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Giganawendamin Dibaajimowinan. We keep the stories. A festival of Indigenous cultures and heritage, where we celebrate First Nations, Métis and Inuit heritage by presenting Indigenous storytelling and literature, as well as discussions on history and current issues.

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Indigenous bookshelf | Storykeepers podcast

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Indigenous bookshelf | Storykeepers podcast

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Support Indigenous book stores.
Barely Bruised Books (Ottawa)

Goodminds (Six Nations, online)

Iron Dog Books (Vancouver-mobile)

Librairie Hannenorak (Wendake)

Massy Books (Vancouver)

Strong Nations (Nanaimo)
Look for the books at your local independent bookstore(s).
Look for the books at your local public library. And if your library doesn't have these books by Indigenous authors, then make a request and see if they'll order them.
Contact the publishers directly:
S1E1: Why Indigenous Literatures Matter by Daniel Heath Justice.

Published by: Wilfred Laurier University Press

S1E2: Halfbreed by Maria Campbell.

Published by: Penguin Random House

S1E3: Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson.

Published by: Penguin Random House

S1E4: Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese.

Published by: Penguin Random House

S1E5: Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

Published by: Penguin Random House

S1E6: Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

Published by Arsenal Pulp Press

S1E7: Burning in this Midnight Dream by Louise Halfe.

Published by: Coutou Books (out of business)

S1E8: Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga.

Published by: House of Anansi

S1E9: Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp.

Published by: Douglas&McIntyre

S1E10: TBD

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Support Indigenous book stores. Barely Bruised Books (Ottawa) Goodminds (Six Nations, online) Iron Dog Books (Vancouver-mobile) Librairie Hannenorak (Wendake) Massy Books (Vancouver) Strong Nations (Nanaimo) Look for the books at your local independent bookstore(s). Look for the books at your local public library.

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Thanksgiving in Canada has never been more than a harvest celebration. The story of pilgrims dining with native Americans is American.

However... who has heard of the pilgrim/Indian story behind Thanksgiving? (I have!)

While the myth has American origins, it does inform our views on the Indigenous peoples in Canada

Talk about macro/micro steps towards decolonization and reconciliation.

Give thanks for the land cared for by the Indigenous peoples and the knowledge they still share with us today.

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A rich variety of Indigenous cinema from all over Turtle Island

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The National Film Board of Canada is a National Treasure! Click to see the wide range of films by Indigenous directors and producers they have gathered together. Click to see the wide range of films about Indigenous peoples, many of them dating back more than 50 years.
A Tribe Called Red Kent Monkman Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Snotty Nose Rez Kids Rebecca Belmore Red Man Laughing Podcast Unreserved with Rosanna Deerchild Thomas King's Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour

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The National Film Board of Canada is a National Treasure! Click here to see the wide range of films by Indigenous directors and producers they have gathered together. Click here to see the wide range of films about Indigenous peoples, many of them dating back more than 50 years.

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Addressing specific myths and misunderstandings

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Since I began this blog, I have endeavoured to create resources for people unfamiliar with specific aboriginal topics. I like to call them Indigenous Issue Primers, because they are introductions to topics you could spend a lifetime specialising in. Not every post I put up is a Primer, so I've decided to list them below topically, for ease of reference (and so I remember what I've already addressed!).

My focus is very much on what I call "myth debunking". I have found it very difficult over the years to have discussions about anything related to indigenous peoples because so many bizarre beliefs get in the way. Try discussing what happened at Oka, for example, and you'll quickly realise you've got to explain a lot of history and address a lot of misunderstandings before you can even get to that topic.

For me, this is a time saving device. A series of resources for myself and anyone else who wants them, so that some of the most prevalent myths can be quickly and clearly addressed, allowing a bigger conversation to (hopefully) happen.

These pieces have been written over a number of years, so many hyperlinks will probably no longer work.

Specific Myths or Misunderstandings

Identity and Culture

Aboriginal Law and Treaties

Historic and Continuing Injustice

Indigenous Health and Safety

Organisations

Thoughts About Language/Culture

Articles About Attawapiskat

Elsipogtog

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Since I began this blog, I have endeavoured to create resources for people unfamiliar with specific aboriginal topics. I like to call them Indigenous Issue Primers, because they are introductions to topics you could spend a lifetime specialising in.

