National Network for Equitable Library Service

Winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction The year is 1959, and fifteen-year-old Nipishish returns to his reserve in northern Quebec after being kicked out of residential school, where the principal tells him he's a good-for-nothing who, like all Indians, can look forward to a life of drunkenness, prison and despair. The reserve, however, offers nothing to Nipishish. He remembers little of his late mother and father. In fact, he seems to know less about himself than the people at the band office.

After her critically acclaimed books of interviews with Afghan, Iraqi, Israeli and Palestinian children, Deborah Ellis turns her attention closer to home. For two years she traveled across the United States and Canada interviewing Native children. The result is a compelling collection of interviews with children aged nine to eighteen. They come from all over the continent, from Iqaluit to Texas, Haida Gwaai to North Carolina, and their stories run the gamut — some heartbreaking; many others full of pride and hope.

Young George Johnson lives in an extraordinary family in extraordinary times. His father is Sir William Johnson, one of the richest and most powerful men in colonial New York. His mother is Molly Brant, stepdaughter of a Mohawk chief and sister of Iroquois leader Joseph Brant. George spends his early years in a grand mansion called Johnson Hall, but his cloistered life changes as the War for American Independence looms. As the rebel forces gradually take over the valley, George and his family are forced to flee their home and seek refuge with Molly's friends and relatives.

Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change.

In the mid-1800s, southern Alberta was dominated by the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Snake Woman, from the Blackfoot Blood tribe, was born into a life of respect and cooperation with the rhythm of the natural world, a rhythm that seems to be irreparably disrupted by the advance of European traders and settlers. Eleanor, newly transplanted to this promised land with her homesteading parents, was raised on the stories of her uncle, who told of a sky that goes forever and a wind that can blow your memories away.

It’s the 1960s – the time for equal rights, peace, and love. But for Ellen Manery, it’s the time to work hard and finish high school early. She’d rather be helping out at the university’s medical lab than listening to rock and roll and hanging out with the kids at her high school. Isolated and driven, Ellen feels like she was born an outsider. And what if you live in a small town, where change is slow in coming? Tony Paul knows what it’s like to be on the outside.

Lacey Little Bird loves spending time with Kahasi, an elder on her reserve who is like a grandmother to her. From her Lacey is learning about their people, the Siksika Blackfoot tribe of Alberta, including the art of beadwork. Lacey hears about a project to help grandmothers in Africa who are raising their grandchildren because their parents have died from AIDS. Even though Africa is far, far away, Lacey wants to help and emails the grandmothers with a plan to raise money by selling beaded purses.

The stories of these men are tales of courage, determination and honesty, often in the face of racism and adversity. Read about Larry Merculieff, who helped bring a once oppressed Aleutian people to a position of power and self-sufficiency, Frank Abraham, an Ojibwe Chief whose wisdom and honesty helped his tribe to rise from near financial failure, Raymond Cross, a Coyote leader who won a victory of compensation for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara people, and Stanley Vollant, an Aboriginal surgeon who fulfilled a 100-year-old Innu tribal prophecy.

Profiles of ten outstanding women leaders, including Suzanne Rochon-Burnett, a Métis broadcaster, journalist and First Nations advocate, winner of the Governor General’s Award for her work on Native Women’s rights; Susan Aglukark, Inuit singer and songwriter; and Emily Pauline Johnson—Canada’s first published First Nations poet. All of these trailblazing women are role models who have raised the profile of indigenous culture in North America.

Ten short and engaging biographies of First Nations/Native writers complete with photographs, sidebars, and a complete catalog of their work. These writers draw on their cultural history to create novels, poetry, and plays, and are an inspiration to any aspiring writer or avid reader. Includes Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Joseph Boyden, N. Scott Momaday, Marilyn Dumont, Tomson Highway, Joseph Bruchac, Maria Campbell, Nicola Campbell, and Tim Tingle.