First Nation, Métis, and Inuit
Literature Units
English Language Arts
Pamîstâkêwin
(Cree word for service)
Sherryl A. Maglione, M.Ed
P.O. Box 1
Chemainus, B.C.
V0R 1K0
shermaglione@yahoo.com
250.324.3378 – home
250.324.3429 – fax
Why Indigenize the English Language Arts
Curriculum?
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Recognize and validate a variety of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit groups.
Create a community of learners in the school.
Students become goal-oriented through process rather than product.
Learn how the provincial English Language Arts curriculum works – unpack it – make it
a living document through the literature.
Empower students through success.
To introduce students to a wide variety of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit authors and
literature.
To encourage First Nation students to critically examine First Nation, Métis, and Inuit
literature from social, economic, historical, and modern perspectives in order to
understand the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit identity.
To familiarize students with identifying their personal learning styles through text, visual
forms, experiential learning opportunities, and cooperative learning activities.
To link First Nation, Métis, and Inuit literature with interdisciplinary subjects.
To form in students an appreciation of their unique culture within the framework of
Turtle Island, cultural history, past and present issues, challenges and opportunities,
political process.
To ensure that students maintain the understanding and connection between The Seven
Teachings and the language arts texts they will experience.
To create lifelong learning and attitudes and behaviors in students.
To provide First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students with positive role models through
literature, film, non-fiction, theatre, and poetry.
To encourage positive risk-taking by experiencing a variety of activities students have
read about, researched, seen others perform, and creatively form according to their
individual style.
Promote positive attitude toward school and learning – get excited about learning!
Encourage exploration of national and international First Nation, Métis, and Inuit
literature, film, and indigenous issues (colonialism, genocide, justice, education, politics,
history, and widening cultural knowledge).
Increase student self-esteem.
To encourage students to seek out the Elders in the community and take advantage of
their experiences by listening, asking questions, helping, and ultimately passing on this
knowledge.
Increase literacy.
Increase retention rate.
Increase graduation numbers.
Encourage and support post-secondary choices.
Support the proliferation of future First Nation, Métis, and Inuit artists and authors.
Help students build identity
Teach students about First Nation, Métis, and Inuit history.
First Nation, Métis, and Inuit
Literature Units
Student Testimonials
Having Aboriginal literature is important for a Native school to have,
especially our school. It makes the books and its contents more relatable and
therefore more enjoyable. Students are more likely to do their school work if they
can relate to it as they understand it better. That I know for sure. They can also
see the world and its many views and opinions through the eyes of an Aboriginal
person. That’s exactly what students need. There’s enough literature that sees
things through the eyes of non-Aboriginal people. I enjoyed April Raintree the
most because it takes place here in Manitoba, so it’s a lot easier to relate to. The
problems and issues contained in the book are easy for me to understand and are
relatable to Aboriginals more so than to non-Aboriginal people. I liked it because
of that. There were also a lot of events that I didn’t expect that happened, so it
kept me interested in it. I also liked the fact that the characters are sisters and it
shows the connection they have, yet it shows the many differences they could have
as well. It reminds me of my own sister as we’ve started to become different in a
lot more ways than I thought was possible. This book taught me that I should
never break that sister bond with her because I’ll regret it like April did. It also
shows how important your sister is and that I can definitely relate to.
T.S. – 19 years – Grade 12 female student
I have to say I liked Dance Me Outside and The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-time Indian. I enjoyed Dance Me Outside because I know some people that
can relate to it. I like how W.P. Kinsella wrote it so that it seemed like Silas
couldn’t write properly. It’s pretty cool how they try to get their revenge, but out
of nowhere, Sadie ends up doing it for them. It’s pretty legit because it’s based on
‘rez life’. Though there are a lot of good Native books out there, this is by far the
greatest. In Dance Me Outside, I liked both Silas and Frank’s characters. Though
they are both not alike at all, they still find friendship. It’s obvious that my best
friend and me can relate to that. All in all, I liked this book. The other one I liked
was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. I liked this book because the
guy who wrote it seems pretty straightforward. I really like people like that. He
had to deal with a lot of stuff in his life. He makes it seem pretty easy to overcome
some of life’s terrible obstacles. I would never be able to do so. He turned most of
his life into a book and I really respect that. I also like his way of talking. You
could just imagine a really cheesy Native voice narrating the whole story.
Sherman Alexie seems like a nice guy. It would be nice to meet him in real life.
This is one of the coolest books that I have ever read.
A.W. – 15 years – Grade 9 female student
One of my favorite books this year was The Absolutely True Diary of a Parttime Indian. My second favorite one was The Night Wanderer. I think it’s
important to read Native literature in the school because we can relate to the book
and we can also understand the book better. In other schools, they don’t read
Native books. Some parts of The Absolutely True Diary, I could relate to. Some
of those things that happened to Junior happened to me. But yeah, it’s pretty
important to read books about Natives. I also enjoyed these books because one
was funny and the other one was really interesting – an Aboriginal vampire – who
thought of that!? I found that book quite interesting and quite frankly, I liked that
book a lot. That’s all I can write because my hand really hurts and my brain, too.
S.P. – 15 – Grade 9 female student
My opinion about First Nation literature in ELA is that it is one of the most
amazing classes I’ve experienced because I’m not just learning about the
curriculum the province wants students to learn, but I’m also learning what many
Native authors, artists, etc., are doing and it’s really been quite an experience as I
learn things about my people and other Native cultures throughout Canada. As
well, it makes class more fun and gets students more involved because I’m pretty
sure the students within this school want to learn more about their culture and other
Native cultures throughout Canada.
B.W. – age 16 – Grade 10 male student
I like the literature we’ve been reading. I can relate to almost every novel
we read. It sort of makes me listen more often, because before Miss Mags’ class, I
had never read a novel by a Native American author. It really helped me in school
because it’s easier to answer questions you relate to. My favorite Native novel was
the James Tyman book (Inside Out). It really gave me an inside look at how lucky
I am to not be raised like him. This literature should also be used in provincial
schools, I think, because they contain important topics never discussed.
R.P. – age 16 – Grade 11 male student
I think that First Nation literature taught to Aboriginal kids gives them a
peace of mind of how other Aboriginals think and I think that some of the literature
can teach some kids not to live like how other Aboriginal people are living.
Sometimes teaching Aboriginal literature to Aboriginal students can be
inspirational and change the picture of how some students view Aboriginal ways of
living. The best piece of literature I enjoyed was April Raintree because I liked the
way the story made their lives seem hard and troubling. Their home life resembled
the way my brother and I grew up as kids. We were about the same ages they were
and we always stuck beside each other, no matter what. I also really enjoyed this
book because it was mostly a true story with two characters telling the life of one
person.
J.F. – 16 years, Grade 11 male student
The literature that I have really enjoyed was the reading because a lot of
books we read were Native books. They were all based on true stories and events
that actually took place near where we live. I liked these because they were Native
related and I didn’t know about some of them. It’s also like history class because I
am learning about how the world is and about what has taken place with our
people. The books that we did were interesting and always made me want to read
more. I like the choices of books she decided to make us read.
N.W. – 18 years, Grade 12 male student
I really enjoyed April Raintree because it taught me a lot about different
types of situations Native people had to face while they were in foster care.
Another book I really loved is The Rez Sisters. Those were some crazy sisters.
The book taught me I could use my imagination to do whatever I want. I want to
make up a book, too. I’ll call it the “S.H. – Tales From Within”. Also, I would
like to say I loved the book Skins. The book has a lot more meaning than the
movie. The book just sends a good, clear message about Aboriginal people and
how they have struggled.
S.H. – 19 years, Grade 12 male student
Pamîstâkêwin
(Cree word for service)
First Nation Literature Units
Grades 7 to 12
Adult Education/Alternative Education
Recommended for Grades 7-8-9
 Across the Steel River, by Ted Stenhouse
 Black Star, Bright Dawn, by Scott O’Dell
 Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War II, by Joseph
Bruchac
 Dreamspeaker, by Anne Cameron
 Fatty Legs, Christy Jordan-Fenton Margaret Pokian-Fenton
 Ghost of Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
 My Name is Seepeeetza, Shirley Sterling
 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
 The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich
 The Curse of the Shaman, by Michael Kusugak
 The Middle of Everywhere, by Monique Polak
 The Night Wanderer, by Drew Hayden Taylor
 White Girl, by Sylvia Olsen
Recommended for Grades 10-11
 Blood Red Ochre, by Kevin Major
 Conspiracy of Silence, by Lisa Priest
 Dances With Wolves, by Michael Blake
 Deadly Loyalties, by Jennifer Storm
 Inside Out: An Autobiography of a Cree Indian, by James Tyman
 Nobody Cries at Bingo, by Dawn Dumont
 Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
 Nowhere to Run: The Killing of Constable Dennis Strongquill, by Mike
McIntyre
Recommended for Grades 12 to Adult Learners
 A Dream Like Mine, by M. T. Kelly
 Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life, by Jim Kristofic
 Playing With Fire: The Highest Highs and Lowest Lows of Theo Fleury, by
Theoren Fleury and Kirstie McLellan Day
 Skins, by Adrian C. Louis
 Stolen Life: Journey of a Cree Woman, by Yvonne Johnson and Rudy Wiebe
 Truth & Bright Water, by Thomas King
First Nation Poetry
First Nation Modern Play
 The Berlin Blues, by Drew Hayden Taylor
 The Bootlegger Blues, by Drew Hayden Taylor
 Smoke Signals, by Sherman Alexie
First Nation Short Story
 Dance Me Outside, by W.P. Kinsella
 Tales from Moccasin Avenue Anthology
 Fearless Warriors, by Drew Hayden Taylor
 Ten Little Indians, by Sherman Alexie
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Across the Steel River
by Ted Stenhouse
About the Author
Ted Stenhouse grew up in Gleichen, Alberta. He now lives in Wahpeton, North Dakota,
with his wife and daughter. Across the River is his first novel.
About the Text
It's 1952 in a small prairie town, and bigotry is a way of life. Will and Arthur have been
friends forever, but folks figure it won't last. Whites and Indians always outgrow their
friendships -- or so they say. And now the boys have made a grisly discovery that threatens to
unravel the very fabric of their friendship. A local Indian and World War II hero has been beaten
and left for dead near the railway tracks. While the police conclude that a train caused
Yellowfly's injuries, Will and Arthur know better. To find answers, they'll have to pursue the
case on their own. In their search for justice, the boys discover that true brotherhood sometimes
calls for sacrifice. And that courage, like cowardice, can take many forms.
http://www.amazon.com/Across-Steel-River-Ted-Stenhouse/dp/1553370155
First Nation Literature Unit
Nobody Cries at Bingo
By Dawn Dumont
About the Text
In Nobody Cries At Bingo, the narrator, Dawn, invites the reader to witness first hand
Dumont family life on the Okanese First Nation. Beyond the stereotypes and clichés of rez dogs,
drinking, and bingos, the story of a girl who loved to read begins to unfold. It is her hopes,
dreams, and indomitable humour that lay bare the beauty and love within her family. It is her
unerring eye that reveals the great bond of family expressed in the actions and affections of her
sisters, aunties, uncles, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, and ultimately her ancestors.
