ISBN: 9781774566466

Price: $29.95

Author(s): Currie, Susan

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Beech Street Books

Publication: 2024

Book Synopsis: Only 19 years old, Autumn Peltier has achieved so much by advocating for her community. Discover more about her advocacy for Indigenous peoples and clean water. Throughout history women have shaped the culture, politics, and people of the land we know as Canada. The women in this series have had a lasting impact on our daily lives. Explore their stories and learn how they have made a difference. This book is part of the Amazing Women in Canada (True North) series.

Curriculum Connection: Social Studies, Stories

Author Details: Susan Currie is Haudenosaunee on her mother’s side, and specifically of Cayuga descent. Her grandmother, Marjorie Hill, grew up at the Six Nations of the Grand River and attended residential school in Brantford at the notorious Mohawk Institute, also known as the “mush hole.”

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/autumn-peltier-hc

ISBN: 9781554556212

Price: $23.95

Author(s): Ellefson, Karen Hourie

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Publishing 

Publication: 2024

Book Synopsis:  “Who are you?”, whispers the voice in the wind. “You are Métis.” What does this strange word mean? A young girl watches her father to understand the unfamiliar label. Through a series of vignettes centred around her dad, the child interacts with her riverlot surroundings and delights in her Métis way of life. Discover the joy and vibrancy of the Métis culture from a child’s perspective. Feel the author’s pride in her Métis identity, and her love for her father, as she relives childhood memories.

Curriculum Connection: Identity, Metis

Author Details: Karen Hourie Ellefson grew up near High Bluff on “The Farm of the Century”, the oldest family owned farm in Manitoba. She is a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, and a strong advocate for Indigenous ways of knowledge and learning. Leah Dorion is a Métis artist raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/i-am-metis

ISBN: 9780316373487

Price: $25.99

Author(s): Mills, Billy and Donna Janell Bowman

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication: 2024

Book Synopsis: Billy Mills was once an orphan on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation. But before his father was called to the ancestors, he told Billy how toconquer his suffering: You have broken wings, son. You have to dig deeper,below the anger, the hurt, the self-pity. The pursuit of a dream will heal you. Despite poverty, racism, and severe health challenges, Billy raced toward his goal of becoming an Olympic athlete, inspired by his indigenous ancestors who stood strong when the odds were against them. Though at times he felt like his wings were clipped—a lone bird falling from the sky—he adapted and overcame, finally earning his place at the 1964 Olympics.This autobiographical tale of Billy Mills’s awe-inspiring flight to a record-breaking gold medal, breathtakingly illustrated by award-winning Lakota artist SD Nelson, is a soaring testament to Billy’s legacy and the Lakota prayer: we are all related.

Curriculum Connection: Heroes, Sport, Lakota 

Author Details: Written by Billy Mills, Lakota, and Donna Janell Bowman.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/wings-of-an-eagle-the-gold-medal-dreams-of-billy-mills-hc

ISBN: 9780760387191

Price: $25.99

Author(s): Vukelich, James Kaagegaabaw

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Epic Ink | becker&mayer! kids

Publication: 2024

Book Synopsis: Follow a day in the life of a young, mixed heritage Ojibwe child and learn key words and phrases from the Ojibwe language in this enchantingly illustrated children's book. The Ojibwe people are the largest Indigenous group of Turtle Island, now known as North America, and live around the present-day Great Lakes. After their land was taken by Europeans, many Ojibwe children were placed in boarding schools that forbid them to use their native language. Though this led to a decline in fluent speakers, there is a growing movement to restore the strength of the Ojibwe language. In Ojibwe culture, a dream catcher (izhi'on) protects people, especially children, from harm by catching bad dreams in its web and allowing good dreams to pass through the feathers hanging at the bottom. Wisdom Weavers introduces children to the Ojibwe language from an Indigenous perspective.

Curriculum Connection: Traditional, Spiritual, Dream Catcher

Author Details: James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw is a descendant of Turtle Mountain. Illustrated by Marcus Trujillo, a tribal member with the Pueblo of Laguna in affiliation with the Village of Paraje.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/wisdom-weavers-explore-the-ojibwe-language-and-the-meaning-of-dream-catchers

ISBN: 9781998223305

Price: $14.95

Author(s):  Aubin-Berube, Lisa-Maude

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Monster House Publishing

Publication: 2025

Book Synopsis: The story follows a wəlastəkewi skitap (man) named Askəmawsit along with his friends, Mahtəkwehs and Kahkakohs. It is the story of his quest of finding long lost Kelowəskap, in hopes that he can grant Askəmawsit’s biggest wish to live forever.

Curriculum Connection: Traditional storytelling

Author Details: Lisa-Maude Aubin-Berube is Wolastoqewi from Wahsipekuk and Quebecoise.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/ask%C9%99mawso-pre-order-for-march-20-25

ISBN: 9780593115817

Price: $9.50

Author(s): Christine Day

Format: Paperback

Publisher:  Crown Books For Young Readers

Publication: 2021

Book Synopsis: Maria Tallchief loved to dance, but was told that she might need to change her Osage name to one that sounded more Russian to make it as a professional ballerina. She refused, and worked hard at dancing her best, becoming America’s first prima ballerina. Many famous American ballets were created for Maria!

