Hosts

Host David A. Robertson

David A. Robertson is a two-time Governor General’s Literary Award winner and has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the Writer’s Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award, the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction, and the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award.  An author, editor, and speaker on Indigenous issues, mental health, and freedom of expression, his books include the novel The Theory of Crows; the memoirs All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety, and Black Water; the picture books When We Were Alone and On the Trapline; and the middle-grade series The Misewa Saga. Robertson is founder and Editorial Director of Swift Water Books, a Tundra Book Group imprint which focuses on celebrating Story and providing a platform for Indigenous writers and illustrators to share their truths. Robertson’s podcast Kiwew won the 2021 RTDNA Prairie Region Award for Best Podcast. A member of Norway House Cree Nation, he lives in Winnipeg.

52 Ways to Reconcile

The essential guide for all Canadians to understand how small and attainable acts towards reconciliation can make an enormous difference in our collective efforts to build a reconciled country.

52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing is an accessible, friendly guide for non-Indigenous people eager to learn, or Indigenous people eager to do more in our collective effort towards reconciliation, as people, and as a country. As much as non-Indigenous people want to walk the path of reconciliation, they often aren’t quite sure what to do, and they’re afraid of making mistakes. This book is the answer and the long overdue guide.

The idea of this book is simple: 52 small acts of reconciliation to consider, one per week, for an entire year. They’re all doable, and they’re all meaningful. All 52 steps take readers in the right direction, towards a healthier relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and a time when we are past trauma. By following these steps, we can live in stronger and healthier communities equally, and respectfully, together.

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A Steady Brightness of Being: Truths, Wisdom, and Love From Celebrated Indigenous Voices

Bringing together voices from across Turtle Island, a groundbreaking collection of letters from Indigenous writers, activists, and thinkers—to their ancestors, to future generations, and to themselves.

Drawing on the wisdom and personal experience of its esteemed contributors, this first-of-its-kind anthology tackles complex questions of our times to provide a rich tapestry of Indigenous life, past, present, and future. The letters explore the histories that have brought us to this moment, the challenges and crises faced by present-day communities, and the visions that will lead us to a new architecture for thinking about Indigeneity. Taking its structure from the medicine bundle—tobacco, sage, cedar, and sweetgrass—it will stir and empower readers, as well as enrich an essential and ongoing conversation about what reconciliation looks like and what it means to be Indigenous today.

 

Contributors: Billy-Ray Belcourt, Cindy Blackstock, Cody Caetano, Warren Cariou, Norma Dunning, Kyle Edwards, Jennifer Grenz, Jon Hickey, Jessica Johns, Wab Kinew, Terese Marie Mailhot, Kent Monkman, Simon Moya-Smith, Pamela Palmater, Tamara Podemski, Waubgeshig Rice, David A. Robertson, Niigaan Sinclair, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Zoe Todd, David Treuer, Richard Van Camp, katherena vermette, Jesse Wente, Joshua Whitehead

Edited by Stephanie Sinclair and Sara Sinclair

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You Were Made for This World: Celebrated Indigenous Voices Speak to Young People

An inclusive must-buy for all upper elementary collections and for any institution serving an Indigenous community.” –School Library Journal

A joyful, proud and groundbreaking collection of letters and art for young people, You Were Made for This World brings together celebrated Indigenous voices from across Turtle Island.

Every young person deserves the chance to feel like they belong, that they are recognized, that they matter. In the spirit of A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, You Were Made for This World brings together forty Indigenous writers, artists, activists, athletes, scholars and thinkers with a joint purpose: to celebrate the potential of young people, to share a sense of joy and pride in language, traditional and personal stories and teachings, and shared experiences, and to honor young people for who they are and what they dream of.

Including contributions from activist Autumn Peltier, singer/songwriter Tanya Tagaq, hockey player Ethan Bear, Governor General’s Award–winning author David A. Robertson, artists Chief Lady Bird and Christi Belcourt, illustrator Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, and dozens of others, this beautifully collaborative collection urges readers to think about who they are, where they come from and where they’re going, with a warm familiarity that will inspire you to see yourself and your community with proud eyes.

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Festival Shows

Starring Souvankham Thammavongsa & katherena vermette
Hosted by David A. Robertson

Oct 18 @ 3 PM FREE
Memorial Park Library, Alexander Calhoun Salon, Main Floor

Tickets On Sale Aug 26!

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