It’s all here — life on the rez in rich technicolor — as Dawn emerges from home life,
through school life, and into the promise of a great future. Nobody Cries At Bingo embraces
cultural differences and does it with the great traditional medicine of laughter.
Dawn Dumont
About the Author
Dawn Dumont is a Plains Cree comedian and actor born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada.
She says of her reservation, the Okanese First Nation, that it is "quite possibly the smallest
reservation in the world but what it doesn’t have in terms of land area, the people make up for in
sheer head size". Dawn has made people laugh at comedy clubs across North American,
including New York’s Comic Strip, the New York Comedy Club, and the Improv. She began her
comedy career in Toronto on stages such as Yuk Yuk’s and the Laugh Resort. Dawn is currently
a comedy writer for CBC Radio and the Edmonton Journal, and is a Story Editor for By the
Rapids, an animation comedy series on APTN.
http://www.thistledownpress.com/html/search/Authors/Dawn_Dumont/nobody_cries_at_bingo_p527.cfm?CFID=91
479&CFTOKEN=38123710
First Nation Literature Unit
Fatty Legs – A True Story
By Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes
About the Authors
Christy Jordan-Fenton
Christy Jordan-Fenton spent her early years on a farm near Rimbey, Alberta. It was
common for her to find lambs, calves, and foals in the bathroom on early spring mornings.
Brandings, cattle drives, and rodeos were regularly attended events. She moved with her mother
and younger brother to Red Deer at the age of seven, and later to Sylvan Lake. Her favorite
activities were (and still are) camping and dancing, and she has always loved horses and the
mountains.
Christy joined the infantry reserve in her final semester of high school and spent the next
few years travelling from base to base. She was then accepted to Norwich University (VT) in the
Corps of Cadets to study Peace, War and Diplomacy. While there, she was part of the Mountain
Cold Weather Special Operations Company, played rugby, and often road crazy carpets down
the school’s ski hill.
Western Canada eventually called her home. She travelled across the prairies working in
the oil patch and riding bucking horses in the rodeo, before meeting her husband and settling
down. They live on a farm outside Fort St. John, British Columbia, which they share with her
mother-in-law Margaret (the main character in both Fatty Legs (2010) and A Stranger at Home
(2011), three small children, three dogs, a llama, too many rogue rabbits to count, and enough
horses to outfit a small town.
Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Margaret Pokiak-Fenton was born on Holman Island in the Arctic Ocean, en route with
her nomadic family to their winter hunting grounds on Banks Island. She spent her early years on
Banks Island. Being Inuvialuit, her young childhood was filled with hunting trips by dogsled,
and dangerous treks across the Arctic Ocean for supplies, in a schooner known as the North Star.
At the age of eight, she travelled to Aklavik, a fur trading settlement founded by her greatgrandfather, to attend the Catholic residential school there. Unlike most children, she begged to
go to the school, despite the horrific reputation of residential schools. There was nothing she
wanted more than to learn how to read.
She later settled in Tuktoyaktuk where her family had relocated. While working for the
Hudson’s Bay Company there, she met her future husband Lyle, who was employed on the Dew
Line project. She followed him south to Fort St. John. Together they raised eight children.
About the Text
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 humiliate her, the heartless Raven gives gray stockings to all the girls —
all except Margaret, who gets red ones. In an instant Margaret is the laughingstock of the entire
school.
In the face of such cruelty, Margaret refuses to be intimidated and bravely gets rid of the
stockings. Although a sympathetic nun stands up for Margaret, in the end it is this brave young
girl who gives the Raven a lesson in the power of human dignity.
Complemented by archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton’s collection and striking
artworks from Liz Amini-Holmes, this inspiring first-person account of a plucky girl’s
determination to confront her tormentor will linger with young readers.
http://www.annickpress.com/author/Christy_Jordan_Fenton
First Nation Literature Unit
Blood Red Ochre
By Kevin Major
About the Text
The story begins with David. Much of his storyline deals with his relationship with his
family following his discovery that his father is not his real father. As David tries to cope with
his feelings, he meets Nancy. Near the end of the novel, it is revealed that Nancy is actually a
Beothuk woman from the past. Beothuks were a native tribe in Newfoundland, who were
completely eradicated by European settlers. Thus, when David's story and Dauoodaset's story
intersect, the novel concludes with an inevitable tragic ending as Nancy and Dauoodaset, like
their ancestors, disappear into the pages of history. This ending, however, leaves David's family
problems unresolved. David’s lingering concerns emphasize the triviality of his problems in
comparison to Daudoodaset’s, as well as emphasizes the dominance of European culture in
modern society. Throughout the novel, David wears a Beothuk necklace given to him by his
grandfather. It is illegal for David to have this item, as all Beothuk artifacts are supposed to be
given to the government for preservation. The mystery surrounding David’s acquisition of
Daudooaset’s necklace suggests a connection to the bloody history of European takeover in
Canada, and the disappearance of native populations and culture.
http://www.seastacks.ca/content/blood-red-ochre
About the Author
Kevin Major was born on September 12, 1949; five months after Newfoundland became
the tenth province of Canada. He grew up next to an American Air Force base in Stephenville,
on the province’s west coast.
His interest in writing in elementary school led to the creation of some dreadful poetry. In
high school, his skills improved to the point where a teacher in Grade Ten predicted that he
would write a book someday.
At graduation, however, he went off to study pre-med at Memorial University in St.
John’s. He was accepted for medical school, but turned it down. He wanted to see a bit of the
world instead. He slept on a beach in Barbados, skied in Switzerland, saw the Gauguins in Paris.
He returned to Memorial University, and set his mind on becoming a teacher. He
graduated and found work in several communities in rural Newfoundland. He was struck by the
lack of material on the English curriculum reflecting the culture of his own province. The result
was the editing of Doryloads, an anthology of Newfoundland writing.
From there he went on to writing of his own: first poetry and short stories, then a novel. It
made the rounds of several publishers, but was finally shelved.
By this time he had settled in Eastport, in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland. In 1976, he
gave up teaching full-time to concentrate on writing, although he continued work as a substitute
teacher for several years following.
He wrote Hold Fast and his life changed permanently. Over the years other novels
followed, no two alike, yet most holding in some way to his Newfoundland roots.
He married and took on fatherhood. Eventually the Major family moved to St. John’s.
Here the author writes in view of Signal Hill, an interesting garden and a basketball net. He
walks the streets of the oldest city in North America thinking about what he will write next.
http://kevinmajor.ca/new/biography
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Inside Out: An Autobiography of a Cree Indian
by James Tyman
www.mcnallyrobinson.com
About the Author
This is the story behind the stereotypes - the autobiography of a young Native man,
James Tyman, who grew up with racism, turned to crime and self-destruction, and ended up in
jail. Repeatedly. At age 24, in prison for a two year stretch, James Tyman realized he was going
nowhere and began to wonder why. In six weeks he wrote Inside Out, a powerful record of his
own voyage of self-discovery, and an open letter to the people of Canada telling how his life has
been shaped - and almost ended - by troubling aspects of our society.
www.yukonbooks.com
About the Text
What causes Native Canadians to be disproportionately represented in the prisons, unemployment
lines and welfare lists, in the drunk tanks and the morgues?
Inside Out is one story behind the stereotypes - the autobiography of a young Native man, James
Tyman, who grew up with racism, turned to crime and self-destruction, and ended up in jail. Repeatedly.
At age 24, in prison for a two-year stretch, James Tyman realized he was going nowhere and began to
wonder why. In six weeks he wrote Inside Out, a powerful record of his own voyages of self-discovery,
and an open letter to the people of Canada telling how his life has been shaped - and almost ended - by
troubling aspects of our society. James Tyman's story raises important questions - about adoption of
Native children into white families, about the legal and penal systems, about drugs, prostitution, and life
on the street in Canada's urban centres.
First published in 1989, Inside Out became a national bestseller and earned critical
acclaim across Canada.
www.yukonbooks.com
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Nowhere to Run: The Killing of Constable Dennis Strongquill
by Mike McIntyre
Nowhere to Run: The Killing of Constable Dennis Strongquill
by Mike McIntyre
About the Author
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mike McIntyre is the justice reporter for the Winnipeg
Free Press and is the host of the weekly CJOB radio talk show “Crime and Punishment.” A true crime
buff, McIntyre has seen all sides of the human tragedies which fill our lives. McIntyre was deeply
affected after spending several months covering the murder of RCMP Const. Dennis Strongquill and the
sensational trial which followed. He wanted to find a way to examine what happened, pay tribute to the
fallen officer, and get into the minds of Strongquill’s killers. The end result is Nowhere to Run.
About the Text
Dennis Strongquill was an Aboriginal RCMP officer who had spent his life protecting society,
but he was helpless to fend off three ruthless killers who ambushed him on a dark Prairie highway just
days before Christmas.
Robert and Danny Sand were two young brothers who had grown to hate authority.
Laurie Bell was a struggling junkie with a fatal attraction to Robert Sand. Together, the trio
embarked on a ruthless cross-country crime spree, leaving behind a trail of victims in their
violent wake.
Death followed the killers, as Danny Sand was shot dead during a dramatic stand-off with
police. Robert Sand and Laurie Bell reluctantly gave themselves up, but didn’t let prison keep
them apart. Their romance continued, even during the trial, through illicit love letters and secret
communications. Even their murder trial exploded in violence when Robert Sand desperately
tried one final assault on the authority he hated so much.
In Nowhere to Run, crime reporter Mike McIntyre takes you to the scene of the chilling
crime, into the hearts of the victim’s family and into the minds of the perpetrators. The book
features exclusive interviews with Robert Sand and the Strongquill family and photographs from
the crime scene submitted at the trial.
www.mcnallyrobinson.com
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Playing With Fire
The Highest Highs and Lowest Lows of Theo Fleury
by Theoren Fleury
and Kirstie McLellan Day
About the Authors
Theoren “Theo” Fleury won a World Junior title, a Turner Cup, a Stanley Cup as a rookie with
the Calgary Flames and later a Canada Cup and an Olympic gold medal. A former player with the
Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, he now lives in Calgary, where he is
a motivational speaker and an investment representative with a land development company. Visit him
online online here: www.theofleury14.com.
Kirstie McLellan Day has written five other books, including the #1 bestselling memoir
of Theo Fleury, Playing with Fire, and the bestselling memoir of Bob Probert, Tough Guy, as
well as Above and Beyond, a biography of cable magnate JR Shaw, Under the Mat, a memoir
with Diana Hart of the Hart wrestling family, and No Remorse, a true-crime story. The mother of
five lives with her husband, broadcaster Larry Day, in Calgary, Alberta.