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Decolonizing the History of Thanksgiving

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Decolonizing the History of Thanksgiving

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It's Thanksgiving once again: that day, every year, when we are all gluttonous to celebrate the fact that 'Pilgrims and Indians' had a harmonious meal - at least that is how it has been framed historically.

Let's be honest. On the last Thursday of November, every year, we celebrate the beginning of an European invasion that ends with the death or relocation of millions of native people. While many have tried to redefine the meaning of Thanksgiving into a time wherein we cultivate a sense of gratitude, the undeniable truth is that the blood of native people stains the genesis of the holiday.

The colonial origins of Thanksgiving - or what many natives often refer to as Thankskilling or Thankstaking - is not something to celebrate. While we cannot pinpoint one specific or original "Thanksgiving" celebration, President Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday in 1863 and conceived it as a national day of thanksgiving. "Pilgrims and Indians" weren't included in the tradition until 1890. The national mythos surrounding this holiday does not take into consideration the long and violent history of contact between European settlers (in this case English pilgrims - puritans) and indigenous populations that already inhabited the land. It is in these forgotten histories that we see the history of this holiday for what it truly is: English pilgrims, unprepared to survive on the land and unfamiliar with the vegetation, waterways, and others food sources, stranded on Turtle Island who survive those early winters and ultimately engage in a brutal campaign of colonialism and genocidal activity.

It is important that we think clearly and honestly about how the beatified pilgrims saw the natives. Five time Plymouth County Governor William Bradford said the natives were "savage people, who are cruel, barbarous, and most treacherous." Clearly not the people you would like to feast with, yet our national narrative surrounding this holiday celebrates the first Thanksgiving as a moment of harmonious bridge building. This is clearly not the case. Especially when we learn about the Pequot Massacre of 1637. This is just one in a multitude of genocidal tactics employed against the indigenous peoples of this land since white Europeans arrived in 1492. Of this event, Governor Bradford said,

Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire...horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them.

The occupiers celebrated the genocide - and thanked God for the victory. Immediately following the Pequot Massacre of 1637, the occupiers worked diligently to whitewash history. The name of the tribe was erased from the map. The Pequot River became the Thames, and the geographic space the Pequot inhabited became known as New London. It is as if they never existed.

The whitewashing and erasure of indigenous histories is not unique to this holiday, but it is, perhaps, one of the most ironic instances of indigenous mass murder in service of white European colonial expansion. The idea that we celebrate the notion that indigenous peoples and the white European occupiers who literally sought their extinction were able to put their differences to the side long enough to sit down and feast upon food, in relative peace and harmony, is deeply problematic. Even more so is the idea that it was the white European occupiers who had to teach and demonstrate "civility" to these "barbarous savages." With the Pequot massacre in mind, it is clear which group in the Thanksgiving picture were the real "barbarous savages" and who were the ones practicing civility.

The language and the rhetoric surrounding the holiday erase the true history of settler-colonialism. The Pequot Massacre is just one mere instance in the long history of evil acts that began with the white European occupation of Turtle Island. This is also not the first time we have seen the descendants of the occupiers attempt to create a new civic identity by whitewashing history and silencing indigenous voices while erasing indigenous bodies. We see this unfolding in Oklahoma (Okla-humma, Choctaw for "Red People"), where non-native occupiers see no shame in calling themselves "Sooners" (those who stole land prior to the Oklahoma Land Runs - a territory that was, by treaty, set aside specifically and solely for tribal communities "so long as the rivers run and the sun shines...").

However, indigenous peoples and our co-conspirators cannot stand idly by as those who continue to employ colonial and, ultimately, genocidal tactics against our communities, rewrite, and revise history to justify both their actions and the actions of their ancestors. We must thoughtfully and intentionally intervene because while "Boomer Sooner," "R*dsk*ns," and "Thanksgiving" may seem inconsequential to some, the historical context that gave rise to these terms and celebrations contribute to real life consequences that still impact native people in this country.

