Week 1: Weekly Challenge

An indigenous author whose work I love is Rosanna Deerchild who is a cree women whose poetry which talks about the topics of residential schools and the related intergenerational trauma is extremely powerful. 

Cherie Dimaline is an Indigenous author I enjoy tremendously. I love reading fantasy, particularly fantasy derived from cultural folklore or with allusion to historical events. Her YA dystopian series (The Marrow Thieves) fused elements of colonialism and genocide into a teen character driven storyline that would appeal to young readers. In her adult novel,  Empire of Wild, Dimaline took the Metis folklore of the rougarou and transformed it into an interesting, fantastical mystery. I enjoy her books because they are entertaining and informative. 

This was the first novel I have read by an Indigenous author.  Danielle Daniel tells the story of a woman of the Algonquin Weskarini Deer Clan.  I was drawn to this author and story because it sheds light on the treatment of  the French Catholic settlers on the Indigenous people.  

Katherena Vermette, who identifies as Red River Métis, is the first Canadian author of Indigenous origin I ever had the opportunity to read. I love how she portrays in her stories the brutal reality Indigenous people live through everyday, along with the things they love and stand for. Her work opened my eyes to a part of reality I didn't know before. Most of Katherena's characters are women which is amazing as well, since their perspective is valuable and necessary for things to change and get better.

Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomi) is my absolute favorite. She is an ecologist and all her books are a mixture of Indigenous wisdom, environmental science, and reflections on how these two things can add to each other. She also adds in a bit of her biography. I enjoy her books since I love philosophy and natural sciences and I am also deeply interested in Indigenous knowledge, traditions, and perception of the world. So, it is a perfect author for me.

Emily Pauline Johnson is an Indigenous Canadian Poet who lived from 1861 – to 1913.  Her work is powerful and described the lives of her community. I enjoy her work as she discusses family, religion, and the horrific events of their land being invaded. I enjoy her work as being raised in the Canadian public school I feel we did not talk enough about indigenous lives and their culture. Learning through poetry from someone who lived through it helps me have a better understanding and appreciation of their lives and what it means for me to be a Canadian living where they used to live. 

Angeline Boulley is an Ojibwe author and her novel, FireKeeper's Daughter was one of my favourite reads of the past year. She has experience in Indigenous Education and worked with the US Department of Education as the Director on Indigenous Education. 

Her story has stuck with me for the past year and will be adapted for Netflix! 

I was first introduced to the plays of Tomson Highway when I took a Modern Canadian Literature Class at the University of Alberta. I was mesmerized by his characters' lives on The Res, which were so very different from mine.

I was thrilled to see he had a new book out, Permanent Astonishment, a memoir of his brother, René. While I'm still working through it, I was hooked by page 3! I can hardly think of a better title for this book. I am permanently astonished on every page. I first had a library copy but have now bought my own.

She is amazing, I love some of her books. Rosanna Deerchild  is a Cree women whose poetry  talks about the residential schools  is great 

Phyllis’s Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwepemc author who started the orange shirt day and Every Child Matters movement. Although a childrens book, watching her interviews and the story behind the story is deeply moving. 

Angeline Boulley is Ojibwe (Sault Ste-Marie) and her novel, Firekeeper's Daughter is my most recent indigenous read. The story is great and lingered in my mind for a long time. This would be an awesome novel to study in a high school ELA class. I thoroughly recommend it!

For this challenge I decided to research some Indigenous Brazilian authors. I was born in Brazil in 1982, lived in Chicago from 1997-2000, and immigrated to Canada in 2000. Much like Canada and the U.S.A., Brazil is also a colonized nation (by the Portuguese). Many indigenous people have suffered—and still suffer—in Brazil. The stripping and re-selling of their culture is a sad reality.

One of the most famous characters in Brazilian folklore, "Saci Pererê," is recognized widely in Brazil as the creation of Monteiro Lobato, a non-indigenous author whose life and work are deeply concerning in terms of racism and discrimination. In reality, "Saci Pererê" is actually an indigenous character from the Guarani tribe, as the Brazilian Indigenous author Olivio Jekupe explains. Here is his blog (it's in Portuguese): https://oliviojekupe.blogspot.com/

Richard Wagamese is an indigenous author who fascinates me. Wagamese is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) novelist, journalist, and mentor. 

