Aboriginal Publishers & Resources (Aboriginal books)

Aboriginal Publishers in Canada

[note: If you know of additional Aboriginal publishers or resources, please email: livingtradition@telus.net -- we will expand this list]

• Theytus (Penticton, BC) – Canada’s first Aboriginal publisher, in business for nearly 30 years. Publishes adult and children’s works on Aboriginal themes by Aboriginal authors -- www.theytus.com

• Kegedonce Press (Cape Croker First Nation, Wiarton, ON) – Award-winning Native-owned and operated. Develops, promotes and publishes the work of Indigenous peoples -- www.kegedonce. com

• Gabriel Dumont Institute (Saskatoon, SK) -- High-calibre Metis-specific resources – www.gdins.org

• Ningwakwe Learning Press (Southampton, ON) – publishes culturally appropriate resources for the Aboriginal literacy field, located at Saugeen First Nation -- www.ningwakwe.on.ca

• Pemmican Publications Incorporated (Winnipeg, MB) – Publishes books that promote Canadian Metis writers and illustrators through stories that are informed by Metis experience – www.pemmican.mb.ca

• Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre (Saskatoon, SK) – Materials written in Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota or English that pertain to the First Nations of Saskatchewan – www.sicc.sk.ca

Resources:

• www.goodminds.com – www.goodminds.com began distributing Native educational resources in April 2000. It is a Native-owned and operated business located on the Six Nations Reserve at Brantford, ON. www.goodminds is owned and operated by Linda and Jeff Burnham. Sheila Staats is the cultural book reviewer. The company now offers 4000 Aboriginal titles including books and music and has recently branched out to carry non-Aboriginal books to offer a comprehensive distribution service. An excellent resource with an informative website.

• www.oyate.org – “Oyate is a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and that all people will know our stories belong to us.” A fascinating, informative and thought-provoking U.S. website, indispensible in learning how to “read” books about Aboriginal people, fiction or non-fiction.

Student Questions About Residential School

Student Questions About Residential School

We asked grade 10 sociology students at St. Andrew’s School in High Prairie, Alberta, to write questions related to Larry Loyie’s presentation on his life in residential school and his new book Goodbye Buffalo Bay (a true story of life in a residential school... and moving on). These excellent questions were the result.

These questions can be used to prepare a class for a residential school presentation. When Larry answers questions like these in a classroom setting, he is respectful of the age, comprehension and sensitivity of the students.

For more study material, see Larry Loyie's website: www.firstnationswriter.com

Here are the questions asked by the grade 10 students:

What was residential school?
What is a Mission?
What was residential school like?
What happened at residential school?
What was life like there?
What were some of the things that happened in residential schools?
What did the schools look like inside?
What did the sleeping quarters (dormitories) look like?
How long did you have to go to school?
Was it hard being young and not really having family around while you were at school?
Did their parents know how they were treated? Did they do anything?
How long did parents and children have to prepare before children were sent away?
In summer, when kids went home, was it celebrated?
Where did white people go to school?
Do things like that still happen?
In residential school was there lots of abuse?
What were some of the punishments in residential school?
Was Lawrence (Larry Loyie in his books) ever beaten up?
Did they have nurses or anyone to help them if they were sick?
Did many people try to escape from residential school and did they get out?
Was it hard trying to escape from the school?
What would happen if they caught you? If you escaped would they beat you?
What year did residential school end?
When you were in the school, what was your form of wealth value?
What did you do with others? Interact? Trade your value items? Or did you keep to yourself?
How long did you have to stay in school?
How did they take away the culture and language?
Do you still speak Cree?
Was it hard to become a writer?
When you started writing, what made you want to write about your childhood?
Did the residential school scar you for life?
Is there anything you wish you can go back into the past to fix?
What was the greatest thing that had happened to you in your struggling life?

Larry Loyie talks and news

April and May are busy months for Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden. We hope to see you along the way!

Presentations to May 1, 2009

Alberta Library Association Conference, Jasper, BC. Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden will give a talk “Perspectives on Aboriginal Publishing” on Friday, April 24 at 1:15 pm.

Introducing Goodbye Buffalo Bay, A true story of life in a residential school…and of moving on. Join Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at the Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library, 7:30 pm. All are invited to this free event.

Other free talks in Vancouver: The Gathering Place, Tuesday, April 28 at 2 pm; Britannia Branch Library, Wed., April 29 at 12:15 pm; Carnegie Community Centre, May 1 at 3 pm.

ALSO: McBride, BC. On Wednesday, April 22, 2009, noon to 3 pm at the Beanery 2 Bistro, Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden will visit for a Goodbye Buffalo Bay book signing and reading. Several chapters of Goodbye Buffalo Bay are set in McBride, BC.

Excerpt from Goodbye Buffalo Bay:

“I love McBride,” Lawrence said to Elizabeth. “I could stay here forever.”

“That’s the café where I’ll be working.” She pointed inside the station. The Beanery
Café had a big window that looked out onto the platform.

Elizabeth was pleased. “I’ll be the first to see who gets off the train. Who knows? Maybe some famous movie star will get off one day.”

His sister strode out of the station carrying her suitcase. Lawrence hurried to keep up. “We’re staying with cousin Adele and her husband, Frank. They live across the river,” Elizabeth said. She walked to a taxi nearby, got in, and told the driver their destination.

More news of Larry Loyie books:

Larry’s four children’s books have now sold more than 35,000 copies.

Goodbye Buffalo Bay from Theytus Books received a “Highly Recommended” rating from CM magazine. Review available on the CM website.

Now a best-seller: The Gathering Tree from Theytus Books, Larry Loyie’s fictional account of a First Nations family learning HIV awareness and prevention together is now a best-seller. Larry and Constance have heard from many classes (from grade 4s to college level) that they use the book for health studies. The Gathering Tree include 15 questions and answers about HIV and AIDS, prepared in a family friendly way by health educator Melanie Rivers of the Chee Mamuk education program of the BC Centre for Disease Control.

When the Spirits Dance, Larry’s family story set during the Second World War, will soon be available in a soft cover edition from Theytus Books. The book introduces many subjects, including how war affects a family, Aboriginal culture and traditions, a child’s anger and confusion when trying to understand the meaning of war, Aboriginal veterans, food rationing and other changes to lifestyle brought about by war.

All of Larry Loyie’s children’s books are on the recommended resources listing of many school boards. The latest is the Calgary Board of Education which positively evaluated The Gathering Tree, When the Spirits Dance and Goodbye Buffalo Bay and will include them in the board’s May 2009 Recommended Resources listing for schools. The Calgary Board had already reviewed and highly recommended As Long as the Rivers Flow.

In March 2008, 2000 copies of As Long as the Rivers Flow were purchased by Scholastic Canada from Groundwood Books for use as part of the Moving Up with Literacy Program for Grade 5s.