Curriculum Connection: Indigenous First, Ballet

Author Details: Written by Christine Day who is Upper Skagit, and Chelsea Clinton. Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/she-persisted-maria-tallchief-pb

ISBN: 9781773218885

Price: $24.99

Author(s): Sita MacMillan

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Annick Press

Publication: 2024

Book Synopsis: A vibrant debut early chapter book series celebrating Cree culture and being true to yourself. Sarah Ponakey has moved to the city from her home community with her mom and it’s the pits! She misses her Kôhkom, her best friend Eden, and the forests around her community. She’s had a hard time making new friends at school but at least she keeps in touch with Eden through meticulously written letters with very big words. After a particularly tough day where she nearly loses her favorite stuffed animal, Âhâsiw, and is brushed off by her mom, Sarah finds herself transported to a magical forest powwow . . . Accompanied by a life-sized Âhâsiw in his beautiful regalia, Sarah watches in excitement as a chipmunk emcees, and bears play the host drum at her first ever powwow. The more she sees, the more her confidence grows. As she joins in the celebration, Sarah discovers that she can connect to her Cree culture no matter where she is. Her Kôhkom’s going to love this story! Âhâsiw’s Forest Powwow, the first book from debut children’s author Sita MacMillan, features Cree words throughout the story and a note to the reader. Azby Whitecalf’s dynamic illustrations bring life to this warm, charming, and funny introduction to Sarah Ponakey, the storycatcher. 

Curriculum Connection: Storytelling, Chapter Book, Powwow

Author Details: Written by Sita MacMillan, a registered member of Zagime Anishinabek and is of a mixed Cree and Scottish background. Illustrated by Azby Whitecalf, a Plains Cree illustrator and character designer.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/sarah-ponakey-storycatcher-and-ahasiws-forest-powwow-hc

ISBN: 9781459832268

Price: $19.95

Author(s): Trina Rathgeber

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers

Publication: 2024

Book Synopsis: This book is based on extensive interviews she did with her grandmother before she died. Illustrated by Alina Pete from the Little Pine First Nation in Saskatchewan and coloured by Jillian Dolan of Cree and Métis ancestry. The illustrator worked extensively from reference photos and images to accurately represent the time and place in this book. Iskwew Pithasew nitisithikason. My name is Lady of the Thunderbird, and this is my story. It takes courage and bravery to survive in the barrens. In 1944, thirteen-year- old Ilse Schweder got lost in a snowstorm while checking her family's trapline in northern Canada. This is the harrowing story of how a young Indigenous girl defies the odds and endures nine days alone in the unforgiving barrens. Ilse faces many challenges, including freezing temperatures, wild animals, snow blindness and frostbite. With no food or supplies, she relies on Traditional Indigenous Knowledge passed down from her family. Ilse uses her connection to the land and animals, wilderness skills and resilience to find her way home. This book contains 88 Colour illustrations.

Curriculum Connection: Storytelling, Graphic Novel, Survival

Author Details: Trina Rathgeber is the granddaughter of the main character, Ilse Schweder. She is from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/lost-at-windy-river-a-true-story-of-survival-oct-15-24

ISBN: 9781777241841

Price: $11.99

Author(s): Tekeyla Friday 

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Tekeyla Friday Studios Publishing 

Publication: 2023

Book Synopsis: Is it a hedgehog? Is it a porcupine? No…it’s Prince Prickly Spine but how can one so small rescue a princess at all.When a reluctant prince refuses to do his princely duties, his mother the Queen takes away his privileges and forces him to perform his responsibilities by sending him on a quest to rescue a princess from a dragon. With the no-good help of his Fairy Godfather, the prince sets out on his noble steed only to be turned into a porcupine. How will this prince succeed? 

Curriculum Connection: Storytelling, Chapter Book

Author Details: Tekeyla Friday belongs to Lii Bufloo Métis Local #35, Swift Current, SK and the Métis Nation Saskatchewan.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/prince-prickly-spine

ISBN: 9780593568507

Price: $7.99

Author(s): Patricia Morris Buckley

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Random House

Publication: 2023

Book Synopsis: Find out all about Wilma Pearl Mankiller, the first woman Cherokee chief whose image will appear on a 2022 US quarter, in this Step 3 Biography Reader. In 1985, Wilma Pearl Mankiller became the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She had to convince her people that the chief should be the best person for the job, man or woman. Before the English came to what is now the United States, Cherokee women and men shared the leadership of the tribe. This created balance. But the English colonists told the Native People that men should be in charge. It stayed that way for many years, until Wilma Pearl Mankiller made history. She used the concept of gaduji, of everyone helping each other, to make the Cherokee Nation strong. Step 3 Readers feature engaging characters in easy-to-follow plots and popular topics—for children who are ready to read on their own. 

Curriculum Connection: Biography, Cherokee

Author Details: Written by Mohawk author, Patricia Morris Buckley, and illustrated by Aphelandra Messer of Filipino and Oneida ancestry.

URL: https://goodminds.com/products/the-first-woman-cherokee-chief-wilma-pearl-mankiller-pb