Wagamese is one of the first indigenous authors that I read. He fascinates me because his works speak about the historical and contemporary socio-economic issues affecting Indigenous communities in Canada. They also bring attention to issues regarding Indigenous identity, culture and truth and reconciliation. I think that these issues are so important and Wagamese presents them in an interesting and engaging manner. 

The first book novel I read by him was Ragged Company. I plan to read all of his works in the next couple of years. 

For this challenge, I chose Joshua Whitehead. He's a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation and author of the Jonny Appleseed. I'm always up for queer stories, so when I heard about Jonny Appleseed, I knew I needed to read it. It's powerful and visceral, and I'm looking forward to reading more from him. 

I read Five Little Indians this winter. It is about 5 young children taken from their families and placed in residential schools. It follow them through to young adulthood and shows how each uniquely responded to the distance from their families and how it affected their life and choices. If anyone has difficulty understanding generational trauma, this book explains the harsh realities. I highly recommend it with the warning, it is not easy to read emotionally.

I chose Jesse Wente for this challenge. Mr. Wente was a guest speaker at a Youth Justice Anti-Racism Symposium I attended through work and he also recently spoke at KFPL. He is an Ojibwe member of Serpent River First Nation and author of Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance. Reading the stories from his life were both heart-wrenching and inspiring.

An Indigenous author I have been following is John Borrows who is born in 1963 and identifies with the Anishinaabe community. He is a law professor and storyteller who writes books addressing constitutional law and Indigenous traditions and legal rights. I have not seen an author like him before so his work intrigues me very much. While he is not known to write traditional stories, his work really aims at shining the light on real issues in Indigenous communities. 

An Indeginous author that fascinates me is David Robertson. In his book "When We Were Alone", I like the way that he explains such a difficult moment in history in a way that even children can understand. Furthermore, I appreciate that he doesn't shy away from using words from his people's language, which makes the story even more enjoyable. Robertson is part of the Norway House Cree Nation. 

Joséphine Bacon is an Innu poet who writes in French and in innu-aimun. I read her anthology Bâtons à message when I was in my undergrad. The poetry was short, simple but potent, and I enjoyed the focus on family relationships and on education. 

http://memoiredencrier.com/batons-a-message-tshissinuatshitakana-josephine-bacon/

I am newly 18 so I have mostly read and continue to read Y.A. books. One of my favourites is the Witch King by H.E. Edgmon. Below is a their synopsis from his website.

H.E. Edgmon (he/they) is a questionable influence, a dog person, and an author of books both irreverent and radicalizing. Born and raised in the rural south, he currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his eccentric little family. His stories imagine Indigenous worlds and center queer kids saving each other. H.E. has never once gotten enough sleep and probably isn’t going to anytime soon. His highly acclaimed THE WITCH KING duology is out now. You can keep up with his work on Goodreads.

In their books they really focus on joy. Queer joy, trans joy, black joy, indigenous joy, pagan joy. They are the heroes and rulers in his story. They aren't waiting for someone to save them in these fantasy stories, they save themselves and others. It focuses the importance of found family and also has some Rez humour mixed in which is cool. Edgmon grew up in the foster care system and as such doesn't note what nation he is from but he currently lives in Seminole Texas and they identify as native American 

I can name three indigineous authors. I like the poetry written by Richard Waganese (Ojibway). I read a social/story-telling history by Lee Maracle that I found very profound. I also really liked her writing style, easy to read and sink into. I do not remember what first-nations community she is a part of. Finally, I enjoyed two books by Joseph Boyden, who I think is metis? Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce, both had scenes that have remained vivid in my mind for years.

The Marrow Thieves was one of my absolute faves! The YA dystopian genre is one I love and this story was a wonderful balance of hard painful truth and optimism. 

Cherie Dimaline is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario (Georgian Bay Métis Nation) 

Cherie Dimaline is a writer I found from the Georgian Bay Métis Nation, a part of Métis Nation of Ontario. She has written many incredible books like the Empire of the Wild. She is very talented, and I have to say one of my favourite authors to this day. Her written work is so vivid and detailed that you enjoy reading every chapter. 

I have read Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga, and appreciated her writing style and the picture she painted with her words. She is Ojibwe from Fort William First Nation. As well as Seven Fallen Feathers she's also written All Our Relations: Finding A Path Forward.