Native women are the group most likely to be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, with low estimates suggesting 1-in-3 in her lifetime. Upwards of 80% or more of these cases are perpetrated by non-native males. There are 2,000 reports of missing and murdered Indigenous Women from Turtle Island, and suicide in native communities far surpasses the national average for every age group. Natives have the shortest lifespan of any group living in the United States, and this rate is even lower for those living on reservations. Historical or intergenerational trauma is literally embedded in native DNA, and many of our parents and grandparents were stolen from their families and forced into boarding schools that had the expressed mission to "civilize the savage" and "kill the Indian but save the man."

Physical torture, sexual assault, murder, public shaming, and stealing the culture of native children accomplished this. Psychological studies have demonstrated that native mascots negatively affect the psyche and wellbeing of native youth and many of these children have a difficult time making it through K-12, never mind college. Further, native people are virtually helpless when a non-native perpetrates a crime on native land. The victims have no jurisdiction over non-natives and the only way they could ever achieve justice is if the already overloaded federal government decides the case is worth pursuing. The silencing of native voices not only happened historically, but also continues today.

Whitewashing history, revising history, and developing rhetoric that celebrates the creation of a new civic identity for European occupiers-these all contribute to the oppression of indigenous peoples and tribal communities. The stories like those told about the Indians and Pilgrims at Thanksgiving ingrain a false sense of truth into the mind of the general public. These stories tell the populace that "everything is okay," and, in fact, the "Indians owe a lot to the Pilgrims." A closer examination and orientation with actual history, however, will negate these ideas and will enable the public to see how and, more importantly, why these stories - Columbus, Thanksgiving, Boomer Sooner - are told the way they are. These stories are extensions of colonialism and are in fact genocidal tactics. By erasing and replacing the true stories with those of "Thanksgiving," the occupier continues to remain complicit in genocide.

So enjoy that turkey...but remember that you are doing so in a land that was stolen. Honor the dead by remembering their stories and their sacrifice.

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Decolonizing the History of Thanksgiving

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It's Thanksgiving once again: that day, every year, when we are all gluttonous to celebrate the fact that 'Pilgrims and Indians' had a harmonious meal - at least that is how it has been framed historically. Let's be honest.

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8 Ways to Decolonize and Honor Native Peoples on Thanksgiving

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8 Ways to Decolonize and Honor Native Peoples on Thanksgiving

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8 Ways to Decolonize and Honor Native Peoples on Thanksgiving

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National Native American Heritage Month and offers many opportunities to move past one-dimensional representations. Thanksgiving is an opportinity to also go beyond the harmful "pilgrims and Indians" narrative and focus on common values: generosity, gratitude, and community.

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Indigenize, Decolonize! Indigenous Writers' Roundtable (Sep 26, 5:30-6:30 | FREE!)

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Indigenize, Decolonize! Indigenous Writers' Roundtable (Sep 26, 5:30-6:30 | FREE!)

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Eventbrite - The Word On The Street presents Indigenize, Decolonize! Indigenous Writers' Roundtable - Sunday, 26 September 2021 - Find event and ticket information.

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We Are All Treaty People [Writing Circle] - Creating personalized land acknowledgements

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We Are All Treaty People [Writing Circle] - Creating personalized land acknowledgements

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Time needed: 1 hour
Materials needed: Padlet for sharing our reflections and acknowledgements, Mentimeter for icebreaker

Introduction (Mentimeter) and Personalized Land Acknowledgement (10 min)

Writing prompts encouraging reflection about our personal relationship to this land (Padlet) (10 min)

Sharing as we feel comfortable (5 min)

Discuss in breakout groups: why we do land acknowledgements and addressing their critiques (10 min)

Sharing (5 min)

Showing examples of personalized land acknowledgements (5 min)
(https://teaching.usask.ca/curriculum/indigenous_voices/land-acknowledgements/module.php)

Creating personalized land acknowledgements (take inspiration from earlier writing!) (10 min)

Wrap-up (5 min)

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As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its report in 2015 and many postsecondary institutions were reacting to the Calls to Action, the University of Saskatchewan had just unanimously passed a motion to adopt and use an official Land Acknowledgement:

As we gather here today, we acknowledge we are on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another.

