Aboriginal, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Books
By Top Grade
Dreaming in Indian
A highly-acclaimed anthology about growing up Native—now in paperback.
*Best Books of 2014, American Indians in Children’s Literature *Best Book of 2014, Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature *2015 USBBY Outstanding International Book Honor List
A collection truly universal in its themes, Dreaming in Indian will shatter commonly held stereotypes about Native peoples and offers readers a unique insight into a community often misunderstood and misrepresented by the mainstream media.
N …
Fatty Legs
Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential schools. At school Margaret soon encounters the Raven, a black-cloaked nun with a hooked nose and bony fingers that resemble claws. She immediately dislikes the strong-willed young Margaret. Intending to …
When I Was Eight
Bestselling memoir Fatty Legs for younger readers.
Olemaun is eight and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. Ignoring her father’s warnings, she travels far from her Arctic home to the outsiders’ school to learn.
The nuns at the school call her Margaret. They cut off her long hair and force her to do menial chores, but she remains undaunted. Her tenacity draws the attention of a black-cloaked nun who tries to break her spirit at every turn. But the young girl is more deter …
Broken Circle
Now an approved curriculum resource for grade 9–12 students in British Columbia and Manitoba.
Theodore (Ted) Fontaine lost his family and freedom just after his seventh birthday, when his parents were forced to leave him at an Indian residential school by order of the Roman Catholic Church and the Government of Canada. Twelve years later, he left school frozen at the emotional age of seven. He was confused, angry and conflicted, on a path of self-destruction. At age 29, he emerged from this b …
