Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Literary Collections Native American

Manitowapow

Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water

edited by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair & Warren Cariou

foreword by Beatrice Mosionier

Publisher
Portage & Main Press
Initial publish date
Jan 2012
Category
Native American, Prairie Provinces (AB, MB, SK), Canadian
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781553793076
    Publish Date
    Jan 2012
    List Price
    $35.00

Add it to your shelf

Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 15 to 18
  • Grade: 9 to 12

Description

In the middle of the continent, where waterways and rivers gather in immense lakes, many different peoples have met, lived, and thrived. Travel back through the millennia and forward to the present day to gain a dynamic picture of a territory interconnected through words, ideas, and experiences.

From one page to the next, readers will discover writings from historically significant figures, literary works by well-known writers, nonfiction and political pieces by Indigenous leaders, contributions by storytellers and Knowledge Keepers from far-reaching Manitoba communities, as well as new and vibrant voices that express contemporary Indigenous experiences.

Beginning with traditional writing systems, Manitowapow shares diverse Indigenous perspectives and histories, from the late 1700s through to the present day in what is now Manitoba.

Created in the spirit of the Anishinaabe concept debwe—to speak the truth—The Debwe Series is a collection of exceptional Indigenous writing from across Canada. Manitowapow, a one-of-a-kind anthology, is the first book in The Debwe Series.

About the authors

Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe, originally from St. Peter's (Little Peguis) Indian Settlement. He is an assistant professor in the departments of English and Native Studies at the University of Manitoba. His essays, articles, and short stories have appeared in books and journals throughout Turtle Island. In 2009, he co-edited (with Renate Eigenbrod) a double issue of The Canadian Journal of Native Studies (#29; 1 & 2) and was a featured author in The Exile Book of Native Canadian Fiction and Drama, edited by Daniel David Moses (2011). His upcoming book Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water (co-edited with Warren Cariou) is an anthology of Manitoba Aboriginal writing from the past three centuries (Portage & Main Press). Another, Centering Anishinaabeg Studies (co-edited with Jill Doerfler and Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark), is a collection of critical and creative works on Anishinaabeg story (Michigan State University Press). A former high-school drama and language arts teacher, Niigaan has authored a number of teachers' guides for Portage & Main Press. He currently lives in Winnipeg, where he is completing his PhD in Anishinaabeg literatures and traditional expression.

Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair's profile page

Warren Cariou was born in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, into a family of mixed Métis and European heritage. He has written many articles about Canadian Aboriginal literature, especially on Métis culture and storytelling, and he has published two books: a collection of novellas, The Exalted Company of Roadside Martyrs (1999) and a memoir/cultural history, Lake of the Prairies: A Story of Belonging (2002). He has also co-directed and co-produced two films about Aboriginal people in western Canada’s oil sands region: Overburden and Land of Oil and Water. Cariou has won and been nominated for numerous awards. His most acclaimed work to date, Lake of the Prairies, won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize in 2002 and was shortlisted for the Charles Taylor Prize for literary nonfiction in 2004. His films have screened at many national and international film festivals, including Hot Docs, ImagineNative, and the San Francisco American Indian Film Festival. Cariou has also served as editor for several books, including an anthology of Aboriginal literature, W’daub Awae: Speaking True (2010), and he is the fiction co-editor of Prairie Fire. Cariou is a Canada Research Chair in Narrative, Community and Indigenous Cultures at the University of Manitoba, where he also directs the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture.

Warren Cariou's profile page

Beatrice Mosionier (formerly Culleton) was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba. The youngest of four children, she grew up in foster homes. Following the second suicide in her family, she decided to write a novel. First published in 1983, In Search of April Raintree has become a Canadian Classic.Mosionier's second novel is In the Shadow of Evil, now a re-edited version. A psychological thriller with many plot twists, it tells the story of a Metis woman, Christine, and of her experiences of prejudice, sexual abuse and foster homes in Canada. Her story is juxtaposed by the life struggles of a family of wolves at the fictional Shadow Lake. As with much of her works, this novel focuses on themes of self-forgiveness, power, healing, and how one must deal with the past before moving forward effectively.She has also written children's books, including Unusual Friendships: A Little Black Cat and a Little White Rat. Her most recent work is Come Walk with Me: A Memoir. Beatrice lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Beatrice Mosionier's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Rich with prose, poetry, and historical events, [this book would be] invaluable in Native studies, literature, and history courses, as well as for the general reader.

Beatrice Mosionier

These are voices that need to be heard and read. These are the foundations of our culture, foundations which have grown from generation to generation into the imagination and intellect of today. Of the today we will share.