The Land Acknowledgement was developed in a good way with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, faculty and staff. Five years later, it has become a testament and symbol of our campus community's commitment to reconciliation. This was another first for our University and likely the first amongst the many U15 universities that soon followed. For a deeper description of the Land Acknowledgement, please visit this linkfrom the Office of the Vice-provost of Indigenous Engagement.

Today, people are interested in digging deeper into knowing how the Land Acknowledgement can be a great starting point for engaging in reconciliation. If you are a new friend or support to Indigenous Peoples, you may not know that the Land Acknowledgement is an old tradition. It has been a way for visitors to a land to demonstrate and pay homage to the First Nations people you are engaging. It recognizes the strength and wisdom of the place that has given rise to the people who are of that landand it invokes the spirit of that place to support your good intentions. By recognizing the intimate relationship between the place and people, you are demonstrating that you understand what is important and that you are trustworthy. To do this, you must use your own voice and provide the Land Acknowledgement from your heart.

Through a series of 5 video blogs, we invite you to explore a few different elements that are important to understand before building your own Land Acknowledgement: worldviews, positionality, treaties and the Metis homeland. The goal is to help you to build your own awareness about the Indigenous philosophy of wahkotowin(all our relations) and how you can honour it when you engage these elements and create your own land acknowledgement.

So... Lets begin

** Please note that there are no explicit guidelines or directions for how to achieve a perfect Land Acknowledgement, there is only heart, truth, acceptance and openness when you are delivering it to others.

As mentioned, we recognize that there are many valid criticisms that the Land Acknowledgement has become a politically correct and empty protocol for some people. The newspapers are quick to disparage the inadequate job people have done in learning how to give a good Land Acknowledgement and sown the seeds of discontent into our public narrative:

Rose and Stryker, when developing this resource, did not believe that this is an accurate understanding of the truth. We have witnessed a steady increase in the number of people who - many for the first time - understand that this land was, is and always will be an Indigenous place, as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the water flows. This isn't a threat to how people live here, it is just a fact for a place that has nurtured and shaped its peoples for thousands of years. Furthermore, this impressionable process is now affecting the newcomers to this land in much the same way. For us, the Land Acknowledgement is more than a political statement, it is an invitation and invocation to appreciate and respect a place that so many of us call home.

If you are someone who is looking to dig deeper into how to use the Land Acknowledgement in this way, we recommend that you start by knowing your positionality. Each one of us is born and raised within a culture that has shaped our view of the world. To truly understand this protocol and how to deliver it with integrity and conviction, one must be cognizant of how you want to approach the Land Acknowledgement in relation to how Indigenous Peoples have been using it.

Now that you are on the path to reconciliation and preparing to personalize your Land Acknowledgement, we recommend everyone heed the unwritten declaration of the to know the Truth before you engage in Reconciliation. So many people are excited to get involved, to take meaningful steps toward a better future for all, but especially for Indigenous people. The question we often ask our participants is how much do you know about First Nations people and the Metis? The responses often negate the meaningful steps that are intended and so we encourage people to watch the next two blogs and then go find more information.

These two video blogs are the briefest introductions you can get to better understanding the people who originated and used the Land Acknowledgement for millennia.

If at any moment you were made aware of something you didn't know previously, then we strongly encourage you to continue learning, actively, about the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. We offer our online modules as an easy starting point:

Now, our final ideas about the Land Acknowledgements are for those who are ready to build their own version. Here are our thoughts and lessons learned from the workshops we have delivered over the years.

We mentioned several times that this series is not intended to be the All-You-Need-To-Know about land acknowledgements, but rather the beginning. Here are some good sources to further educate yourself as you broaden your understanding as to the deeper meaning behind land acknowledgements, and as you begin the process of creating your own.

Good luck and enjoy your road toward reconciliation!!

We would like to thank you for your engagement and action in developing your personal Land Acknowledgement.

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As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its report in 2015 and many postsecondary institutions were reacting to the Calls to Action, the University of Saskatchewan had just unanimously passed a motion to adopt and use an official Land Acknowledgement: As we gather here today, we acknowledge we are on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.

