is afraid they are lost, but then he remembers what the great wolf leader he was named after would do. By observing nature and following what it says, Amaroq and Nutik are safe again-but not before finding a surprise for both of them!Amaroq and Nutik’s adventure follows the first picture book about them, Nutik, the Wolf Pup, and continues the Arctic saga about these characters originally drawn from Julie’s Wolf Pack, sequel to the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves.

My Name Is Seepeetza

Her name was Seepeetza when she was at home with her family. But now that she’s living at the Indian residential school her name is Martha Stone, and everything else about her life has changed as well. Told in the honest voice of a sixth grader, this is the story of a young Native girl forced to live in a world governed by strict nuns, arbitrary rules, and a policy against talking in her own dialect, even with her family. Seepeetza finds bright spots, but most of all she looks forward to summers and holidays at home. This autobiographical novel is written in the form of Seepeetza’s diary.

No Time To Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories Of Kuper Island Residential School

For most North Americans, the practice of sending First Nations children to aboriginal boarding schools is a chapter in history that seems best forgotten. But the generations of children who were rounded up and sent to those faraway schools won’t ever forget the day-to-day reality of that “chapter.” Often taken without warning or time to say goodbye to their families, children as young as five had their hair cropped short and their clothes taken away. Then they were deloused, dressed in uniforms and forbidden to speak their native language or practise their traditional arts, religion or dances. No Time to Say Goodbye is a fictional account of five children sent to aboriginal boarding school, based on the recollections of a number of Tsartlip First Nations people. These unforgettable children are taken by government agents from Tsartlip Day School to live at Kuper Island Residential School. The five are isolated on the small island and life becomes regimented by the strict school routine. They experience the pain of homesickness and confusion while trying to adjust to a world completely different from their own. Their lives are no longer organized by fishing, hunting and family, but by bells, line-ups and chores. In spite of the harsh realities of the residential school, the children find adventure in escape, challenge in competition, and camaraderie with their fellow students. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always engrossing, No Time to Say Goodbye is a story that readers of all ages won’t soon forget.

White Tails Don’t Live In The City

A look at the beauty of nature and living in the open country by One of Canada’s all-time best-selling authors and British Columbia’s most sought-after public speaker, David Bouchard.

Arctic Memories

arctic memoriesHow does it feel to live in an igloo in arctic Quebec? What games do the people play? Normee Ekoomiak, an Inuit artist, looks back at his childhood in this outstanding, beautifully illustrated document of an artic lifestyle of years ago and a tribute to the people who live there still. 1990 Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.