Atik^u

A tea in the tundra: nipishapui nete mushuat

Joséphine Bacon

Finalist for the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal 2014, this english translation of the poetry of Joséphine Bacon, Innu of Betsiamites, takes on the words that lead us to the heart of the tundra and closer to the people who live there.

Aboriginal autonomy and development in northern Quebec and Labrador

This book contains a collection of essays that discuss topics of decolonization in Northern Quebec and Labrador. The book covers past and current trauma and issues that indigenous communities face in this region, as well as exploring topics of community healing, and territorial and cultural autonomy. (Colin Scott ed., Vancouver, UBC Press, 2001, 436 p.)

Annie Muktuk and other stories

In this notorious novel, Norma Dunning portrays the unvarnished realities of northern life through gritty characters who find themselves in difficult situations. Her stories challenge southern perceptions of the north and Inuit life through evocative, nuanced voices accented with Inuktitut words and symbolism.

Bleuets et abricots

In Bleuets et apricots, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine’s poems bring to the fore the voices of indigenous women who stand up against the wounds of colonization. With the blueberry, native fruit of the Nordic territory, and the large apricots of Haiti, she invites dialogue, reconciliation and links that enrich peoples. This work earned her a nomination as a finalist for the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal.

Canada and Colonial Genocide

This volume offers scholarly analyses on the process of settler colonialism and its effects on the Indigenous communities within what is now called “Canada.” It covers various forms of colonial violence including residential schools, repressive governmental policy, ecological destruction, etc. (Andrew Woolford and Jeff Benvenuto eds., London, Routledge, 2017, 126 p.)

Canada and the idea of North

An exploration of northern Canadian imagery, with examples from literature, art, music, and popular culture. (Sherrill E. Grace, Montréal, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001, 341 p.)

Canada’s changing North

Collection of texts providing an overview of the geography, history, economy, politics, and ethnology of the Canadian North. (Wonders, William C., Montreal : McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003, 449 p.)

Chasseur au harpon : un long récit de Markoosie

En pleine tempête de neige, un ours blanc attaque un campement inuit et éviscère de nombreux chiens. Convaincus que l’animal est malade et qu’il s’en prendra de nouveau aux leurs, des chasseurs se lancent à sa poursuite au péril de leur vie.

Comment je perçois la vie, Grand-Mère : Eshi uapataman Nukum

This collection by Rita Mestokosho, Innu woman from the community of Ekuanitshit (Mingan), offers eight Innu-French bilingual texts, then twelve written directly in French.

Contre le colonialisme dopé aux stéroïdes : le combat des Inuit du Québec pour leurs terres ancestrales

In this book, Zebedee Nungak provides his account of The Battle of James Bay from 1971-1975, where Inuit and Cree communities fought for their lands and waters against the Quebec government’s James Bay hydro project. (Zebedee Nungak, Montréal, Boréal, 2019, 181 p.)

Cree Vision of Plan Nord

Presentation of the Cree people’s vision of the Northern Plan, including issues of governance, environmental protection, mining, economic development, transportation, tourism, and Cree culture and identity. (Cree Nations of Eeyou Istchee, 2011, 115 p.)

Croc fendu

Novel mixing myth and reality, poetry and prose, telling the childhood in the 1970s of a pregnant girl in Nunavut. The beauty of the place rubs shoulders with the ravages caused by alcohol and violence. Spirits and animals are also present. The author, Tanya Tagaq Gillis, is an internationally renowned Inuit artist who incorporates, among other things, throat singing into her musical pieces.

Decolonizing education: nourishing the learning spirit

In this book, author Marie Battiste addresses the damaging effects of Western models of education on Indigenous knowledge, calling for the decolonization of pedagogy. She proposes new models that bolster Indigenous knowledge and address the inherent racism within colonial educational institutions. (Marie Battiste, Saskatoon, Purich Publishing Limited, 2013, 217 p. )

Dictionary of Native American literature

Dictionary covering the historical emergence of Native American writers (up to 1800) and the Native American Renaissance (1967–). Features bio-critical essays and theme-based articles related to topics such as Native American songs and legends.

Do not enter my soul in your shoes : poems

This first collection of poems by Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, Innu native of Pessamit on the North Shore of Quebec, is a dive into the female body, accompanied by a poetic reflection on exile and the feeling of love. It has received critical acclaim and won the 2013 Société des Ecrivains Francophones d’Amérique Award of Excellence

Early Books in Aboriginal Languages : Witnesses of Founding Cultures (BAnQ)

Published between 1556 and 1900, these works contain concrete traces of the linguistic heritage of the first Aboriginal peoples who inhabited what is now Quebec: Iroquoian languages (including Mohawk and Wendat), Algonquian (including Algonquin, Abenaki, Cree, Innu, Mi’kmaq) as well as Inuktitut. These are alphabet books, syllabaries, grammars, dictionaries, lexicons, reading books and other textbooks. This collection also sheds light on the history of relations between indigenous communities and European settlers.

Elements of Indigenous style: a guide for writing by and about Indigenous Peoples

This book acts as a guide for writers, editors, and publishers to decolonize the way that they write about Indigenous Peoples. It provides an overview of the way Indigenous peoples have been portrayed in literature, and offers tips and on writing in a culturally sensitive and respectful manner. (Gregory Younging, Edmonton, Brush Education, 2018, 154 p. )

Eukuan nin matshi-manitu innushkueu : Je suis une maudite sauvagesse

In this novel, Antane Kapesh wrote to preserve and share her culture, experience, and knowledge, all of which, she felt, were disappearing at an alarming rate because many Elders – like herself – were aged or dying. She wanted to publicly denounce the conditions in which she and the Innu were made to live, and to address the changes she was witnessing due to land dispossession and loss of hunting territory, police brutality, and the effects of the residential school system.

First Nations of Quebec and Labrador sustainable development strategy

Report addressing the issues (culture, languages, natural resources, economic development, governance) related to the issue of sustainable development among the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. (Catherine Johnson et Suzy Basile, First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute, 2006, 29 p.)

Hunter with Harpoon (BAnQ)

Published fifty years ago under the title Harpoon of the Hunter, Markoosie Patsauq’s novel helped establish the genre of Indigenous fiction in Canada. This new English translation unfolds the story of Kamik, a young hero who comes to manhood while on a perilous hunt for a wounded polar bear. In this astonishing tale of a people struggling for survival in a brutal environment, Patsauq describes a life in the Canadian Arctic as one that is reliant on cooperation and vigilance.