About the Text
Theo Fleury, at 5'6" made a name for himself in a game played by giants. A star in junior hockey,
he became an integral part of the Calgary Flames’ Stanley Cup win in 1989. Fleury’s talent was such that
despite a growing drug habit and erratic, inexplicable behaviour on and off the ice, Wayne Gretzky
believed in him. He became a key member of the gold medal–winning men’s hockey team at the 2002
Olympics.
The Colorado Avalanche picked up Fleury for the playoffs, and when he signed with the New
York Rangers, he was a kid in a candy store. After one season of his next multi-million-dollar deal, this
time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Fleury suddenly called it quits and wouldn’t explain why.
In Playing with Fire, Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL
player and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home. Dark personal issues haunted
him, with drinking, drugs, gambling and girls ultimately derailing his Hall of Fame–caliber career.
http://harpercollins.ca
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Stolen Life: Journey of a Cree Woman
by Yvonne Johnson and Rudy Wiebe
www.goodreads.com
About the Author
Wiebe was born at Speedwell, near Fairholme, Saskatchewan in what would later become
his family’s chicken barn. For thirteen years he lived in an isolated community of about 250
people, as part of the last generation of homesteaders to settle the Canadian west. He did not
speak English until age six since Mennonites at that time customarily spoke Low German at
home and standard German at Church. He attended the small school three miles from his farm
and the Speedwell Mennonite Brethren Church.
He received his B.A. in 1956 from the University of Alberta and then studied under a
Rotary International Fellowship at the University of Tübingen in West Germany, near Stuttgart.
In 1958 he married Tena Isaak, with whom he had two children. In Germany, he studied
literature and theology and travelled to England, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
Wiebe's novels include Peace Shall Destroy Many (1962), First and Vital Candle (1966), The
Blue Mountains of China (1970), The Temptations of Big Bear (1973), The Scorched-wood
People (1977), The Mad Trapper (1980), My Lovely Enemy (1983), A Discovery of Strangers
(1994), and Sweeter Than All the World (2001). He has also published collections of short
stories, essays, and children's books. In 2006 he published a volume of memoirs about his
childhood, entitled Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest.
Wiebe taught at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana from 1963 to 1967, and he has travelled
widely. He is deeply committed to the literary culture of Canada and has shown a particular
interest in the traditions and struggles of people in the Prairie provinces, both whites and
Aboriginals.
Wiebe won the Governor General's Award for Fiction twice, for The Temptations of Big
Bear (1973) and A Discovery of Strangers (1994). He was awarded the Royal Society of
Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1986. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
In 2003 Wiebe was a member of the jury for the Giller Prize.
www.goodreads.com
About the Text
A powerful, major work of non-fiction, beautifully written, with the impact of Mikal
Gilmore's Shot in the Heart, from the twice winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction
and the great-great-granddaughter of Big Bear.
This is a story about justice, and terrible injustices, a story about a murder, and a
courtroom drama as compelling as any thriller as it unravels the events that put Yvonne Johnson
behind bars for life, first in Kingston's Federal Prison for Women until the riot that closed it, and
presently in the Okimaw Ochi Healing Lodge in the Cypress Hills. But above all it is the
unforgettable true story of the life of a Native woman who has decided to speak out and break
the silence, written with the redeeming compassion that marks all Rudy Wiebe's writing, and
informed throughout by Yvonne Johnson's own intelligence and poetic eloquence.
Characters and events spring to life with the vividness of fiction. The story is told
sometimes in the first person by Rudy Wiebe, sometimes by Yvonne herself. He tracks down the
details of Yvonne's early life in Butte, Montana, as a child with a double-cleft palate, unable to
speak until the kindness of one man provided the necessary operations; the murder of her
beloved brother while in police custody; her life of sexual abuse at the hands of another brother,
grandfather and others; her escape to Canada - to Winnipeg and Wetaskiwin; the traumas of her
life that led to alcoholism, and her slow descent into hell despite the love she found with her
husband and three children.
He reveals how she participated, with three others, in the murder of the man she believed
to be a child abuser; he unravels the police story, taking us step by step, with jail-taped
transcripts, through the police attempts to set one member of the group against the others in their
search for a conviction - and the courtroom drama that followed. And Yvonne openly examines
her life and, through her grandmother, comes to understand the legacy she has inherited from her
ancestor Big Bear; having been led through pain to wisdom, she brings us with her to the point
where she finds spiritual strength in passing on the lessons and understandings of her life.
How the great-great-granddaughter of Big Bear reached out to the author of The
Temptations of Big Bear to help her tell her story is itself an extraordinary tale. The coauthorship between one of Canada's foremost writers and the only Native woman in Canada
serving life imprisonment for murder has produced a deeply moving, raw and honest book that
speaks to all of us, and gives us new insight into the society we live in, while offering a deeply
moving affirmation of spiritual healing.
www.goodreads.com
First Nation Literature Unit
The Birchbark House
By Louise Erdrich
About the Text
An eight-year old Ojibwa girl lives with her family in Minnesota around 1849. Omakayas
does not have a blood tie to her family, but she does not know this. As a baby, she was the lone
survivor of her people, all of whom died during a smallpox outbreak on Spirit Island. Old
Tallow, an Ojibwa woman, rescued the surviving baby from Spirit Island and placed her with the
couple Migwam and Yellow Kettle. In their home, Omakayas is a beloved daughter. The novel is
organized into four sections, representing each of the four seasons, together creating a story that
occurs within a year's natural cycle.
During one summer, Omakayas fetches a pair of western-style scissors from Old Tallow.
On the way home, she encounters two cubs, then their mother. The mother pins Omakayas to the
ground but does not hurt her. The young girl believes the bears are her protectors. At home,
Omakayas helps tan a moose hide for use as makazins (Ojibwa footwear). When her father,
Migwam, comes home from a trapping trip, the family rejoices. Omakayas and her older sister,
the beautiful Angeline, are told by their father to keep birds from the corn crop. The girls do so
and snare many crows for the family dinner. One crow survives but is wounded, and it becomes
the beloved family pet Andeg.
During the fall, the family prepares for the long, cold winter ahead, including harvesting
wild rice and preparing the winter cabin, located near the trading post, Old Tallow, and other
Ojibwa families.
During the winter, Omakayas makes little makazins for her baby brother, using a sewing
kit with beads given to her by Ten Snows, Fishtail's wife and the best friend of Angeline. Then
tragedy strikes. Smallpox arrives and sickens every family member except Grandma and
Omakayas, who work tirelessly to nurse the family back to health. Ten Snows and baby Neewo
die, which devastates Omakayas. In addition, scarcity of food leaves the threat of starvation.
Nature comes full circle and spring arrives. With her grandmother's guidance, Omakayas
begins her life as a healer. In addition, Old Tallow reveals to Omakayas the story of her past
from Spirit Island.
http://www.trumpetclub.com/intermediate/activities/birchbark_house.htm
Louise Erdrich
About the Author
Louise Erdrich writes fiction, poetry, short stories, and nonfiction for both adults and
young people. Born in 1954 to a German-American father and a French-Chippewa mother, she is
a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe and grew up in North Dakota, where her
parents taught at the Wahpeton Indian School. Ms. Erdrich received her undergraduate degree
from Dartmouth College and her masters in creative writing from the Johns Hopkins University.
She lives with her daughters in Minnesota, where she runs Birchbark Books, an independent
bookstore.
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Conspiracy of Silence
by Lisa Priest
www.amazon.ca
About the Text
Helen Betty Osborne was born in Norway House, Manitoba, the eldest of many children
born to Joe and Justine Osborne. Her ambition was to go to college and become a teacher.
However, the only way to succeed in doing so was to continue her education away from the
reserve as secondary education was not available. She spent two years at Guy Hill Residential
School, just outside of The Pas, and in the fall of 1971 went to live with a white family in The
Pas, Manitoba. The Pas was a culturally-mixed town of whites, Métis and Cree people. Helen
Betty attended Margaret Barbour Collegiate in The Pas.
On the evening of her death, she had spent the evening with friends at The Northern Lite
Cafe and then at the Bensons' place (where she was staying) before heading back downtown.
After her friends went home, little is known of her whereabouts after this time, around midnight.
She was walking home at approximately 2:30am when she was abducted, brutally beaten,
sexually assaulted and killed.
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life
by Jim Kristofic
www.amazon.ca
About the Text
Just before starting second grade, Jim Kristofic moved from Pittsburgh across the country to
Ganado, Arizona, when his mother took a job at a hospital on the Navajo Reservation. Navajos Wear
Nikes reveals the complexity of modern life on the Navajo Reservation, a world where Anglo and Navajo
coexisted in a tenuous truce. After the births of his Navajo half-siblings, Jim and his family moved off the
Reservation to an Arizona border town where they struggled to readapt to an Anglo world that no longer
felt like home.
With tales of gangs and skinwalkers, an Indian Boy Scout troop, a fanatical Sunday school
teacher, and the author's own experience of sincere friendships that lead to ho?zho? (beautiful harmony),
Kristofic's memoir is an honest portrait of growing up on--and growing to love--the Reservation.
About the Author
Jim Kristofic has worked on and off the “Rez” for more than ten years as a river guide, journalist,
and oral historian. He has written for The Navajo Times, Arizona Highways, and High Country News. He
and his wife currently live in eastern Pennsylvania with—of course—a rescued dog.
www.goodreads.com
First Nation Fiction/Film Unit
A Dream Like Mine
by M. T. Kelly
http://mtkelly.ca
About the Author
M.T. Kelly (born 30 November 1946) is a Canadian novelist, poet and playwright.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Kelly attended Parkdale Collegiate Institute, York University
and the University of Toronto. His first novel, I Do Remember The Fall (1977), was nominated
for the Books in Canada First Novel Award. This book was followed by two novels from Black
Moss Press followed: "The More Loving One" and "The Ruined Season". Kelly's third novel A
Dream Like Mine Stoddart, (1987) won the Governor General's Award for fiction and was made
into the movie Clearcut. A book of poetry, Country You Can't Walk In won the first Toronto
Arts Council Award. Two other novels with Stoddart followed, "Out of the Whirlwind" and
"Save Me Joe Louis" as well as a book of short stories, "All that Wild Wounding".
Among other collections M.T. Kelly's work was included in The Thinking Heart: Best Canadian
Essays (1991) and "The Saturday Night Traveler". His play, "The Green Dolphin", was
performed at Theatre Passe Muraille.
A frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail, M.T. Kelly also worked as a reporter for
the Moose Jaw Times-Herald.
In 2000, when his wife, Madam Justice Lynn King was diagnosed with of breast cancer,
and his publisher of 30 years, General Publishing, went bankrupt, M.T. Kelly stopped
publishing. Another contributing factor was the death of his friend, colleague, and sometime
editor, author Carole Corbeil.
Kelly remained silent after his wife's death in March 2005, but then Exile Editions then re
printed "A Dream Like Mine" in its Canadian Classics series with an introduction by native
writer Daniel David Moses. Along with the reprinting of "A Dream Like Mine" Exile published
a new book, "Downriver", which contained poetry, a memoir, and a short story about the people
in the memoir.
M.T. Kelly's papers are in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library archives at the
University of Toronto.