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Time needed: 2 hours
Materials needed: Movie

A showing of an Indigenous documentary that celebrates Indigenous resilience and joy. Short discussion afterwards (15 minutes).

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Time needed: 2 hours
Materials needed: Factile

Categories could include...
- Indigenous law
- Indigenous calls to action
- Indigenous knowledge
- Indigenous peoples

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Indigenous representation in the media: Challenging stereotypes and putting an end to the "single story"

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Indigenous representation in the media: Challenging stereotypes and putting an end to the "single story"

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Time needed: 2 hours
Materials needed: Jamboard for writing down our thoughts; source material of archetypes/misrepresentations and nuanced representation

Exploring different Indigenous characters in historically prominent films and reflecting critically on their depictions. Compare and contrast characters written by non-Indigenous writers to those written by Indigenous writers.

Eg. The Real Story of Pocahontas; archetypes of the Indian Princess, the Native Warrior and the Noble Savage.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/34bdcbb62ba04aa2a63a2bdc1e8accab

https://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/aboriginal-people/common-portrayals-aboriginal-people

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A look at the different ways Indigenous misrepresentation has taken form, followed by a look at those making a difference.

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What does it mean to you?
- Rejecting terra nullius/doctrine of discovery (call to action)

How do we decolonize nature? (macro)

How do we decolonize nature? (micro)

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TBD

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30 books by Indigenous authors published in the past 5 years

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30 books by Indigenous authors published in the past 5 years

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Since 2020, we've been sharing lists of books by authors of colour for every new genre we read - and with our non-genre episodes, sharing lists for the genres we covered in our early episodes. The early episode we're creating a booklist for this month is Episode 009: Aboriginal / Indigenous / First Nations. Our booklist for this episode features works by Indigenous authors that have been published since that episode came out in 2016. All of the lists can be found here.
Fiction Non-Fiction Young Adult Picture Books Poetry Comics

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Book Club for Masochists: a Readers’ Advisory Podcast

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30 books by Indigenous authors published in the past 5 years

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Since 2020, we've been sharing lists of books by authors of colour for every new genre we read - and with our non-genre episodes, sharing lists for the genres we covered in our early episodes. The early episode we're creating a booklist for this month is Episode 009: Aboriginal / Indigenous / First Nations.

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How much do you know about Indigenous issues?

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How much do you know about Indigenous issues?

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"What kind of exercises do you do during the session?

We use a timeline where we put out the different pieces of legislation that were passed: the Gradual Civilization Act, the Indian Act, when Indigenous people were given the right to vote. We ask participants to put them in order, and they don't do a very good job.

What we're doing is instilling in people the idea that they don't know much about us. It's to encourage them to ask themselves: Where do my implicit biases come from? Most people don't have explicit biases – they don't mean to be racist. That's my belief, anyway."

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/why-u-t-s-office-indigenous-initiatives-offering-cultural-competency-training

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John Croutch is used to getting awkward, even insulting, questions about his heritage.

The son of an Ojibwe mother and German-Canadian father, he says he often hears offhand and hurtful remarks about Indigenous Peoples. He gets questions about his background that put him in the position of defending his Indigeneity. These comments aren't always mean-spirited, he says. More often than not, they stem from an ignorance of issues facing Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Croutch, who works out of the University of Toronto's Office of Indigenous Initiatives, wants to help fill in gaps in people's knowledge of Indigenous communities and help them recognize any implicit bias they may have. The office is beginning to lead day-long cultural competency training workshops across the university.

Croutch gave U of T News details of the workshop.
In a YouTube video, you speak about encountering bias. Can you tell me how you experienced it?
I grew up in Parry Sound but my reserve is Wikwemikong First Nation. I have an Indigenous mother - my mother is Ojibwe - and a German-Canadian father. My two brothers look like my mother. They look Indigenous. But I could pass for a European. As a result, I became privy to other people's racism. People, not knowing I am Indigenous, would say things in front of me about Indigenous Peoples. And these comments made me feel awful.

