Indigenous Research Guide

This innovative picture book introduces readers to the concept of Etuaptmumk--or Two-Eyed Seeing, the gift of multiple perspectives in the Mi'kmaw language--as we follow a group of young children connecting to nature as their teacher.

Alex explains what Wampum belts are, and their significance with respect to treaties.

A little girls experience learning about treaties.

Drawing on Indigenous creation stories as well as on traditional teachings tied to birth, I Sang You Down From the Stars is at once culturally specific and universal in its appeal. The story takes inspiration from Spillett's cultural heritage and the Inniniwak belief (also believed among other Indigenous peoples) that babies choose their parents before they are born. Following a child on its journey from sky to earth, this simple, welcoming story offers parent and child a moving reminder of just how loved, valued and important a baby is, both within an individual family and in the wider community, through the creation of a traditional medicine bundle, gifted to a baby upon their birth. It is a story of love, giving, and belonging. An Indigenous women describes the love she has for her child, even before the child has entered the world, through the gathering and making of culturally and personally significant items (sage and cedar as winter medicines, a quilted star blanket, a "fluffy white eagle plume" collected under a shooting star, and so on) into a medicine bundle, to welcome the baby when they arrive. As these items are collected together, the mother/narrator (and reader)'s anticipation grows. When the baby is born, the mother describes the significance of each item in the medicine bundle, and when family members also "gather" together to welcome and celebrate them, she sees that the baby has also arrived with gifts of their own to offer the family, like a sacred bundle

Giizis--the sun--rises. What's hiding in the trees? It's a Mitig! guides young readers through the forest while introducing them to Ojibwe words for nature. From sunup to sundown, encounter an amik playing with sticks and swimming in the river, a prickly gaag hiding in the bushes and a big, bark-covered mitig. Featuring vibrant and playful artwork, an illustrated Ojibwe-to-English glossary and a simple introduction to the double-vowel pronunciation system, plus accompanying online recordings, It's a Mitig! is one of the first books of its kind. It was created for young children and their families with the heartfelt desire to spark a lifelong interest in learning language.

An Anishinaabe child and her grandmother explore the natural wonders of each season in this lyrical, bilingual story-poem. In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings. We accompany them through warm summer days full of wildflowers, bees and blueberries, then fall, when bears feast before hibernation and forest mushrooms are ripe for harvest. Winter mornings begin in darkness as deer, mice and other animals search for food, while spring brings green shoots poking through melting snow and the chirping of peepers. Brittany Luby and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley have created a book inspired by childhood memories of time spent with Knowledge Keepers, observing and living in relationship with the natural world in the place they call home -- the northern reaches of Anishinaabewaking, around the Great Lakes.

A boy and Moshom, his grandpa, take a trip together to visit a place of great meaning to Moshom. A trapline is where people hunt and live off the land, and it was where Moshom grew up. As they embark on their northern journey, the child repeatedly asks his grandfather, 'Is this your trapline?' Along the way, the boy finds himself imagining what life was like two generations ago - a life that appears to be both different from and similar to his life now.

A Nov/Dec Loan Stars Jr Top Ten Pick 2021! A Blue Spruce Award nominee 2021! When the world gets too loud and chaotic, a young boy's grandfather helps him listen with wonder instead.    Kids laughing, sneakers squeaking, balls bouncing--for Thunder, the sounds of the school day often brew into overwhelming noise storms. But when Thunder's mosom asks him what he hears on an urban nature walk, Thunder starts to understand how sounds like bird wings flapping and rushing water can help him feel calm and connected. Gentle, inviting illustrations by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley emphasize Mosom's lessons about the healing power of the world around us.

Water is the first medicine.It affects and connects us all.Water is sacred. My people talk of a black snake that will destroy the land, Spoil the water, wreck everything in its path.They foretold that it wouldn't come for many, many years.Now the black snake is here.Told from the perspective of a Native American child, this bold and lyrical picture book written by Ojibwe/Métis author Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade is a powerful call to action to defend Earth's natural resources--inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and similar movements led by Indigenous tribes all across North America.