About the Novel
This is a novel of retributive justice in which all the lines are blurred. Evil triumphs - or does it?
The good come out sadder and perhaps wiser; the agent of retribution is insane.
The narrator, who is a journalist, finds that he cannot simply be an observer and recorder but must
become an unwilling participant in events he cannot control and cannot allow to unfold as they otherwise
might. The manager of a mill that is polluting a river in northwestern Ontario is taken hostage by an
unbalanced Indian who also captures the journalist. The mill manager is totally unrepentant for the
damage and devastation he has caused but he seems triumphant in the end. Arthur, the Indian, has the
force of right on his side but cannot make it work for him, and he comes to the worst possible end. The
journalist tries to help by moderating the worst effects and aims of both sides and he suffers, perhaps, the
worst defeat of all.
Although this novel is slight in size it is very well written and complex in structure,
theme and symbolism. It is a worthy recipient of the Governor General's Award for fiction in
English and is recommended for grade 11 and 12 students of Canadian literature and for adult
readers.
www.umanitoba.ca
First Nation Literature Unit
The Curse of the Shaman – A Marble Island Story
By Michael Kusugak
About the Text
Once upon a time, there was a family, a different sort of family from those we have
today, the family of a man whose name was The-man-with-no-eyebrows. They were Inuit and,
aside from the Louse People, they were the only people on earth. One day, their little baby boy,
Wolverine, was cursed by a shaman, not because the shaman was a bad man and really wanted to
curse the little baby, he was just having a very bad day. The boy grew up, just as boys grow up
today, doing all the usual things that boys do, wandering around the Arctic on dog sleds, playing
tag around igloos, listening to stories about “The old woman under the sea” and “Kiviuq”. And
he had a girlfriend, who was the shaman’s daughter, the shaman who cursed him. And like any
great story, they somehow have to live happily ever after. But did I tell you about the very, very
mean magic animal who really, really hates boys? If you don’t believe me, read the book, The
Curse of the Shaman.
About the Author
Arvaarluk was born at Qatiktalik in the spring of 1948. Immediately after he came into
this world, his family moved to Repulse Bay, “...smack dab on the Arctic Circle.” And that is
where Arvaarluk lived until he was 12 years old. But those first 12 years had a profound effect
on Arvaarluk.
But in 1954, he was taken away from his ordinary world into the world of priests, nuns
and those strange men called brothers. They did not call him Arvaarluk; they called him Michel.
At the age of six, Michel learned there was a world where there was no love, there was no
tenderness and there was no one to run to when your feelings were hurt. The following year,
when the plane came to take him away to the nuns again, Arvaarluk ran away. He hid in the hills
until the airplane went away. Then he returned to his ordinary world.
In 1960, Arvaarluk and his family moved to Rankin Inlet. Those were exciting times. His
father worked for the North Rankin Nickel Mine. Michael (he never learned French so he called
himself Michael, not Michel) went to school. But you could only go to Grade 5 so he had to go
away again, this time to Yellowknife, Churchill and Saskatoon. Life was no longer ordinary.
There was TV, radio, houses, streets, cars and all the exciting things life has to offer. He tried
university then flying, photography, pottery and the civil service. Later, he was to make the
realization that it was all preparation for his writing career.
In 1988, Michael and Robert Munsch collaborated on A Promise is a Promise. Since
then, Michael has written eight more books. He travels the world, telling the legends his
grandmother told him in their igloo. He tells the stories he writes. He plays with toys he played
with when he was a little boy. He travels by snowmobile, pretending to hunt caribou, chisels
holes in eight feet of ice and pretends to fish, goes out in boats pretending to hunt whales. But he
only does all those things so he can spend as much time out as he can. And he visits his
grandchildren. And he is writing all the other stories that keep popping up in his head.
http://hackmatack.ca/downloads/shortlists/2007-08HackmatackShortlistEnFic.pdf
First Nation Novel Unit
Dreamspeaker
by Anne Cameron
http://umanitoba.ca
Dreamspeaker, by Anne Cameron
About the Author
Anne Cameron is one of British Columbia's most original and important writers. She was
born in Nanaimo, B.C. on August 20, 1938. She grew up in Nanaimo as the daughter of a coal
miner—-until the mines closed. Living halfway between Chinatown and the Indian reserve, she
says she found the only place there was real order was in books, or her imagination. As a
youngster she kept scribbling notes on toilet paper until she received the gift of a typewriter from
her mother at age 14.
She married at a young age, raised a family and divorced, and eventually gained her
grade twelve education ("except in Math, and in that I have grade ten"). While living in
Nanaimo, New Westminster and Cloverdale, she supported herself with a variety of jobs,
including BC Tel operator and medical assistant with the RCAF. Cameron began writing theatre
scripts and screenplays under the name Cam Hubert. Her stage adaptation of a documentary
poem developed into a play about racism, Windigo. It was the first presentation of Tillicum
Theatre, possibly the first Indian-based theatre group in Canada, in 1974. "Tillicum Theatre was
started in Nanaimo under a LIP grant," she says, "and, with a cast of native teenagers, it toured
the province presenting dramatizations of legends and a theatre piece based on the death of Fred
Quilt, a Chilcotin man who died of ruptured guts after an encounter with two RCMP on a back
road at night." A Matsqui Prison production of Windigo also toured B.C. with a cast of Indian
prison inmates.
In 1979, her scripted film Dreamspeaker, directed by Claude Jutra, won seven Canadian
Film Awards, including best script. It's the story of an emotionally disturbed boy who runs away
from the hospital and finds refuge with a kindly old Indian (portrayed by George Clutesi) and his
mute companion. Subsequently published as a novel, Dreamspeaker won the Gibson Award for
Literature.
www.annecameron.ca
About the Novel
In Anne Cameron's novel, Dreamspeaker, 11-year-old Peter Baxter is plagued - or
blessed - with the recurrent mental experiences of visions that seem like epileptic fits or seizures.
As the novel opens, Peter is being taken to a treatment facility after having been in numerous
foster homes. At age four, he was taken by social workers from his mother, a prostitute and a
heroin addict. Peter feels drawn to his social worker, Anna, and has liked some of his foster
families, too, but he keeps being transferred without quite knowing why. Blond, nice-looking
but "odd," he has been taught good table manners but little else. As Anna says, the system has
been "totally unable to find an answer for Peter's problems."
In the facility, Peter has a seizure which brings on a recurrent nightmare - or vision - of a
snakelike creature threatening to take him over. To escape the monster, he flees the facility,
hops a train, and travels to a coastal area of B.C. where settlement is sparse and the main
economic endeavours are forestry and small-scale farming.
While eating raw oysters on the beach, Peter meets one of the most remarkable fictional
creations in Canadian literature. An old native man comes out of the forest and offers Peter a
home-cooked meal. "His face was lined and seamed, his eyes nearly hidden in wrinkles. His
hair was long and thin and blew every which way." With the old man is a large solemn-looking
middle aged man who does not speak.
The old man feels that Peter has come to him by fate, as other needy children have,
starting in boyhood when he brought unwanted children home to his parents. "It was said in the
village that he could find a child where others couldn't find a fish." The only difference is that
Peter is "not of the people," but white. "Grandpa" gave asylum to his silent companion years ago
after a bullying incident in town when the mute man was a teenager. The two live in a cabin
without electricity or running water, but with fascinating masks, totem poles and carvings, and a
spectacular sequined cape with a bird motifs, which Grandpa wore while dancing at parties prior
to developing leg problems.
Grandpa explains to Peter that all special people feel alienated. In the old days, if a child
had a deformity, he or she was regarded as having a soul still in the spirit world. According to
the old man, the noises and lights Peter hears are "Stalalacum," the souls of great men coming to
warn him. He urges Peter to stand up to the "snake-thing," which, he explains, is a two-headed
sea monster called the "Sisiutl." To face down the Sisiutl, one has to find something to believe
in and hang onto what you know.
Peter has lucked into a family. Grandpa's silent companion, called He Who Would Sing,
was born without a voice box and communicates with Grandpa in sign language. He is gentle
with Peter and waits on the old man. When He Who Would Sing brews herb tea, Grandpa says,
"He shoulda been a mother," and when Peter insists that only ladies can be mothers, Grandpa
contradicts him, citing examples to the contrary from folklore. Yet, when the R.C.M.P. come for
Peter, as they inevitably do, He Who Would Sing "forgot the lesson of the Raven, and resorted to
force."
Grandpa, with He Who Would Sing, appears at a custody hearing dressed in new clothes
and promises to have electricity installed in his cabin if that is what it will take to have Peter live
with them. Anna, the social worker, says that in finding them, Peter has "found the answer to his
own problems." The judge clearly feels enlightened and innovative when he offers financial
assistance so that Grandpa and He Who Would Sing can "be included as fully as possible in all
future treatment for Peter," have "every opportunity to visit Peter at the facility" and take Peter
for weekends.
After the judge's decision, Grandpa, already old and ill, "shrinks in on himself, his hands
becoming suddenly two trembling leaves on an alder tree, his eyes staring past this world to
something different." He dies, and Peter and He Who Would Sing can't live without him. The
story ends with a vision of the three united in a natural setting, with He Who Would Sing finally
singing.
First Nation Fiction Unit
Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War II
By Joseph Bruchac
www.wtps.org
About the Author
Joseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of
Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of
his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only
one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones
by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James
and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture,
language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music
with the Dawnland Singers.
www.goodreads.com
About the Novel
Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were
a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that
used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their
code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than
twenty years.
But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting
fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His
grueling journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those
young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo
Indians.
www.amazon.com
First Nation Novel Unit
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
http://paperbacktreasures.blogspot.ca
About the Author
Sherman Alexie was born on October 7, 1966 on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit,
Washington. His father, Sherman Joseph Alexie, was of Coeur d'Alene descent and his mother, Lillian
Agnes Cox, of Colville, Flathead, Spokane and white descent. He was born with hydrocephalus, a
condition that occurs when there is an abnormally large amount of cerebral fluid in the cranial cavity.
Because of the hydrocephalus, Alexie underwent brain surgery when he was only six months old. It was a
surgery in which he was not expected to survive. If by chance he were to make it through the surgery, he
was expected to suffer from permanent mental disabilities. However, Alexie's surgery was successful. He
surprised everyone by surviving the surgery with highly advanced mental faculties. Alexie grew up in
Wellpinit, Washington, on the Spokane Indian reservation, where he was essentially "miserable." His
father was an alcoholic who often wasn't around the house for days at a time. To support her six children,
Alexie's mother, Lillian, sewed quilts and became a clerk at the Wellpinit Trading Post.
