Indigenous

Amo’s Sapotawan (The Six Seasons Of The Asiniskaw Ithiniwak, 2) (Volume 2)

Rocky Cree people understand that all children are born with four gifts or talents. When a child is old enough, they decide which gift, or mīthikowisiwin, they will seek to master. With her sapotawan ceremony fast approaching, Amō must choose her mīthikowisiwin. Her sister, Pīsim, became a midwife; others gather medicines or harvest fish. But none of those feel quite right.

Amō has always loved making things. Her uncle can show her how to make nipisiwata, willow baskets. Her grandmother can teach her how to make kwakwāywata, birchbark containers and plates. Her auntie has offered to begin Amō’s apprenticeship in making askihkwak, pottery.

What will Amō’s mīthikowisiwin be? Which skill should she choose? And how will she know what is right for her?

The Three Hunters

Akagaq, the youngest brother of three, is confident but forgetful. When he gets caught in a blizzard he makes a tent, but it is no match for the powerful winds. Trapped in the cold, Akagaq is helped by his brother Tiriaq. Tiriaq digs into a snowdrift for shelter, but the wind is still too strong and blows out their lamp. Akkiutaq, the eldest brother, arrives to save them, and brings them to the iglu he has carefully built. The wind threatens to destroy the iglu as well, but the shelter proves strong, and the brothers are safe. The brothers learn an important lesson about paying attention to their Elders, and taking care in what they do.

Inuunira

In this harrowing survival story, Brian Koonoo takes off on a hunting trip in Canada’s Arctic. After his snowmobile breaks down, his GPS loses signal, and his camping fuel runs low, he is left alone to survive for seven days. Inuunira is an Inuktitut term that means “how I’m alive,” and this account shows exactly how Brian managed to stay alive. He experiences close encounters with planes, blizzards, and hunger, all while much of his gear is lost. Walking 60 kilometres in search of safety, he uses the knowledge his father and Elders taught him—modern and traditional means of navigation, finding water, making shelters, and keeping his spirits up—to continue on.

Finding Moose

A little boy goes for a walk in the forest with his grandfather, searching for a moose. The grandfather teaches him to the identify the traces left behind by the moose. He also teaches him about other animals and plants found in the forest including the Ojibwemowin names for them. After accepting that their expedition will not be successful that day, the boy and his grandfather return home, only to find the moose grazing behind their house.

Forever Cousins

Amanda and Kara are cousins and best friends in an intertribal Native American family; but Kara’s family leaves the city and moves back to the Rez, making both girls sad–but the summer reunion reminds them that they will always be cousins.

Yossel’s Journey

Yossel, along with his family, flees anti-Jewish Russian pogroms in the late nineteenth century and settles in the American Southwest where he forges a friendship with Thomas, a Native American Navajo boy.