• Age: 16
• Grade: 11

A beautifully drawn comic book inspired by Japanese manga and Indigenous art and legend

This powerful story about a brave hummingbird shares a message of environmental stewardship

Hummingbirds have long been a symbol of wisdom and courage. In this breathtaking book, a hummingbird makes a valiant effort to put out a raging fire that threatens her forest home. She makes many trips over the burning woodland because her tiny beak can only hold one drop of water at a time. Her efforts show the other creatures in the forest that doing something—anything—is better than doing nothing at all. Will they join her in her fight to save their home?

The hummingbird parable, which originates with the Quechuan people of South America, has become a talisman for environmentalists and activists worldwide committed to making meaningful change. This retelling, enlivened by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ fabulous Haida-Manga illustrations, is suitable for all ages of would-be activists. Although environmental responsibility often seems like an overwhelming task, The Flight of the Hummingbird shows how easy it is to start and how great the effect could be if everyone just did what they could.

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is the creator of Haida Manga, a distinctive fusion of pop graphics, Haida art and Japanese comic styles. His books include A Tale of Two Shamans; Flight of the Hummingbird, with an afterword by the Dalai Lama;Hachidori, a bestseller in Japan; and Red: A Haida Manga nominated for a BC Book Award, a Doug Wright Award for Best Book, and a 2010 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Cartoonist. RED was an Amazon.ca Top 100 book of 2009. Yahgulanaas is also a sculptor and graphic artist whose work is in the collections of the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver International Airport, City of Vancouver, City of Kamloops and University of British Columbia. He pulls from his 20 years of political experience in the Council of the Haida Nation and travels the world speaking to businesses, institutions and communities about social justice, community building, communication and change management. For more, see mny.ca. Yahgulanaas lives on an island in the Salish Sea, with his wife and daughter.

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas' profile page

The Dalai Lama's profile page

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Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She holds a BSc from the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and a Masters degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. She would become the first Eastern African woman to earn a doctorate, when in 1971 she was granted a Doctorate of Anatomy from the University of Nairobi. In the 1970s, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. Maathai served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya from 2003-2005.

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Wangari Maathai's profile page

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment

The hummingbird parable, with origins in the Quechuan people of South America and the Haida of the North Pacific, has become a mascot for environmentalists and ecologists. The determined hummingbird does everything she can to put out a raging fire that threatens her forest home. The hummingbird—a symbol of wisdom and courage—demonstrates that doing something, no matter how small, is better than doing nothing at all. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Kenya who launched the Green Belt Movement, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama embrace the parable.

Yahgulanaas developed a new art genre, Haida Manga. He is an activist for social justice issues on his home islands of Haida Gwaii.

Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment

The hummingbird parable, with origins in the Quechuan people of South America and the Haida of the North Pacific, has become a mascot for environmentalists and ecologists. The determined hummingbird does everything she can to put out a raging fire that threatens her forest home. The hummingbird—a symbol of wisdom and courage—demonstrates that doing something, no matter how small, is better than doing nothing at all. Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Kenya who launched the Green Belt Movement, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama embrace the parable.

Yahgulanaas developed a new art genre, Haida Manga. He is an activist for social justice issues on his home islands of Haida Gwaii.