Alexie's life at the reservation school was also miserable because he was constantly teased by
other kids on the reservation. They called him "The Globe" because he had a large head as a result of the
hydrocephalus. It also didn't help that he had to wear government-issued glasses. Until the age of seven,
Alexie suffered from seizures and bedwetting and had to take strong drugs to control them. He was
excluded from many of the activities that are rites of passage for young Indian males because of his health
problems. Despite this rough upbringing, Alexie excelled in school. He loved to read and he read
everything he could get his hands on, including auto repair manuals. By the age of twelve he had read
every book in the entire library at his school. It was clear he was looking for a greater challenge in his
education.
http://en.wikipedia.org
About the Novel
Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, is determined to take
his future into his own hands. Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm
town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully
written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own
experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's
art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away
from the life he was destined to live.
www.amazon.com
First Nation Novel Unit
The Middle of Everywhere
by Monique Polak
The Middle of Everywhere
by Monique Polak
About the Author
It’s a good thing Monique Polak has a lot of energy, because she likes to do a lot of stuff. In
addition to teaching English and Humanities at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is an active
freelance journalist whose work appears frequently in The Montreal Gazette and in Postmedia
newspapers across the country. Several of her feature stories have also been published in Maclean's
Magazine.
Monique lives in Montreal, where many of her stories are set. In addition to writing and teaching,
she enjoys cooking, jogging and puttering around her house. She is married to a newspaperman and has
one grown daughter.
http://moniquepolak.com
About the Novel
Noah finds out there are worse things than raw ptarmigan liver. But not much worse.
Noah Thorpe is spending the school term in George River, in Quebec's Far North, where his dad is an
English teacher in the Inuit community. Noah's not too keen about living in the middle of nowhere, but
getting away from Montreal has one big advantage: he gets a break from the bully at his old school.
But Noah learns that problems have a way of following you—no matter how far you travel. To
the Inuit kids, Noah is a qallunaaq—a southerner, someone ignorant of the customs of the North. Noah
thinks the Inuit have a strange way of looking at the world, plus they eat raw meat and seal blubber. Most
have never left George River—a town that doesn't even have its own doctor, let alone a McDonald's.
But Noah's views change when he goes winter camping and realizes he will have to learn a few
lessons from his Inuit buddies if he wants to make it home.
http://moniquepolak.com
First Nation Novel/Film Unit
Skins
by Adrian C. Louis
www.amazon.com
About the Author
Born in northern Nevada in 1946, Louis is the eldest of twelve children. Of mixed
heritage, Louis is of Lovelock Paiute descent. He moved from Nevada to South Dakota's Pine
Ridge Reservation.
Louis graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor's and MA in Creative Writing.
Louis was also a former journalist and along with being editor of four tribal newspapers, he was
the managing editor of Indian Country Today and a co-founder of the Native American
Journalists Association.
Louis has ten published books of poetry and two novels. His poetry and fiction have
garnered him much recognition and awards. His work has been praised by some of the other
notable modern Native American writers, including Sherman Alexie, N. Scott Momaday, James
Welch and Leslie Marmon Silko. In 1999, he was added to the Nevada Writer's Hall of Fame. In
2001 he was awarded the Writer of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and
Storytellers and the Cohen Award for best published poem in Ploughshares. He is also the
recipient of the Pushcart Prize as well as fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the South
Dakota Arts Council, the Nebraska Arts Council, the National Endowment of the Arts and the
Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest Foundation.
Louis taught English at Pine Ridge's Oglala Lakota College from 1984–1997; since 1999,
he has taught in the Minnesota State University systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org
About the Novel
Rudy and Mogie Yellow Lodge are Lakota Sioux brothers on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Mogie is a severe alcoholic with no job and a high
school age son and Rudy is a police officer trying to take care of his brother, nephew and the rest
of the town through the hands of law. Rudy tries to help his brother by bringing him food and
money and taking him to a picnic, but Mogie is resistant to Rudy's attempts, choosing to drink
and make jokes about the depressed state of their people and town. As a child, Rudy had been
bitten by a spider, and Mogie told him it was Iktomi, the trickster spider; this spider re-appears to
Rudy early in the film and Rudy's attempts to help begin to wander outside the lines of the law.
When Rudy is sent on a police call to an abandoned house, he finds the bloodied, dead
body of a young man who has been kicked to death. He sees a person in the darkness, but they
run away before he can identify them. Chasing after the criminal, Rudy trips and falls head first
onto a rock, knocking him more into the confusion that the trickster spider had started in him as
child.
Rudy's friend tells him that rocks are very spiritual and Rudy begins to think that
something has gotten into him when he becomes a vigilante. He sees a teenage boy wearing the
same shoes as the figure who ran away from the scene of the murder, and secretly follows the
boy and his friend. He hears them talking about whether to dispose of a pair of boots that
connects them to the murder. Disguising himself with black paint on his face, Rudy sneaks up on
the boys with a baseball bat and viciously beats their kneecaps, announcing himself as the ghost
of the boy they murdered. Afterwards, while washing the paint off his face, he again sees Iktomi.
Next, a camera crew visits the town to report on the millions of dollars that a liquor store in the
bordering town is sucking out of miserable alcoholic Indians from the reservation. The subject of
the news report angers Rudy into going to the liquor store in the middle of the night, again with a
painted face, and setting the building on fire. He doesn’t realize that his brother is sleeping on the
roof of the building. Mogie escapes and survives, but is burned and severely scarred, and spends
some time in the hospital. Realizing that he almost killed his brother, Rudy visits a friend to get
instructions on how to deal with Iktomi's spirit; these involve a combination of home remedies
and a sweat lodge ceremony.
During Mogie’s stay in the hospital, the doctors discover that his health is rapidly
deteriorating, including a terminal liver condition. After he is released from the hospital, Mogie,
his son Herbie, Rudy, and Aunt Helen have dinner, and Mogie brings up American Horse, an
Oglala Indian who testified against the 7th Cavalry. This conversation brings up the story of the
Wounded Knee Massacre, which Rudy tells to Herbie.
Wracked with guilt, Rudy tells Mogie that he started the fire, and Mogie replies that the
one thing he can do to make up for it is blow the nose off of George Washington's face on Mount
Rushmore. Rudy calls the idea crazy, and says he won't do it.
Rudy gets a police call saying that a man is stuck in a trap. He arrives at the house to find
Mogie's drinking partner (Gary Farmer) dead, having been caught in a bear trap, with the owners
of the house standing over him. The mother of the family (Elaine Miles) says that they put the
bear trap out to catch burglars. The family seems to have no remorse for the man's death. When
Mogie finds out the story behind his friend's death, he seeks revenge. He goes to the family's
house with a gun and aims it at the father while he sits in the living room, but after a child
appears in the room, Mogie decides not to pull the trigger.
On Herbie's 18th birthday, he visits his father to find him drunk and in very poor
condition. He and Rudy take Mogie to the hospital. Mogie is discovered to have pneumonia, and
he must stay at the hospital. Rudy, Herbie, and Aunt Helen stay with him.
Mogie dies, and a ceremony is held. Rudy receives a letter, written to him from Mogie before he
died, asking him to take care of Herbie.
Rudy finds out that the liquor store is being rebuilt to be twice as big with two drive-in
windows. He buys a large can of oil-based red paint and drives to Mount Rushmore. He climbs
to the top, and standing on the head of George Washington, he ponders whether his plan is
stupid, but before he can change his mind, he once again sees Iktomi crawling across the paint
can. Seeing this, he makes his tribute to Mogie by throwing the can of paint so that it drips down
the side of George Washington's nose, almost like a rivulet of bloody tears. On the drive back, he
sees a hitchhiker that looks just like Mogie in his youth and laughs.
Skins depicts the bond between two brothers and the effects of the destruction in Native
American history on their lives today. Through his sometimes extreme attempts to help his
family and his people, Rudy explores his reasons for his actions and the reasons that his people
and family are in a condition that needs such help.
http://en.wikipedia.org
First Nation Fiction/Film Unit
Dances With Wolves
by Michael Blake
www.rottentomatoes.com
About the Author
Originally from North Carolina, Michael Blake began his writing career during his service in the
armed forces. He pursued his writing as a student journalist at the University of New Mexico and, in the
seventies, attended film school in Berkeley California where he began writing screenplays. He later
relocated to Los Angeles to be closer to the film industry. He now lives with his wife and children on a
ranch in southern Arizona.
Michael Blake received several awards for Dances With Wolves, including an Academy
Award for his screen adaptation of the novel.
www.amazon.com
About the Novel
In 1863, First Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) is injured in the American Civil
War. Rather than having his foot amputated, he takes a horse up to the Confederate front lines.
Distracted by Dunbar, the Confederates are routed as the Union army attacks. Dunbar is allowed
to properly recover, receives a citation for bravery and is awarded Cisco, the horse who carried
him, as well as his choice of posting. He requests a transfer to the frontier so he can see its vast
terrain before the opportunity goes. Arriving at his new post, Fort Sedgwick, he finds it
abandoned and in disrepair. He decides to man the post himself and begins rebuilding, preferring
the solitude and recording his many observations in a journal. Dunbar also befriends an
inquisitive wolf he names "Two Socks" for its white forepaws.
Dunbar initially encounters his neighbors, a Sioux tribe, when they attempt to steal his
horse and intimidate him. In response, Dunbar decides to seek out their camp in an attempt to
establish a dialogue. On his way he comes across a white tribe woman, Stands With A Fist
(Mary McDonnell), who has injured herself in mourning of her deceased husband. She is the
adopted daughter of the tribe's medicine man Kicking Bird (Graham Greene), as her white family
was killed by the Pawnee tribe when she was young. Dunbar returns her to the Sioux to be
treated, which changes their attitude toward him. Eventually, Dunbar establishes a rapport with
Kicking Bird who equally wished to communicate. Initially the language barrier frustrates them,
so Stands With A Fist acts as translator.
Dunbar becomes drawn to the lifestyle of the tribe and learns their language. He becomes
an honored hero after locating a herd of buffalo and participates in the hunt. The Sioux observe
Dunbar and Two Socks playing and promptly give him his Sioux name "Dances with Wolves".
Dunbar also forges a romantic relationship with Stands With A Fist and helps defend the village
from an attack by the Pawnee. Winning Kicking Bird's approval, he marries her and abandons
Fort Sedgewick forever. Because of the growing Pawnee and white threat, Chief Ten Bears
(Floyd Red Crow Westerman) decides to move the village to its winter camp. Dunbar decides to
accompany them and returns to Fort Sedgwick to retrieve his journal. However, when he arrives
he finds it occupied by the U.S. Army. Because of his Sioux clothing, the soldiers mistake him
for a Native and open fire, killing Cisco and capturing him. When Dunbar's journal is unable to
be found and he refuses to serve as an interpreter to the tribes, he is put on trial for treason and
transported back east as prisoner.
While travelling in the armed caravan, the soldiers shoot and kill Two Socks when the
wolf attempts to follow Dunbar. Eventually the Sioux ambush the convoy, killing the soldiers
and freeing Dunbar. He decides to leave the Sioux with Stands With A Fist since his status will
put the tribe in danger. After they leave, U.S. troops with Pawnee assistance reach the mountains
but are unable to locate them, while a wolf howls in the distance. An epilogue states that 13 years
later, the last remnants of free Sioux were subjugated to the American government, ending the
conquest of the Western frontier states and the livelihoods of the tribes in the plains.
http://en.wikipedia.org
First Nation Film/Novel Unit
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
Argyle Alternative School
Winnipeg, Manitoba
John Cook (Lennie) and Stan Wood (George)
www.argylealternative.org
www.winnipegfilmgroup.com
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
About the Author
When John Steinbeck died in 1968, he was one of America's most popular novelist. His
works had a profound effect on the American people. Today, he is still a popular and powerful
author in America as well as a worldwide literary figure.