I was born in the 1960s when residential schools were still open. People openly said hurtful things about Indigenous people, especially women.
How did these remarks affect you?
You internalize the belief system that Indigenous people are inferior. And when people say, 'Well, you're not 100 per cent Indigenous,' that makes you feel inferior too. You have to constantly defend yourself and your Indigeneity.
What's the goal of the cultural competency workshop?
It's to make people realize that we all have different world views, different belief systems, different spiritual practices and different cultures. These differences don't make someone less than. In fact, diversity adds to the value of our society by bringing different ideas into the mix.
Who can take the workshop?
It's for anyone in the U of T community across the three campuses, including student groups. The ideal group size is 40 people. Those who are interested can email us at icct@utoronto.ca.
What's involved?
We cover as much as we can in a short period of time about the history of relationships with settler society. Over time that relationship changed from allies and trading partners to people who were forced off the land, put on reserves and eventually sent to residential schools to be assimilated. These prejudices and stereotypes have been embedded in Canadian structures and institutions.
What kind of exercises do you do during the session?
We use a timeline where we put out the different pieces of legislation that were passed: the Gradual Civilization Act, the Indian Act, when Indigenous people were given the right to vote. We ask participants to put them in order, and they don't do a very good job.

What we're doing is instilling in people the idea that they don't know much about us. It's to encourage them to ask themselves: Where do my implicit biases come from? Most people don't have explicit biases - they don't mean to be racist. That's my belief, anyway.
What are some of the most common questions you get?
The top one is: 'This all sounds so terrible. So what's the solution?' I say, 'Well, you're part of it. What we're doing today is a little piece of it.' But the solution is very complicated. I can't tell you in one paragraph what the solution is. We have to restructure all of our institutions, the way we think about Indigenous Peoples - and that's just the beginning.
How does the workshop fit within the broader context of truth and reconciliation in Canada?
What we have to understand about truth and reconciliation is that the truth part has to be learned and understood and respected before reconciliation can happen. And reconciliation, that's not our job. That's the rest of society's job. To gain the understanding and knowledge of the past and come to grips with why Indigenous people are in the socio-economic conditions they are in.
What are some additional resources you recommend for people who want to know more about Indigenous communities?
The Office of Indigenous Initiatives is going to put up a website soon with a list of resources.

In the meantime, there are lots of books out there. I think there's one here that's a nice primer [ he pulls The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King off the shelf]. It's written in an almost tongue-in-cheek fashion and I think that's what many people need as a primer. Something that's not too doom and gloom.

For other perspectives, I'd recommend Clearing the Plains by James Daschuk and Seven Fallen Feathers by Toronto Star journalist Tanya Talaga. These books all contain truths that Canadians need to know.

Without this knowledge, there can be no reconciliation.

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Why U of T's Office of Indigenous Initiatives is offering cultural competency training

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John Croutch is used to getting awkward, even insulting, questions about his heritage. The son of an Ojibwe mother and German-Canadian father, he says he often hears offhand and hurtful remarks about Indigenous Peoples. He gets questions about his background that put him in the position of defending his Indigeneity.

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https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/93028/the-inconvenient-indian-by-thomas-king/9780385664226

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The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King | Penguin Random House Canada

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"Fascinating, often hilarious, always devastatingly truthful, The Inconvenient Indian is destined to become a classic of historical narrative. For those who wish to better understand Native peoples, it is a must-read. For those who don't wish to understand, it is even more so." --Joseph Boyden

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https://uofrpress.ca/Books/C/Clearing-the-Plains

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Revealing how Canada's first Prime Minister used a policy of starvation against Indigenous people to clear the way for settlement, the multiple award-winning Clearing the Plains sparked widespread debate about genocide in Canada.

In arresting, but harrowing, prose, James Daschuk examines the roles that Old World diseases, climate, and, most disturbingly, Canadian politics-the politics of ethnocide-played in the deaths and subjugation of thousands of Indigenous people in the realization of Sir John A. Macdonald's "National Dream. "

It was a dream that came at great expense: the present disparity in health and economic well-being between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, and the lingering racism and misunderstanding that permeates the national consciousness to this day.

