Identity & memory
Shi-shi-etko
By Nicola I. Campbell (Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, Métis), illustrated by Kim LaFave.
A child treasures family teachings, language, and the natural world before being sent to residential school.
Selected Books
Books Featured in This Project
This page includes the fifteen picture books that informed the findings of this study, along with additional recommended titles that reflect key themes such as relational identity, everyday resilience, cultural continuity, storytelling, and connection to land.
Books Included in This Study
The following fifteen books were analysed as part of the capstone research and informed the key findings presented on this website.
Identity & memory
Resilience & survival
Shin-chi’s Canoe
By Nicola I. Campbell (Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, Métis), illustrated by Kim LaFave.
A continuation of Shi-shi-etko, this story highlights resilience, memory, and cultural survival.
Resilience & memory
When We Were Alone
By David A. Robertson (Cree), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree–Métis).
This story connects intergenerational memory, residential school history, and cultural resilience.
Healing & relationships
Birdsong
By Julie Flett (Cree–Métis), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree–Métis).
A gentle story about friendship, art, healing, and intergenerational connection.
Belonging & care
You Hold Me Up
By Monique Gray Smith (Cree, Lakota, Scottish), illustrated by Danielle Daniel (Algonquin).
This book explores empathy, care, and respectful relationships in accessible language.
Culture & continuity
On the Trapline
By David A. Robertson (Cree), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree–Métis).
This book highlights family relationships, memory, land-based learning, and cultural continuity.
Humour & community
Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock
By Dallas Hunt (Cree), illustrated by Amanda Strong (Métis).
A lively story of community problem-solving, Cree language, humour, and belonging.
Land & relationship
We All Play / Kimêtawânaw
By Julie Flett (Cree–Métis), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree–Métis).
A bilingual story showing children, animals, and the natural world in playful relationship.
Land & water
We Are Water Protectors
By Carole Lindstrom (Anishinaabe/Métis), illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit/Haida).
This book focuses on water protection, collective responsibility, and Indigenous environmental activism.
Love & belonging
I Sang You Down from the Stars
By Tasha Spillett-Sumner (Cree/Trinidadian), illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit/Haida).
A loving story of birth, family, cultural tradition, and belonging.
Identity & inspiration
Go Show the World
By Wab Kinew (Anishinaabe), illustrated by Joe Morse.
This book celebrates Indigenous role models, pride, strength, and possibility.
Identity & self-expression
Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox
By Danielle Daniel (Algonquin), illustrated by Danielle Daniel (Algonquin).
This book introduces Anishinaabe totem teachings and connects identity with self-expression and imagination.
Joy & belonging
My Heart Fills with Happiness
By Monique Gray Smith (Cree, Lakota, Scottish), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree–Métis).
This book highlights everyday joy, gratitude, connection, and belonging.
History & resilience
I Am Not a Number
By Jenny Kay Dupuis (Nipissing First Nation) and Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Gillian Newland.
A story for young readers about residential school experiences, identity, and resilience.
Treaties & responsibility
Treaty Words: For As Long as the Rivers Flow
By Aimée Craft (Anishinaabe), illustrated by Luke Swinson (Anishinaabe).
This book explains treaty relationships, responsibilities, and Indigenous understandings of agreement.
Additional Recommended Books
The following titles were not part of the study dataset, but they reflect similar themes and may be useful for educators, caregivers, and readers who wish to explore further.
Water & responsibility
The Water Walker
By Joanne Robertson (Anishinaabe kwe; Atikameksheng Anishnawbek), illustrated by Joanne Robertson.
This story highlights water protection, community responsibility, and relational ways of understanding the natural world.
Language & healing
Stolen Words
By Melanie Florence (Cree, Scottish), illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard.
This book explores language loss, intergenerational healing, and the lasting effects of residential schools.
Community & resilience
Powwow Day
By Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation).
A story of anticipation, family support, cultural celebration, and resilience through community.
Gratitude & continuity
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
By Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Frané Lessac.
This book follows the seasons through Cherokee perspectives on gratitude, community, and everyday life.
Land & wonder
SkySisters
By Jan Bourdeau Waboose (Nishnawbe Ojibway), illustrated by Brian Deines.
A beautifully illustrated story of sisterhood, stillness, land, and the wonder of the northern lights.
Nature & respect
The Elders Are Watching
By David Bouchard (Métis), with artwork by Roy Henry Vickers (First Nations artist; Tsimshian, Haida, Heiltsuk ancestry).
This poetic book encourages respect for nature and reflects relationships between human life and the environment.