John Ernst Steinbeck was born in 1902 in the Salinas Valley. He was the third of four
children and the only boy. His family was a close, middle class unit living in a small community.
The Salinas Valley would later prove to be the location of many of his books and short stories.
Both of his parents believed in exposing their children to culture and they often traveled to San
Francisco to attend the theater. They also had a wide variety of novels and literature available in
the home. Steinbeck attended Stanford University where he majored in English, but never
received a degree. He married three times, the last being to Elaine Scott in 1950 which lasted
until his death. He fathered two boys. He died in 1968 in New York where he had lived from
time to time since 1944. His ashes were buried in Salinas, California.
His interest in writing and reading literature developed at a young age. He was the
associate editor of his high school's newspaper, El Gabilan. He also wrote many articles and
short stories for the newspaper, where his talent was recognized by many of his teachers. He
continued his career in college by writing articles which appeared in The Stanford Spectator.
After high school, Steinbeck worked off and on in many different jobs including a laborer
in a sugar factory in Salinas, a laborer in mills, and a ranch hand. He also traveled throughout the
Salinas Valley and studied marine life in Monterey Bay. He used many of his experiences for
material in his later novels. He continued his writing throughout his dabbles in ordinary labor
jobs. In 1929, he published his first novel, Cup of Gold. However, he did not gain financial
independence through writing until 1935 when he published Tortilla Flat, a novel which was
initially rejected by several publishers. In 1937, he published Of Mice and Men, one of three
novels which Steinbeck referred to as a "play-novelette".
Steinbeck was a restless soul and he traveled the world to appease his restlessness. He
used his travels as a basis for many novels and wrote many non-fictional journals. Some of these
journals were Sea of Cortez (1942), Travels With Charley in Search of America (1962) and A
Russian Journal (1948). However, the most widely known trip, the journey in 1937 with
Oklahoma migrants across the country on Highway 66 to California, did not occur. He did travel
this road, but with his wife, Carol, and not with Oklahoma migrants. Carol claims that this trip
was purely for enjoyment and that Steinbeck did not even take notes. This trip combined with a
four week journey from Bakersfield to Needles in which he lived and worked with Depression
migrants supposedly started the inspiration for the critically acclaimed The Grapes of Wrath
(1939) for which he received a Pulitzer Prize.
During World War II, Steinbeck served as a correspondent for the New York Herald
Tribune. He wrote several articles and two novels which dealt with war and were not considered
among his best works. However, after his return from his wartime travels, he wrote Cannery Row
in just six weeks. This was said to be his only powerful novel from that era.
Steinbeck continued his political involvement and in the1950's, his writings turned
towards a strong, direct expression. He helped in writing speeches for the presidential campaigns
in 1952 and 1954. In 1964, he was appointed as an advisor to President Johnson. He was an
active supporter of Viet Nam until he visited the ravaged country. He then encouraged Johnson
to pull troops out of the country.
John Steinbeck was a versatile writer. He has been described as a social-protest writer, a
realist, a naturalist, a journalist, and a playwright. He has many strong themes running through
his works. The most notable are the strengths of the family, the effects of the environment on
man, and social protests. He experimented with many different writing styles and points of
views. All of these factors combine to explain why Steinbeck is still a literary force today.
www.csustan.edu
About the Novel
Two migrant field workers in California on their plantation during the Great Depression –
George Milton, an intelligent yet cynical man, and Lennie Small, a man of large stature and great
strength but limited mental abilities—are on their way to another part of California. They hope to
one day attain their shared dream of settling down on their own piece of land. Lennie's part of the
dream is merely to tend to (and touch) soft rabbits on the farm. This dream is one of Lennie's
favorite stories, which George constantly retells. They are fleeing from their previous
employment in Weed, where they were run out of town after Lennie's love of stroking soft things
resulted in an accusation of attempted rape when he touched a young woman's dress. It soon
becomes clear that the two are close friends and George is Lennie's protector.
At the ranch, the situation appears to be menacing and dangerous, especially when the
pair are confronted by Curley—the boss's small-statured aggressive son with an inferiority
complex and who dislikes larger men—leaving the gentle giant Lennie potentially vulnerable.
Curley's flirtatious and provocative wife, to whom Lennie is instantly attracted, poses a problem
as well. In sharp contrast to these two characters, the pair also meets Slim, the kind, intelligent
and intuitive jerkline skinner who agrees to give Lennie one of the puppies his dog has recently
given birth to, and another to an old ranch hand named Candy.
In spite of the potential problems on the ranch, their dream leaps towards reality when
Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch hand, offers to pitch in with George and Lennie so that they
can buy a farm at the end of the month in return for permission to live with them on it. The trio
are ecstatic, but their joy is overshadowed when Curley attacks Lennie. He then, urged on by
George, catches Curley's fist and crushes it, reminding the group there are still obstacles to
overcome before their goal is reached.
Nevertheless, George feels more relaxed, since the dream seems just within their grasp, to
the extent that he even leaves Lennie behind on the ranch while he goes into town with the other
ranch hands. Lennie wanders into the stable, and chats with Crooks, the bitter, yet educated
stable buck, who is isolated from the other workers because he is black. Candy finds them and
they discuss their plans for the farm with Crooks, who cannot resist asking them if he can hoe a
garden patch on the farm, despite scorning the possibility of achieving the dream. Curley's wife
makes another appearance and flirts with the men, especially Lennie. However, her spiteful side
is shown when she belittles them and is especially harsh towards Crooks because of his race,
threatening to have him lynched.
Lennie accidentally kills his puppy while stroking it. Curley's wife enters the barn and
tries to speak to Lennie, admitting that she is lonely, how her dreams of becoming a movie star
crashed, revealing the reason she flirts with the ranch hands. After finding out that Lennie loves
stroking soft things, she offers to let him stroke her hair, but panics and begins to scream when
she feels his strength. Lennie becomes frightened, and in the scuffle, unintentionally breaks her
neck. When the other ranch hands find the body, George unhappily realizes that their dream is at
an end. George hurries away to find Lennie, hoping he will be at the meeting place they
designated at the start of the novel in case Lennie got into trouble, knowing that there is only one
thing he can do to save Lennie from the painful death that Curley's lynch mob intends to deliver.
George meets Lennie at the designated place, the same spot they camped in the night
before they came to the ranch. The two sit together and George retells the beloved story of the
bright future together that they will never share. He then shoots Lennie in the back of the head,
so that his death will be painless and happy. Curley, Slim, and Carlson find George seconds after
the shooting. Only Slim realizes that George killed Lennie out of love, and gently and
consolingly leads him away, while Curley and Carlson look on, unable to comprehend the
subdued mood of the two men.
http://en.wikipedia.org
First Nation Novel Unit
Deadly Loyalties
by Jennifer Storm
Deadly Loyalties, by Jennifer Storm
About the Author
Jennifer Storm is an Ojibway author from Couchiching First Nation in North Western
Ontario. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jennifer completed her first novel Deadly
Loyalties at the age of fourteen. When she was nineteen, her book was accepted for publication.
In 2006, Jennifer received the Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Achievement Award, as well as the
Helen Betty Osborne Award. Jennifer is currently completing her second year of Native Studies
at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
About the Novel
Deadly Loyalties is set in an urban milieu that is rife with young gangs who recruit their
members as fresh as they can get them. Blaise, a 14-year-old girl and the narrator of Deadly
Loyalties, is in the centre of this urban gang setting. An innocent bystander she witnesses the
brutal murder of her good friend Sheldon by his rival gang. Due to her witnessing this murder,
Blaise is pulled into a gang war.
An engrossing and compelling coming of age story depicting the gritty and often
gruesome realities of life on the streets, Deadly Loyalties is an open and honest look at the
violence and pressures teenagers face when trying to belong. This page turning love story is from
a teenager’s perspective and reveals to the reader how some bad choices are not always rooted in
bad values. A search for belonging can often result in mistaken loyalties. This struggle through
teenage angst is a tale of friendship, betrayal and redemption, of loyalty, revenge and survival.
www.goodreads.com
First Nation Novel Unit
The Night Wanderer
by Drew Hayden Taylor
Drew Hayden Taylor
www.canadianauthors.net
About the Author
During the past twenty-five years of his life, Drew Hayden Taylor has done many things,
most of which he is proud of. An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario, he has
worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center
in Washington D.C., to being Artistic Director of Canada's premiere Native theatre company,
Native Earth Performing Arts. He has been an award-winning playwright (with over 70
productions of his work), a journalist/columnist (appearing regularly in several Canadian
newspapers and magazines), short-story writer, novelist, television scriptwriter, and has worked
on over 17 documentaries exploring the Native experience. Most notably, he wrote and directed
Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew, a documentary on Native humor for the National Film
Board of Canada.
He has traveled to sixteen countries around the world, spreading the gospel of Native
literature to the world. Through many of his books, most notably the four volume set of the
Funny, You Don’t Look Like One series, he has tried to educate and inform the world about
issues that reflect, celebrate, and interfere in the lives of Canada's First Nations.
Self-described as a contemporary story teller in whatever form, he co-created and for
three years was the head writer for Mixed Blessings, a television comedy series. In 2007, a
made-for-television movie he wrote, based on his Governor General's nominated play, In A
World Created By A Drunken God, was nominated for three Gemini Awards, including Best
Movie. Originally, it aired on APTN and opened at the American Indian Film Festival in San
Francisco and the Dreamspeakers Film Festival in Edmonton.
The last few years has seen him proudly serve as the Writer-In-Residence at the
University of Michigan, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Luneburg
(Germany), as well as a host of Canadian theatre companies, i.e., Cahoots theatre, Blyth Theatre,
etc. From 1994-97, he proudly served as the Artistic Director of Canada's premiere Native
theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts.
About the Novel
Although this is his first novel for young readers, Drew Hayden Taylor is no storytelling
novice. A member of Ontario’s Curve Lake First Nation (Anishinabe/Ojibwa), he’s a respected
playwright with solid credentials as an author, journalist, filmmaker, and lecturer. His work is
known for its wit, insight, and native perspective. His scripts and short stories consistently
feature realistic characters and clever, entertaining dialogue. Happily, this treatment of The Night
Wanderer, originally a 1992 play, is typical Taylor fare.
The novel lives up to its subtitle, delivering shivers and chills in an Anishinabe setting.
