Reg Erhardt Library Digest
June 2023
June 2023: National Indigenous History Month Book List
June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada and it's an opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions and experience of First Nations, Inuit and Metis. It's a time to honour the stories, achievements and resilience of Indigenous Peoples, who have lived on this land since time immemorial and whose presence continues to impact the evolving country we live in.
Take a look at some of our print and digital resources on Indigenous cultures.
Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call
Unsettling Canada is a landmark text built on a unique collaboration between two First Nations leaders. Arthur Manuel (1951–2017) was one of the most forceful advocates for Indigenous title and rights in Canada; Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, one of the most successful Indigenous businessmen in the country. Together, they bring a fresh perspective and bold new ideas to Canada’s most glaring piece of unfinished business: the place of Indigenous peoples within the country’s political and economic space. This second edition features a foreword by award-winning activist Naomi Klein and an all-new chapter co-authored by law professor Nicole Schabus and Manuel’s daughter, Kanahus, honouring the multi-generational legacy of the Manuel family’s work.
Indigenous Women's Voices: 20 years on from Linda Tuhiwai Smith's Decolonizing Methodologies
When Linda Tuhiwai Smith's Decolonizing Methodologies was first published, it ignited a passion for research change that respected Indigenous peoples and knowledges, and campaigned to reclaim Indigenous ways of knowing and being. At a time when Indigenous voices were profoundly marginalised, the book advocated for an Indigenous viewpoint which represented a daily struggle to be heard, and to find its place in academia. Twenty years on, this collection celebrates the breadth and depth of how Indigenous writers are shaping the decolonizing research world today.
Metis Rising: Living our Present through the Power of our Past
Métis Rising presents a remarkable cross-section of perspectives to demonstrate that there is no single Métis experience – only a common sense of belonging and a commitment to justice. The contributors to this unique collection, most of whom are Métis themselves, offer accounts ranging from personal reflections on identity to tales of advocacy against poverty and poor housing, and for the recognition of Métis rights. This extraordinary work exemplifies how contemporary Métis identity has been forged into a force to be reckoned with.
Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
A searing and revelatory account of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls of Highway 16, and an indictment of the society that failed them. For decades, Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been found murdered along an isolated stretch of highway in northwestern British Columbia. The highway is known as the Highway of Tears, and it has come to symbolize a national crisis.
From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada
An Indigenous leader who has dedicated her life to Indigenous Rights, Jody Wilson-Raybould has represented both First Nations and the Crown at the highest levels. And she is not afraid to give Canadians what they need most – straight talk on what has to be done to move beyond our colonial legacy and achieve true reconciliation in Canada. In this powerful book, drawn from speeches and other writings, she urges all Canadians – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – to build upon the momentum already gained or risk hard-won progress being lost.
Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal and Sovereignty in Native America.
A sweeping history of Indigenous traditions of gender, sexuality, and resistance that reveals how, despite centuries of colonialism, Two-Spirit people are reclaiming their place in Native nations. Reclaiming Two-Spirits decolonizes the history of gender and sexuality in Native North America. It honors the generations of Indigenous people who had the foresight to take essential aspects of their cultural life and spiritual beliefs underground in order to save them.
Forever Loved: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada
The hidden crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada is both a national tragedy and a national shame. In this ground-breaking new volume, as part of their larger efforts to draw attention to the shockingly high rates of violence against our sisters, Jennifer Brant and D. Memee Lavell-Harvard have pulled together a variety of voices from the academic realms to the grassroots and front-lines to speak on what has been identified by both the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations as a grave violation of the basic human rights of Aboriginal women and girls.
From the Ashes: My Story of Being Metis, Homeless, and Finding my Way
In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir, Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is. If I can just make it to the next minute...then I might have a chance to live; I might have a chance to be something more than just a struggling crackhead. From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up.
As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance
Across North America, Indigenous acts of resistance have in recent years opposed the removal of federal protections for forests and waterways in Indigenous lands, halted the expansion of tar sands extraction and the pipeline construction at Standing Rock, and demanded justice for murdered and missing Indigenous women. In As We Have Always Done, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson locates Indigenous political resurgence as a practice rooted in uniquely Indigenous theorizing, writing, organizing, and thinking.
Implicating the System: Judicial Discourses in the Sentencing of Indigenous Women
Indigenous women continue to be overrepresented in Canadian prisons; research demonstrates how their overincarceration and often extensive experiences of victimization are interconnected with and through ongoing processes of colonization. "Implicating the System: Judicial Discourses in the Sentencing of Indigenous Women" explores how judges navigate these issues in sentencing by examining related discourses in selected judgments from a review of 175 decisions.
Living on the Land: Indigenous Women's Understanding of Place
Living on the Land examines how patriarchy, gender, and colonialism have shaped the experiences of Indigenous women as both knowers and producers of knowledge. From a variety of methodological perspectives, contributors to the volume explore the nature and scope of Indigenous women’s knowledge, its rootedness in relationships both human and spiritual, and its inseparability from land and landscape. From the reconstruction of cultural and ecological heritage by Naskapi women in Québec to the medical expertise of Métis women in western Canada to the mapping and securing of land rights in Nicaragua, Living on the Land focuses on the integral role of women as stewards of the land and governors of the community.
🙍♂️ Personal Librarian for Chinook Lodge
Did you know that we have a personal librarian for indigenous students here at the library?
Your personal librarian will provide you with the support you need to find and borrow resources from the library, help you with researching your topic, selecting resources to use and providing guidance on citations. Your personal librarian can help take the stress out of your assignments!
🖼 Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX)
We are excited to be hosting A Cordial World, a travelling art exhibition from The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) at the front of the library through to June 21.
The exhibition shines a spotlight on flowers and the flower garden. Expressing a variety of artistic styles and media, the art works in this exhibition invite viewers to reflect on the beauty, fragility and importance of these natural wonders and appreciate and nurture the flowers in their midst.
🏳🌈 Books for Pride Month
June is Pride Month so let's celebrate!
Head on over to the fiction area of the library (on Level-1) where we'll be displaying a selection of 2SLGBTQ+ fiction and non-fiction reads for the month of June.
Here's a curated list of our favourite books for Pride Month from the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: 13 Books to Celebrate Pride Month
Featured resource
The Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America (BIPNA) is a bibliographic database covering all aspects of Indigenous Peoples in North American culture, history and life. This resource covers a wide range of topics including archaeology, multicultural relations, gaming, governance, legend, and literacy.
Content includes 173 active indexed and abstracted journals, 143 active peer-reviewed indexed and abstracted journals, and 373,766 records. It contains citations for newspapers, magazines, academic journals, books, reviews, and trade publications from the United States and Canada with expanded content from Great Britain and Australia.
This database is an essential research tool for anthropologists, educators, historians, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, linguists, theologians and policymakers. BIPNA will appeal to anyone interested in the contributions and lived experiences of North America's Indigenous Peoples.
Access Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America