First+Nations+Literature

First Nations Literature
[|Core Learning Resources] Core Learning Resources--Bringing books of First Nations/Aboriginal children to //all// children!

[|Shi-shi-etko.] Nicola I. Campbell. Illustrated by Kim LaFave. Translated by David Unger. Toronto, ON: Groundwood, 2005. 32 pp., cloth, $16.95. ISBN 0-88899-659-4. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 4-7.

Nicola Campbell's //Shi-shi-etko// offers a welcome addition to First Nations literature by delicately conveying, through a child's eyes, the resilience of First Nations' culture and physical survival amidst the tragedy of residential schools and their impact upon the entire First Nations community.

[|Broken Circle] Christopher Dinsdale. Toronto, ON: Napoleon, 2004. 98 pp., pbk., $8.95. ISBN 1-894917-15-4. Grades 3-7 / Ages 8-12. Dinsdale makes use of his love of history by using the time-slip, or historical fantasy, genre. It is very informative about First Nations history, and, while some of its historical facts seem repeated at times, the plot keeps moving briskly along at a pace which will satisfy a young reader.

[|The Gift of the Grandfathers: Saddle Up for Ride on the First Nations Rodeo Circuit] Doug Cuthand (Director) Montreal, PQ: National Film Board of Canada, 1997 44 min., 45 sec., VHS $39.95 Order Number: C9197 159 Grades 7 and up / Ages 12 and up

//The Gift of the Grandfathers// reminds viewers that the Aboriginal peoples were the first "cowboys" of the Plains and that their tradition of horsemanship continues into the present. Combining Gordon Tootoosis' narrative, archival phonographs, historical perspectives, and footage shot at First Nations rodeo events, the video profiles two rodeo competitors - Sandra Crowchild and Richard Bish as they travel the trail to the Indian Rodeo Finals in Saskatoon.


 * Reviewer comments:** You certainly don't have to be a horse lover or a rodeo fan to find //The Gift of the Grandfathers// to be great viewing. Its biggest drawback as an acquisition for school libraries is its lack of a direct curriculum fit.

[| Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew] Drew Hayden Taylor (Director) Montreal, PQ: National Film Board of Canada, 2000 55 min, VHS, $39.95 Order Number: C9100 080 Grades 9 and up / Ages 14 and up

[|Native Nations of North America] Bobbie Kalman. St. Catharines, ON: Crabree, 2001 32 pp., pbk, & cl., $9.95 (pbk), 24.95 (cl.) Grades 3 - 6 / ages 8 - 11


 * Native Homes
 * Life in a Longhouse Village
 * Life in a Plains Camp
 * Nations of the Plains

The lifestyles of North American indigenous peoples are featured in this four-volume series. In typical Kalman style, each book consists of 14 or 15 two-page chapters, plus an index and a glossary. Plenty of colour photographs, illustrations, maps and diagrams enhance the text.

[|Murphy and Mousetrap] (Orca Young Readers) Sylvia Olsen Victoria, BC: Orca, 2005 122 pp., pbk., $7.95 ISBN 1-55143-344-3 Grades 4-6 Ages 9-11