The protagonists are Tiffany Hunter, a 16-year-old resident of the fictional Otter Lake Reserve in
current-day Ontario, and Pierre L’Errant, a mysterious man of Anishinabe ancestry who arrives
from Europe. Tiffany’s got problems with her dad, her schoolwork, and her non-native
boyfriend. Pierre’s waging an elemental good vs. evil battle as he seeks an honourable end to his
existence as a vampire. They are drawn into each other’s lives when Pierre becomes a boarder at
Tiffany’s home.
Taylor advances plot, develops character, changes atmosphere, and builds suspense
largely by keeping Tiffany and Pierre apart and alternating their storylines. When he does bring
them together, the tension spikes dramatically.
The Night Wanderer offers food for thought as well as frights. Taylor sensitively works
several important themes (redemption, coming of age, ties that bind) into his treatment of
discussion-worthy issues (prejudice, bullying, suicide). His representation of life on a small
reserve is authoritative, his Anishinabe vocabulary is authentic, and his refreshingly smart
humour runs liberally through the book.
www.quillandquire.com
First Nation Novel Unit
Black Star, Bright Dawn
By Scott O’Dell
Scott O’Dell
www.betterworldbooks.com
About the Author
Scott O'Dell was born O'Dell Gabriel Scott, but his name was published wrong on the
book and he decided to keep the name Scott O'Dell. He was born on Terminal Island in Los
Angeles, California, to parents May Elizabeth Gabriel and Bennett Mason Scott. He attended
multiple colleges, including Occidental College in 1919, the University of Wisconsin–Madison
in 1920, Stanford University in 1920-1921, and the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1925.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Air Force. Before becoming a full time writer, he
was employed as a cameraman and technical director, as a book columnist for the Los Angeles
Mirror, and as book review editor for the Los Angeles Daily News.
In 1934, O'Dell began writing articles as well as fiction and non-fiction books for adults.
In the late 1950s, he began writing children’s books. Scott O’Dell received the Hans Christian
Andersen Award for lifetime achievement in 1972. In 1976, he received the University of
Southern Mississippi Silver Medallion, and the Regina Medal in 1978.
In 1981, he established the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, an award for
$5,000 that recognizes outstanding works of historical fiction. The winners must be published in
English by a U.S. publisher and be set in the New World (North, Central, and South America). In
1986, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books awarded O’Dell this same award. Scott
O’Dell died of prostate cancer on October 15, 1989, at the age of 91.
http://en.wikipedia.org
About the Novel
Black Star, Bright Dawn is about a young girl named Bright Dawn who runs the Iditarod
in place of her father who sustained an injury while practicing. One day, when she and her father
are hunting, her father gets trapped on a floating iceberg! Floating for weeks on the ice, Bright
Dawn’s father finds that he has come to fear the ocean. Never wanting to return to it again after
he is saved, they move to a village not at all close to the sea. While practicing for the Iditarod
which her father was to run, they fall into a snow bank and Bright Dawn’s father cracks his
shoulder blade! That is when Bright Dawn must run the Iditarod in place of her father. Bright
Dawn gets a team of dogs, but uses her dog, Black Star, for the lead dog. After getting all the
supplies she needs, she goes out to the starting line. A man standing near her introduces himself.
He is Oteg, and a great helper to Bright Dawn. Determined to win the race, Bright Dawn is high
spirited until she finds the many hardships of running the race. When she gets ahead of the lead
girl, she is sure she will win the race – that is, until she gets caught on a floating iceberg. When
she goes back to the last checkpoint, she finds a banquet waiting for her. When she receives
some awards, her family and her father’s bosses all cheer for her, and she feels like a winner
after all.
http://library.thinkquest.org
First Nation Fiction Unit
Truth & Bright Water
by Thomas King
Thomas King
http://www.mta.ca/culture/king.html
About the Author
Thomas King, novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, photographer, was born at Roseville,
California on April 24, 1943. The son of a Greek mother and a Cherokee father, King failed his first year
of university and took a series of jobs that included craps dealer and bank teller. In 1964, he worked his
way across the Pacific on a steamer and found employment in New Zealand and Australia as a
photographer and photojournalist. Returning to the US in 1967, King attended Chico State University
(BA 1970, MA 1972), and later worked as an administrator and teacher at Humboldt State University and
the University of Utah (PhD 1986).
King emigrated to Canada in 1980, accepting a position in Native Studies at the University of
Lethbridge. It was during this time that he began writing serious fiction. His first novel, Medicine River
(1990), received considerable critical praise, and was made into a CBC film.
Critics and reviewers praise Thomas King's funny and poignant portrayal of the challenges facing
Native Canadians in the past, and today. His characters are strong in the face of oppression and prejudice,
but they are also fallible in endearingly humorous ways.
King currently teaches English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph.
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com
Text Summary
Truth is a small railroad town in Montana, and Bright Water is the Indian reserve just
across a river in Canada. This contemporary story starts with a mystery involving a phantom
woman leaping into that river and leaving behind a small skull, then meanders through these two
communities and the interweaving lives of several characters whose lives started here and
sometimes circled back, until it ends at the river again.
The voice telling the story belongs to a 15-year-old boy whose name is spoken exactly
once, by someone who is less than reliable. (It may or may not be Tecumseh.) The boy and all
the characters are Native Indian (as they say in Canada), except his dog, Soldier, a major
character. Their tribes aren't mentioned either. But everything --- the voices, memories,
characters, the buildings, and the landscape dancing in fog --- is definite and alive.
As these characters (the boy's best friend, his separated parents, his footloose aunt, his
grandmother who he says isn't a witch but who seems to have acted like one, the returned artist,
and a woman who is convinced that Marilyn Monroe was an Indian) live their daily lives, they
expose their weaknesses and deploy their defenses of observation, desire, and creativity. They
also present us with more mysteries. The first one is solved, but some others should keep reading
groups talking for hours. Even some of the jokes are time bombs that don't go off until you think
about them later.
The boy who leads us through this (not always understanding the significance of what he
describes) is a truly made and admirable character who has the dreams, survival instincts, and
practical literalism about the adult world of a believable, rural, small-town teenager. His Native
identity is never asserted but never doubted, it's just part of his life. For example, Tecumseh (if
that's really his name) feels a relationship with the buffalo that wind their way through the story
in different forms; he is also interested in trying out the Internet and someday visiting the West
Edmonton Mall. The author is able to say quite a bit about Native people in today's world
without hitting us over the head with either a stark version of the truth or our ignorance. But we
absorb it, from the setting, the stories, and the characters --- and their sometimes biting wit.
www.bookreporter.com
First Nation Fiction Unit
Ghost of Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen
About the Author
Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western
Writer's Golden Spur Award. In addition, his novels have won many state Reader's Choice
awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown,
Petey, Touching Spirit Bear, Red Midnight, Tree Girl and Ghost of Spirit Bear. His novels,
Rescue Josh McGuire, Petey and Touching Spirit Bear have also been optioned for screen use.
Ben's articles and photos have appeared in numerous magazines around the world. His
novels have been carried by Scholastic and Troll book fairs, and are recorded on unabridged
audio tape with recorded books. Recently Ben was featured nationally on Jack Hanna's Animal
Adventures and also on German national TV.
Ben lives in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, with a 750 pound black bear that he
adopted and has raised for the last twenty five years.
Summary of Ghost of Spirit Bear
Cole Mathews used to be a violent kid, but a year in exile on a remote Alaskan island has
a way of changing your perspective. After being mauled by a Spirit Bear and eating mice,
worms, and even his own vomit to survive, Cole started to heal. He even invited his victim, Peter
Driscal, to join him on the island and they became friends.
But now their time in exile is over, and Cole and Peter are heading back to the one place
they're not sure they can handle: high school. Gangs and violence haunt the hallways, and Peter's
limp and speech impediment make him a natural target. In a school where hate and tension are
getting close to the boiling point, the monster of rage hibernating inside Cole begins to stir. Ben
Mikaelsen's riveting saga of survival and self-awareness continues in the sequel to his gripping
Touching Spirit Bear. This time he weaves a tale of urban survival where every day is a struggle
to stay sane. As the problems in his school grow worse, Cole realizes that it's not enough just to
change himself. He has to change his world.
http://www.benmikaelsen.com/storefront/
First Nation Literature Unit
My Name is Seepeetza
By Shirley Sterling
About the Author
Shirley Sterling is a member of the Nlaka'pamux First Nation of the Interior Salish of
British Columbia, which is located in the southern part of the province. (The Salish territory also
extends into northern Washington, Idaho, and western Montana.) The First Nations are Native
peoples who already inhabited the area of the Americas when the first Europeans arrived. They
were called "Indians," and their descendants are also known as "Aboriginal" people, as well as
"First Nations."
Born on Joyaska Indian Reserve 2 (in the Kamloops district on Godey Creek near
Merritt), she was the fifth of seven children. Her early years were spent happily at home, where,
Sterling says, "We could climb trees, and holler and screech and jump on the horses and go for a
ride and sing." At five and a half she was sent to the Kamloops Indian Residential School, in
accordance with Canada's Indian Act of 1876 that sought to assimilate First Nations children into
white culture by removing them from their homes, communities, and Native languages. She
remained there for seven years.
http://www.learner.org/workshops/
About the Text
My Name is Seepeetza is the diary format novel written by Nlakapamux author Shirley
Sterling about her life as a twelve-year-old attending the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The entries, from September 1958 to August 1959, offer students a glimpse of what life was like
for a girl from a First Nation family sent to residential school. Instead of her Nlakapamux name,
the girl is known by the teachers as Martha Stone. The life at residential school is filled with
rules, harsh discipline, and severe nuns. Seepeetza is not allowed to speak her language, her long
hair is cut off, and when she wets her bed serious repercussions result. The entries deal with
everyday life as well as the serious and deadly nature of these schools. Seepeetza relates events
such as bullying in the school and the death of one of the students. The entries are balanced by
the ones made during her life on her family's ranch. From these the reader learns to empathize
with this character's struggles and small triumphs.
http://www.goodminds.com/
First Nation Fiction Unit
White Girl
by Sylvia Olsen
About the Author
Sylvia Olsen was born and raised in Victoria. When she was seventeen, she married a
member of the Tsartlip First Nations. Olsen has raised her four children within the Tsartlip
community. Olsen obtained a Master’s degree in History. She now works in First Nations
community management. She is conducting research with teen parents from the Saanich First
Nation, to increase the community’s support network for young parents.
Story Synopsis
Until she was fourteen, Josie was pretty ordinary. Then her Mom meets Martin, “a real
ponytail Indian.” Before long, Josie finds herself living on a reserve outside town, with a new
stepfather, a new stepbrother, and a new name – “Blondie.” In town, white was the ambient
noise, the no-colour background. On the reserve, she’s White, and most people seem to see only
her blonde hair and blue eyes.
