In the Nłeʔkepmxcín language, Spíləx̣m is a term for remembered stories, often shared by Elders. Through prose and poetry, Nicola I. Campbell weaves her story as an intergenerational residential school Survivor through shared stories that include poetry, prose, journal entries, and her mother’s letters. Through Campbell’s traditional perspectives, primarily from her ancestry of Nłeʔkepmx, Syílx, and Métis and her considerable time living in the Stó:lō Territory, she shares her experiences of healing from colonial traumas through building interconnected relationships to the lands inclusive of people and all things of the earth, water, and sky. This book is a powerful demonstration of finding recovery, resilience, and resurgence. Spílexm was shortlisted for the Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards, Book Design 2022, and the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher 2022, and nominated for the Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes 2022.

Cautions / Content Warnings: Suicide ideation, sexual assault, death.
Other End Matter: Glossary: Indigenous People and Languages
Contributor Affiliation: Nicola I. Campbell (Nłeʔkepmx, Syílx, and Métis)
Bibliography: No
Index: Yes

Source: Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools

Nicola I. Campbell is the author of Shi-shi-etko, Shin-chi’s Canoe, Grandpa’s Girls, and A Day With Yayah. Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, and Métis, Nicola is from British Columbia. Her stories weave cultural and land-based teachings that focus on respect, endurance, healing, and reciprocity.

She has been a finalist for numerous children’s literary awards, and her book Shin-chi’s Canoe won the 2009 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award as well as the 2008 Governor General's Award for Illustration. She lives in British Columbia.

 

Nicola I. Campbell's profile page

• Nominated, Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes
• Short-listed, Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards, Book Design
• Short-listed, Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher

Spíl?xm is a putting away of pain, a letting go of sorrow, a poignant unburdening, and a return to self and community. With it, Campbell establishes herself as a visionary with the capacity to gather what is broken and weave it into a new story.

Quill & Quire

This is a terrific tale, peppered with some lovely poetry and deep philosophical convictions: raise your arms in strength and humility. The Nations of British Columbia practise this every day. We commit to strength and humility. We are humble before Star Nations and strong for one another. Nicola Campbell gets this. She is descended from two distinct Indigenous peoples: those that hold their arms and those that serve one another. Nicola braids these two cultures together and bequeaths the result to all of us and to the world. Loaded with history, rich in story, and lovely in its poetics.

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