Donovan Yaciuk – illustratör

A great read and a perfect teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month!Explore Métis history from the fur trade era in this time-travelling adventure for young adults. Pemmican Wars is the first volume in the acclaimed A Girl Called Echo graphic novel series by Governor General's Award–winning author katherena vermette. Blending time travel, historical fiction, and coming-of-age, this Indigenous graphic novel introduces readers to Métis history through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Echo Desjardins.Separated from her mother and adjusting to life in a new home and a new school, Echo struggles to find where she belongs. An ordinary history class turns extraordinary when Echo is transported to the prairies of 1814. There, readers will discover:A time-travelling adventure that connects a contemporary Métis teen with the history of her peopleImportant events in Métis and Canadian history, including the Pemmican Wars, the fur trade, traditional bison hunting practices, and the events leading to the Battle of Seven OaksA historically grounded portrayal of the prairies in the 19th-century and the experiences of Métis communitiesAs Echo moves between the present and the past, she experiences Métis history firsthand, gaining a deeper understanding of her identity, her community, and the connections that reach across generations.Pemmican Wars brings to life the people, places, and events that shaped Métis history and Canadian history. It's an engaging introduction to Indigenous graphic novels, historical fiction, and stories of identity and belonging, Pemmican Wars is an excellent resource for classrooms, libraries, and readers interested in Métis history, Indigenous perspectives, Canadian history, and graphic novels for teens.

A great read and teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month!Echo Desjardins is adjusting to her new home, finding friends, and learning about Métis history. She just can’t stop slipping back and forth in time. One ordinary afternoon in class, Echo finds herself transported to the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. All is not well in the territory as Canadian surveyors have arrived to change the face of territory, and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing access to their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for her friends and the future of her people in the Red River Valley.

Winner of the Indigenous Voices Award, Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett is a powerful, critically acclaimed young adult graphic novel about friendship, identity, and resilience.In the heart of Winnipeg, Manitoba, best friends Miikwan and Dez are inseparable. Miikwan is Anishinaabe, and Dez is Inninew. Together, they navigate the complexities of growing up in an urban landscape—balancing the beauty of their culture with the harsh truths of modern life.When Dez’s grandmother falls gravely ill, Dez is devastated. Terrified of the child welfare system and being sent to a group home, Dez disappears into the city. Left behind, Miikwan is heartbroken as the painful memory of her own missing mother resurfaces.Surviving the City centers on Indigenous people confronting the real-world crisis of MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People). This story tackles themes of coming of age, feminism, and systemic colonialism. Perfect for fans of contemporary graphic novels exploring urban Indigenous experiences, cultural traditions like the Berry Fast, and friendship.Ideal for education and classroom use—an invaluable teaching resource for middle school, high school, and university curricula covering Indigenous literature, Canadian history, social justice, and human rights.Essential community reading—a must-have for library collections, book clubs, youth programs, and awareness discussions surrounding REDress Day and MMIWG2S advocacy.

A great read and an excellent teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month! Learn about the history of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples in Canada from Confederation to the Oka Crisis and beyond in this Indigenous graphic novel anthology for young adults.Explore 150 years of history through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey showing how Indigenous Peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.Read this book yourself or with students to learn more about Indigenous history and the history of colonization in Canada. Explore the following:the story of Annie Bannatyne, a Red River Métis woman, whose reaction to a Canada First settler’s racist article inspired a young Louis Rielresistance against assimilation and the potlatch ban through the story of Ligwiłda'x̱w Chief Billy Assuthe conflict between Indigenous traditional law and Canadian law through the Indigenous horror story of windigo killer Jack Fiddler and his brother, Josephdiscrimination against Indigenous veterans through the story of Francis Pegahmagabow, the most effective sniper of World War IInuit naming traditions, shamanism, and identity discsthe Sixties Scoop and the abuse faced by Indigenous children in foster care land claims and the Dene Nation’s fight to defend the North from the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline through the story of Chief Frank T’Seleietreaty rights, “salmon wars,” and the 1981 raids by fishing wardens and the Quebec Provincial Police on Mi’gmaw fishers in ListugujElijah Harper’s rejection of the Meech Lake Accord and the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance, also known as the Oka Crisisland and water defense movements, and what an Indigenous-led decolonized future might look like through a time-travelling Indigenous futurism storyAlongside each story, find a timeline of historical events, an author’s note, cited sources, and a select bibliography for further reading. An effective teaching tool: Use the Teacher Guide for This Place: 150 Years Retold to simplify your planning! With curriculum connections for grades 9–12, the teacher guide includes 12 comprehensive lesson plans for high school and post-secondary English, History, and Indigenous Studies courses.This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter initiative. With this $35M initiative, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

A great read and teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month!Echo Desjardins just can't stop slipping back and forth in time.In Northwest Resistance, Echo travels to 1885, a period of turmoil. The bison are gone, settlers from the East are arriving daily, and the Métis and First Nations of the Northwest face hunger and uncertainty as their traditional way of life is threatened. The Canadian government has ignored their petitions, but hope rises when Louis Riel returns to help. However, battles between Canadian forces and the Métis and their allies lead to defeat at Batoche. Through it all, Echo gains new perspectives about where she came from and what the future may hold.