Josie’s mother is no help. She never leaves the house, gripped by her fear of the unknown
beyond Martin’s doorstep. But Josie can’t afford to hide out forever. She has to go to school, and
she has to get herself a life, one way or another. So bit by bit, she finds a way through the
minefields. She makes a friend, Rose, who helps Josie to bridge the gap between being an
outsider and belonging. And Josie finds a family in Martin, Luke, and Grandma. As Josie
discovers more about her new family and her new home on the reserve, they become a real part
of her, like nothing else ever has, or ever will.
http://www.sononis.com/tg113.pdf
First Nation Short Story/Film Unit
Dance Me Outside
by W.P. Kinsella
www.google.ca
About the Author
William Patrick Kinsella was born on May 25, 1935, on a farm in Edmonton, in northern Alberta,
Canada, the son of John Matthew and Olive Mary (Elliott) Kinsella. Kinsella did not attend school until
fifth grade, but he caught up quickly and graduated from high school in 1953. After graduation, he
worked at a variety of jobs in Edmonton. He was a government clerk, an insurance investigator, and then
owner of a restaurant. He did not attend college until he was in his late thirties, receiving a Bachelor of
Arts degree from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, in 1974. He then received a Master of Fine
Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1978 and taught English for five years at the University of
Calgary, Alberta, from 1978 to 1983.
www.enotes.com
About the Novel and Film
This Canadian drama based on a book by W.P. Kinsella, examines the tension between Indians
and Anglos in Canada from an Indian perspective. Silas Crow, who lives on a Northern Ontario reserve,
wants to take a mechanic's course in Toronto with his friend Frank Fencepost. But before he can enroll,
the teen must write a short narrative describing his home. The film is a series of vignettes from Crow's
narrative. The vignettes are alternately funny and poignant.
First Nation Film/Film Screenplay Unit
Smoke Signals
by Sherman Alexie
www.pleasantfluff.com
About the Author
Sherman Alexie was born on October 7, 1966 on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit,
WA. Sherman Alexie, the son a Spokane Indian mother and a Coeur d’Alene Indian father, was born
hydrocephalic (with water on the brain) and at six months underwent a brain operation from which he was
not expected to survive. He did more than that. Despite the resulting childhood seizures, Alexie turned out
to be an advanced reader and was purportedly reading novels like The Grapes of Wrath at the age of five.
As a teenager enrolled in the reservation schools, Alexie found his mother's name written in a
textbook assigned to him. Determined not to spend his life on the reservation, he sought a better education
at the high school in Reardan, Washington, where he was a top student and a star basketball player. Upon
graduation in 1985, Alexie attended Gonzaga University on a scholarship from which he transferred to
Washington State University after two years to study pre-med.
Fainting spells in anatomy class convinced Alexie to change his major, a decision reinforced by a
love of poetry and an aptitude for writing. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and
shortly thereafter received the Washington State Arts Commission Poetry Fellowship and the National
Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship.
As a young man, Alexie struggled with alcoholism but gave up drinking at the age of 23 and has
been sober since.
http://contemporarylit.about.com
About the Text
Young Indian man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling
everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by
Arnold. Arnold soon left his family (and his tough son Victor), and Victor hasn't seen his father for 10
years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him funding for the trip to get Arnold's
remains, but only if Thomas will also go with him. Thomas and Victor hit the road.
www.imdb.com
First Nation Modern Play Unit
by Drew Hayden Taylor
The Berlin Blues
The Bootlegger Blues
by Drew Hayden Taylor
http://talonbooks.com
About the Author
During the past twenty-five years of his life, Drew Hayden Taylor has done many things,
most of which he is proud of. An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario, he has
worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center
in Washington D.C., to being Artistic Director of Canada's premiere Native theatre company,
Native Earth Performing Arts. He has been an award-winning playwright (with over 70
productions of his work), a journalist/columnist (appearing regularly in several Canadian
newspapers and magazines), short-story writer, novelist, television scriptwriter, and has worked
on over 17 documentaries exploring the Native experience. Most notably, he wrote and directed
Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew, a documentary on Native humor for the National Film
Board of Canada.
He has traveled to sixteen countries around the world, spreading the gospel of Native
literature to the world. Through many of his books, most notably the four volume set of the
Funny, You Don’t Look Like One series, he has tried to educate and inform the world about
issues that reflect, celebrate, and interfere in the lives of Canada's First Nations.
Self-described as a contemporary story teller in whatever form, he co-created and for
three years was the head writer for Mixed Blessings, a television comedy series. In 2007, a
made-for-television movie he wrote, based on his Governor General's nominated play, In A
World Created By A Drunken God, was nominated for three Gemini Awards, including Best
Movie. Originally, it aired on APTN and opened at the American Indian Film Festival in San
Francisco and the Dreamspeakers Film Festival in Edmonton.
The last few years has seen him proudly serve as the Writer-In-Residence at the
University of Michigan, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Luneburg
(Germany), as well as a host of Canadian theatre companies, i.e., Cahoots theatre, Blyth Theatre,
etc. From 1994-97, he proudly served as the Artistic Director of Canada's premiere Native
theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts.
About the Text
A consortium of German developers shows up on the fictional Otter Lake Reserve with a
seemingly irresistible offer to improve the local economy: the creation of “Ojibway World,” a Native
theme park designed to attract European tourists, causing hilarious personal and political divisions within
the local community.
The Berlin Blues concludes Drew Hayden Taylor’s Blues quartet, showcasing contemporary
stereotypes of First Nations people, including a fair number that originate from Indigenous communities
themselves, to the often outraged delight of his international audiences.
Yet Europeans and other ethnic groups are not exempt from Taylor’s incisive but good-humored
caricatures. Central to the motivation of these German developers are the hugely successful and bestselling adventure novels of the German author Karl May, whose work Adolf Hitler recommended as
“good wholesome reading for all ages.” Written in the early twentieth century, they popularized
Rousseau’s image of Indigenous peoples as “Noble Savages” among European, and especially German
youth, and have led to the creation of Karl May theme parks all over central Europe, where adult tourists
can shed their inhibitions and play Cowboys and Indians with a seriousness as ridiculous as it is
abandoned. This is identity politics stripped of its politically correct hyper-seriousness and dramatized to
its absurd and ultimately hilarious conclusion.
http://talonbooks.com
First Nation Literature
Short Story Unit
Texts
Fearless Warriors
by Drew Hayden Taylor
Ten Little Indians
by Sherman Alexie
http://talonbooks.com
www.libereading.com
Tales from Moccasin Avenue
Anthology
www.totempublications.com
First Nation Poetry Unit
Outline
http://thefederationoflight.ning.com
Section A: The Seven Grandfather Teachings
Section B: The Seven Grandfather Teachings Journals
Section C: Reading, Analysing, and Writing Response Journals
About First Nation Poetry
Section D: Writing First Nation Poetry
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Nowhere to Run: The Killing of Constable Dennis Strongquill
by Mike McIntyre
http://gocanada.about.com
Assignment #2 - Map Activity – 20 points
 Using copies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba road maps from a road atlas or Internet
road map, cut and tape three province maps together.
 Using a highlighter, find and highlight the towns on each list.
 Identify the places in the three provinces that you have visited (use * to mark these).
 After reading each reference to the towns in the book, refer to the map to orient yourself as to the
progress of the main characters.
 Send the maps into your instructor for marking at the end of the unit.
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Sylvan Lake
Perryvale
Fawcett
Drumheller
Edmonton
Athabasca
Clyde
Thorhild
Boyle
Morinville
Red Deer
Smith
Hondo
Rochester
Gibbons
Pickardville
Westlock
Yorkton
Nokomis
Wolseley
Shellmouth
Indian Head
Grenfell
Manitoba
Swan River
Barrows
Churchill
Waywayseecapo
Amaranth
Roblin
Russell
Rossburn
Winnipeg
Brandon
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Playing With Fire
The Highest Highs and Lowest Lows of Theo Fleury
by Theoren Fleury
and Kirstie McLellan Day
Jordin Tootoo
www.wallpaperpimper.com
Chapter 6 – Piestany – 21 points
1. Fleury states that “The more pressure, the better I played (p. 37). Do you do well under
pressure? Why or why not? Explain the circumstances where there was a lot of pressure
on you and how you responded to this pressure. (5)
2. What other ‘bad habit’ did Theoren pick up in this chapter? (1)
3. Research the website www.nativehockey.com and list three (3) First Nation hockey
players, current and retired. Prepare a short list of five (5) facts for each of the three
players you chose. (15)
First Nation Novel Unit
Deadly Loyalties, by Jennifer Storm
Chapter Four Assignment
48 points
www.childinjurylawyerblog.com
Read each question carefully. You will notice that after each question, there is a number
in parentheses. These numbers mean the minimum amount of sentences required to fully answer
the question. This standard number for each question is important: the more fully you answer
each question to the best of your ability, using examples from your personal experience when
required, the better your grade will be for the overall chapter.
Also, remember to construct your answers using proper conventions: grammar, spelling,
and punctuation. Review your grammar conventions from ELA 10F and ELA 20F.
Chapter Four Assignment
1.
Preview Chapter Four Assignment requirements.
2.
Read Chapter Four in the novel.
3.
In your opinion, what are some of the root causes of why people use drugs? What are
three (3) pros and three (3) cons of drug use? (8)
4.
Blaise states that “It was the only thing I had of Sheldon’s and it was sentimental to me
now.” (page 38) What is the item? What do Damion and Blaise plan to do with the other
articles of Sheldon’s? State your opinion of Blaise’s statement and their actions. (4)
5.
The violent fight that Blaise finds herself in “is gonna make me so cool” (page 41) and
“Hardcore” (page 42). Do you think it is ‘cool’ to fight? Why or why not? Explain. (2)
6.
Now that Blaise is part of the gang, she states that “I just got to live every little girl’s
dream” (page 43). Do you agree that being in a gang means what Blaise says? In your
opinion, what is ‘every little girl’s dream’? (4)
7.
In today’s society, girls are becoming more and more violent. Read the attached article
about the murder of Reena Virk and research further about this crime on the following
website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Reena_Virk). In a ½ page journal, state
your opinion about the information you have discovered. Refer to the Personal Response
to Literature handout to guide you. (10)
8.
View DVD of The Reena Virk Story, with Manjit and Suman Virk. After viewing, write a
one (1) page journal response to the DVD. See Personal Response to Literature handout
to guide you. (20)
First Nation Non-Fiction Unit
Conspiracy of Silence
by Lisa Priest
Assignment #5 – 100 Points
Faceless Aboriginal Doll Project
http://kumtux.blogspot.ca/2005/11/aboriginal-angel-doll-project.html
1.
View CBC video clip titled "Faceless Dolls Project offers striking statement
about missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada on the following website:
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/other/2012/04/18/watch-faceless-dolls/.
2.
Read the article titled "Faceless Dolls Project Gives Voice to Missing and
Murdered Aboriginal Women on
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/other/2012/04/16/faceless-dolls-project-gives-voiceto-missing-and-murdered-aborginal-women/
3.
Read the article titled Faceless Doll Project - "Each Statistic Tells A Story on
http://www.nwac.ca/programs/faceless-doll-project-each-statistic-tells-story.
4.
Using a variety of materials of your choice and your own creativity, design and
construct a faceless Aboriginal doll in honor and memory of the missing and murdered
Aboriginal women in Canada.
Examples: