June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to celebrate and recognize the rich history, heritage, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. We strive to include Indigenous perspectives on grief, death and life in our collection, starting with these titles. See also Canadian Virtual Hospice’s resources.
The Berry pickers / Amanda Peters
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Ruthie, their youngest child, is seen sitting at the edge of a field before vanishing. In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as an only child in an affluent family. Norma senses there is something her parents aren’t telling her. *Depicts intimate partner violence Ch. 9*
Birdsong / Julie Flett
When a young girl moves from the country to a small town, she feels lonely and out of place. But soon she meets an elderly woman next door, who shares her love of arts and crafts. Can the girl navigate the changing seasons and failing health of her new friend? An activity guide is available at greystonebooks.com for FREE download.
Grampy’s Chair / Rebecca Thomas, Coco Lynge (Illustrator)
A heartwarming story about lifelong love and loss told from the perspective of a grandfather’s favorite chair. Grampy’s chair sits in the middle of his living room and always keeps an eye on My Love. As My Love grows up, The Chair sees Grampy grow older and My Love must care for him. One day Grampy is gone. Will The Chair see My Love again? A poignant story inspired by Rebecca’s own grandfather.
Indigenous healing: Exploring traditional paths / Rupert Ross
Imagine a world in which people see themselves as embedded in the natural order, with ethical responsibilities not only toward one another, but also toward rocks, trees, water and all nature. Imagine seeing yourself not as a master of Creation, but as the most humble, dependent and vulnerable part.
Laughing with the Trickster: On sex, death, and accordions / Tomson Highway
Highway brings his signature irreverence to an exploration of five themes central to the human condition: language, creation, sex and gender, humour, and death. Comparative analysis of Christian, classical, and Cree mythologies reveals their contributions to Western thought, life, and culture–and how Indigenous mythologies provide unique, timeless solutions to our modern problems.
Little you / Richard Van Camp
Richard Van Camp has partnered with talented illustrator Julie Flett to create a tender board book for babies and toddlers that honors the child in everyone. With its delightful contemporary illustrations, Little You is perfect to be shared, read or sung to all the little people in your life–and the new little ones on the way!
The Reason you walk / Wab Kinew
When his father was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer, Winnipeg broadcaster and musician Wab Kinew decided to spend a year reconnecting with the accomplished but distant aboriginal man who’d raised him. The Reason You Walk spans the year 2012, chronicling painful moments in the past and celebrating renewed hopes and dreams for the future.
Tending grief: Embodied rituals for holding our sorrow and growing cultures of care in community / Camille Sapara Barton
This take on grief speaks directly to the ways that BIPOC and queer readers disproportionately experience unique constellations of loss. Deeply practical and easy to use in times of confusion, trauma, and pain, it includes rituals, reflection prompts, and exercises that help us process and metabolize our grief-without bypassing or pushing aside what comes to the fore.
Trudy’s healing stone / Trudy Spiller, Jessika von Innertner (Illustrator)
Everyone gets sad, angry, frustrated and disappointed. Difficult emotions are a natural part of life. In this book, Trudy’s Healing Stone, Trudy Spiller shares a special teaching about a practice that anyone can use to help them process their feelings with the help of Mother Earth.
Walking together / Elder Albert D. Marshall, Louise Zimanyi, Emily Kewageshig (Illustrator)
Introduces readers to the concepts of Etuaptmumk–or Two-Eyed Seeing and Netukulimk – protecting Mother Earth. teacher. A joyful celebration as spring unfolds: we await Robin’s return, listen for Frog’s croaking, and wonder at Maple tree’s gift of sap. Nurtures respectful, reciprocal, relationships with the Land and Water, plants, animals and other-than-human beings.
What god is honored here? Writings on miscarriage and infant loss by and for Native women and women of color / Shannon Gibney, Kao Kalia Yang (Eds.)
In its heartbreaking beauty, this book offers an integral perspective on how culture and religion, spirit and body, unite in the reproductive lives of women of color and Indigenous women as they bear witness to loss, search for what is not there, and claim for themselves and others their fundamental humanity.
When the owl calls your name / Alan Syliboy
“The Owl Song” by Alan Syliboy & the Thundermakers is now a gorgeously illustrated book for all ages, exploring Mi’kmaw spirituality, life and death. They say when the Owl calls your name that the Creator is calling you home. And when the owl comes to you, he sits and waits until your final breath Then your journey home to the ancestors begins.
With our orange hearts / Phyllis Webstad, Emily Kewageshig (Illustrator)
Listening is a first step towards reconciliation. It’s never too early to start. “Every child matters, including you and me. With our orange hearts, we walk in harmony.” As a young child, your little world can be full of big feelings. Phyllis Webstad, founder of Orange Shirt Day, shows how sharing her true story with the world helped her process her feelings, and encourages young children to open their hearts too.