Dez’s grandmother has passed away. Grieving, and with nowhere else to go, they’re living in a group home. On top of everything else, Dez is navigating a new relationship and coming into their identity as a Two-Spirit person. Miikwan is crushing on the school’s new kid Riel, but doesn’t really understand what Dez is going through. Will she learn how to be a supportive ally to her best friend? Elder Geraldine is doing her best to be supportive, but she doesn’t know how to respond when the gendered protocols she’s grown up with are being thrown into question. Will Dez be comfortable expressing their full identity? And will their community relearn the teachings and overcome prejudice to celebrate them for who they are?

A great read and teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month!In Road Allowance Era, Echo’s story picks up again when she travels back in time to 1885.The government has not fulfilled its promise of land for the Métis, and many flee to the Northwest. As part of the fallout from the Northwest Resistance, their advocate and champion Louis Riel is executed. As new legislation corrodes Métis land rights, and unscrupulous land speculators and swindlers take advantage, many Métis settle on road allowances and railway land, often on the fringes of urban centres.For Echo, the plight of her family is apparent. Burnt out of their home in Ste. Madeleine, they make their way to Rooster Town, a shanty community on the southwest edges of Winnipeg. In this final instalment of her story, Echo is reminded of the strength and resilience of her people, forged through the loss and pain of the past, as she faces a triumphant future.

After finding out Mihko reinstated the Reckoner Initiative in Breakdown, Cole and Eva confronted Mihko head-on. But when Eva stumbles across a secret laboratory, she finds her worst nightmares come to life. After a vicious battle with Mihko’s newest test subject leaves Cole close to death, Eva is forced to continue their investigation without him. With Brady missing and Cole in recovery, Eva is on her own.What new terrors has Mihko created? Can they be stopped? And can Eva find Brady before it’s too late?

A great read and teaching tool for National Indigenous History Month!Inspired by true events, this story of strength, family, and culture shares the awe-inspiring resilience of Elder Betty Ross.Abandoned as a young child, Betsy is adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changes. Betsy is taken away to a residential school. There she is forced to endure abuse and indignity, but Betsy recalls the words her father spoke to her at Sugar Falls—words that give her the resilience, strength, and determination to survive.Sugar Falls is based on the true story of Betty Ross, Elder from Cross Lake First Nation. We wish to acknowledge, with the utmost gratitude, Betty’s generosity in sharing her story. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Sugar Falls goes to support the bursary program for The Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Foundation.This 10th-anniversary edition brings David A. Robertson’s national bestseller to life in full colour, with a foreword by The Hon. Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and a touching afterword from Elder Betty Ross herself.

No one knows how a suit of samurai armour ended up in the Fort Smith museum. When a mysterious stranger turns up to claim it, Sonny, a young Tłı̨chǫ Dene boy, is eager to help.Shinobu has travelled to Fort Smith, NWT, to reclaim his grandfather’s samurai sword and armour. But when he discovers that the sword was lost in a poker game, he must confront the man known as Benny the Bank. Along the way, Shinobu must rely on unlikely heroes—Sonny, his grandmother, and a visitor from the spirit world. Together, they face Benny and his men, including the giant they call Flinch.Will Shinobu be able to regain the lost sword and, with it, his family’s honour? Can Sonny and his grandmother help Shinobu while keeping the peace in their community?Now in full colour, this new edition includes additional background information and cultural context. Learn about the real-life inspiration behind the story and the intersections between Indigenous and Japanese Canadian experiences during the Second World War.

Fire Starters tackles restorative justice on a contemporary reserve in Northwestern Ontario.When two white teenagers accidentally set fire to a gas station, their Indigenous classmates are wrongly accused. The truth slowly comes to light as contrasting systems of justice are explored—both the traditional ways of the community and Canadian law enforcement.Fire Starters explores prejudice, racism, and what reconciliation could look like, "moving it from a concept to [an] on-the-ground example of what reconciliation could mean, in action, in a small community" (Debbie Reese).