John Ralston Saul

Manitowapow is a must-read, not only for all of Manitobans, but for all Canadians. It brings to life the history and experiences of one of the most beautiful places in the world through images, words, and stories of people who draw their lives from the land and water here. Our home is a storied place. This book tells this story, completing a chapter of history rarely told in books and classrooms.

Phil Fontaine

Other titles by

Clearing the Plains

Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Indigenous Life

by (author) James Daschuk
read by J.D. Nicholsen
foreword by Elizabeth A. Fenn
prologue by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

This Place

150 Years Retold

by (author) Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, David A. Robertson, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Richard Van Camp, katherena vermette & Chelsea Vowel
illustrated by Jen Storm, Tara Audibert, Kyle Charles, G.M.B. Chomichuk, Natasha Donovan, Scott B. Henderson, Andrew Lodwick, Scott A. Ford, Donovan Yaciuk & Ryan Howe
foreword by Alicia Elliott

Impact

Colonialism in Canada

edited by katherena vermette, Warren Cariou & Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Indigenous Men and Masculinities

Legacies, Identities, Regeneration

edited by Robert Alexander Innes & Kim Anderson
interviewee Warren Cariou, Daniel Heath Justice, Gregory Scofield, William Kahalepuna Richards & Thomas Ka’auwai Kaulukukui
contributions by Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Brendan Hokowhitu, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Sam McKegney, Bob Antone, Phillip Borell, Kimberly Minor, Richard Van Camp, Scott L. Morgensen, Robert Henry, Allison Piché, Sasha Sky, Leah Sneider, Erin Sutherland, John Swift, Lisa Tatonetti & Lloyd L. Lee

Masculindians

Conversations about Indigenous Manhood

edited by Sam McKegney
interviewee Joseph Boyden, Tomson Highway, Lee Maracle, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Basil H. Johnston, Daniel David Moses, Louise Bernice Halfe, Taiaiake Alfred, Janice C. Hill, Kim Anderson, Thomas Kimeksun Thrasher, Brendan Hokowhitu, Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Warren Cariou, Alison Calder, Daniel Heath Justice, Adrian Stimson, Terrance Houle, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Richard Van Camp, Joanne Arnott, Neal McLeod & Gregory Scofield
cover design or artwork by Dana Claxton

Centering Anishinaabeg Studies

Understanding the World Through Stories

edited by Jill Doerfler, Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark & Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Teacher's Guide for 7 Generations series

by (author) Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Other titles by

Elements of Indigenous Style

A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples

by (author) Gregory Younging
edited by Warren Cariou

mahikan ka onot

The Poetry of Duncan Mercredi

by (author) Duncan Mercredi
edited by Warren Cariou

Impact

Colonialism in Canada

edited by katherena vermette, Warren Cariou & Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Indigenous Men and Masculinities

Legacies, Identities, Regeneration

edited by Robert Alexander Innes & Kim Anderson
interviewee Warren Cariou, Daniel Heath Justice, Gregory Scofield, William Kahalepuna Richards & Thomas Ka’auwai Kaulukukui
contributions by Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Brendan Hokowhitu, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Sam McKegney, Bob Antone, Phillip Borell, Kimberly Minor, Richard Van Camp, Scott L. Morgensen, Robert Henry, Allison Piché, Sasha Sky, Leah Sneider, Erin Sutherland, John Swift, Lisa Tatonetti & Lloyd L. Lee

Masculindians

Conversations about Indigenous Manhood

edited by Sam McKegney
interviewee Joseph Boyden, Tomson Highway, Lee Maracle, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Basil H. Johnston, Daniel David Moses, Louise Bernice Halfe, Taiaiake Alfred, Janice C. Hill, Kim Anderson, Thomas Kimeksun Thrasher, Brendan Hokowhitu, Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Warren Cariou, Alison Calder, Daniel Heath Justice, Adrian Stimson, Terrance Houle, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Richard Van Camp, Joanne Arnott, Neal McLeod & Gregory Scofield
cover design or artwork by Dana Claxton

Execution

by (author) Colin McDougall
afterword by Warren Cariou

W'daub Awae, Speaking True

A Kegedonce Press Anthology

edited by Warren Cariou
by (author) Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm & Daniel Justice

West of Eden

Essays on Canadian Prairie Literature

introduction by Sue Sorensen
foreword by Warren Cariou

Lake of the Prairies

A Story of Belonging

by (author) Warren Cariou

Exalted Company Of Roadside Martyrs, The

by (author) Warren Cariou

Other titles by