Today, talk of six books by Indigenous writers, including a novel, an illustrated children’s book, two books of poetry, and two books of non-fiction. These are works by Binnizá & Maya Ch'orti', Cree-Métis, Kanien’kehá:ka Ahkwesáhsne /Mohawk St. Regis, Kanien’kehá:ka, Wakeniáhton (Turtle Clan), and Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara/Tsimshian writers.
Earlier this month—with Indigenous History Month in mind—I wrote about Thomas King’s latest Thumps Dreadfulwater mysteries, and my theme of Indigenous reading for this year’s Toronto Public Library Reading Challenge, including seven books by Indigenous writers that align with challenge themes. Now, on the other side of Indigenous Peoples’
Sometimes summer is a slow reading time for me, but this year? The opposite! The stacks were swelling in May and June, and every flat surface was cluttered with books begun-but-unfinished, and I didn’t have a chance to think about what else I might do…so, I read.
Today’s discussion includes four more books by Indigenous authors adding to the previous days’ bookchat (one, two, three, four), sparked by Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st. In Joseph Kakwinokanasum’s My Indian Summer (2022) the chapters are named for songs from Hunter’s youth: from “Love Will Keep us Together”
The past few days, I’ve shared talk of ten different books by and about Indigenous stories (here, here, and here), and today I’ll write about three more: some poems, a novel, and an illustrated song. D.A. Lockhart’s 2022 collection, Go Down Odawa Way (Kegedonce Press, in Neyaashiinigmiing / Owen