This new edition of Clearing the Plains has a foreword by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Elizabeth Fenn, an opening by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, and explanations of the book's influence by leading Canadian historians. Called "one of the most important books of the twenty-first century" by the Literary Review of Canada, it was named a "Book of the Year" by The Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire, the Writers' Trust, and won the Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, among many others.

" Clearing the Plains is a tour de force that dismantles and destroys the view that Canada has a special claim to humanity in its treatment of indigenous peoples. Daschuk shows how infectious disease and state-supported starvation combined to create a creeping, relentless catastrophe that persists to the present day. The prose is gripping, the analysis is incisive, and the narrative is so chilling that it leaves its reader stunned and disturbed. For days after reading it, I was unable to shake a profound sense of sorrow. This is fearless, evidence-driven history at its finest. " -Elizabeth A. Fenn, author of Pox Americana

"Required reading for all Canadians. " -Candace Savage, author of A Geography of Blood

"Clearly written, deeply researched, and properly contextualized history. ..Essential reading for everyone interested in the history of indigenous North America. " -J. R. McNeill, author of Mosquito Empires

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Revealing how Canada's first Prime Minister used a policy of starvation against Indigenous people to clear the way for settlement, the multiple award-winning Clearing the Plains sparked widespread debate about genocide in Canada.

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https://houseofanansi.com/products/seven-fallen-feathers

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"[A]n urgent and unshakable portrait of the horrors faced by Indigenous teens going to school in Thunder Bay, Ontario, far from their homes and families. . . . Talaga's incisive research and breathtaking storytelling could bring this community one step closer to the healing it deserves." - Booklist

"Talaga's research is meticulous and her journalistic style is crisp and uncompromising. . . . The book is heartbreaking and infuriating, both an important testament to the need for change and a call to action." - Publisher's Weekly

"What is happening in Thunder Bay is particularly destructive, but Talaga makes clear how Thunder Bay is symptomatic, not the problem itself. Recently shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction, Talaga's is a book to be justly infuriated by." - Globe and Mail

"Tanya Talaga investigates the deaths of seven Indigenous teens in Thunder Bay - Jethro Anderson, Curran Strang, Robyn Harper, Paul Panacheese, Reggie Bushie, Kyle Morrisseau, and Jordan Wabasse - searching for answers and offering a deserved censure to the authorities who haven't investigated, or considered the contributing factors, nearly enough." - National Post

"[W]here Seven Fallen Feathers truly shines is in Talaga's intimate retellings of what families experience when a loved one goes missing, from filing a missing-persons report with police, to the long and brutal investigation process, to the final visit in the coroner's office. It's a heartbreaking portrait of an indifferent and often callous system . . . Seven Fallen Feathers is a must-read for all Canadians. It shows us where we came from, where we're at, and what we need to do to make the country a better place for us all." - The Walrus

"This story is hard and harrowing, but Talaga tells it with the care of a storyteller and the factual attention of a journalist. She makes the difficult connections between this national tragedy and the greater colonial systems that have endangered our most vulnerable for over a century, and she does it all with a keen, compassionate eye for all involved, especially the families who are too often overlooked. These stories need to be heard. These young people deserve nothing less than to be honoured everywhere." - Katherena Vermette

"Seven Fallen Feathers may prove to be the most important book published in Canada in 2017. Tanya Talaga offers well-researched, difficult truths that expose the systemic racism, poverty, and powerlessness that contribute to the ongoing issues facing Indigenous youth, their families, and their communities. It is a call to action that deeply honours the lives of the seven young people; our entire nation should feel their loss profoundly." - Patti LaBoucane-Benson

"You simply must read this book. Tanya Talaga has done the hard work for us. She sat with the families, heard their stories. Now, with the keen eye and meticulous research of an uncompromising journalist, she is sharing their truths. We have to start listening. Parents are sending their children to school in Thunder Bay to watch them die. Racism, police indifference, bureaucratic ineptitude, lateral violence - it doesn't have to be this way. Let this book enrage you - and then demand that Canada act now." - Duncan McCue

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The groundbreaking and multiple award-winning national bestseller work about systemic racism, education, the failure of the policing and justice systems, and Indigenous rights by Tanya Talaga.Over the span of eleven years, seven Indigenous high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They were hundreds of kilomet