Anishinaabe/Métis lawyer and author Aimée Craft has created a thoughtful story between a young woman and her Mishomis (grandfather) to describe the intention of treaties and their interconnected relationship with the land through the voice and experience of an Anishinaabe Elder. Teachings about respect and reciprocity with the natural world are embedded throughout this book and portray how, through listening and observing, we can embody a practice of understanding and connectedness. A compelling alternative to textbook accounts of treaty relations, this story is beautifully illustrated by Anishinaabe artist Luke Swinson and could be used in classrooms to enrich themes about Indigenous ways of knowing, land use, and treaty rights, as well as Indigenous-settler relations. Timely content together with Craft’s use of poetic language, including Anishinaabe words and expressions, make this book a must-have for school libraries across Canada.

60 pp., 4 × 6", colour illustrations

Aimée Craft (Anishinaabe/Métis) • Luke Swinson (Anishinaabe), illus.

Source: Association of Book Publishers of BC - Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools (2021-2022)

Aimée Craft is an Indigenous (Anishinaabe-Métis) lawyer (called to the Bar in 2005) from Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Common law, University of Ottawa. Craft is the former Director of Research at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the founding Director of Research at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Her book, Breathing Life into the Stone Fort Treaty: An Anishnabe Understanding of Treaty One (2013) won the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book.

Aimée Craft's profile page

Luke Swinson is an Anishinaabe illustrator who is a member of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. He lives in Kitchener, ON.

Luke Swinson's profile page

• Joint winner, Indigenous Voices Awards
• Short-listed, Red Cedar Book Award
• Commended, Storytelling World Awards, Honor title
• Nominated, Rocky Mountain Book Award
• Joint winner, Best Books of 2021, Kirkus Reviews
• Joint winner, Best Bets Book List, OLA
• Joint winner, Must-Read KidLit Titles, Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) Kids

“Meditative, devotional, and vital.”

Kirkus Reviews, *starred review, 03/02/21

“A small, quiet, and enormously powerful story.”

Youth Services Book Review, *starred review, 04/21/21

“This exemplary narrative nonfiction book proves an understanding of Indigenous perspectives on treaty relationships, affording vital—and not often heard—historical and cultural context to these living agreements.”

Quill & Quire, *starred review, 04/21

“The reverence . . . comes through in Aimée Craft’s words, resonant and weighty, steadfast and dynamic.”

CanLit for Little Canadians, 04/26/21

“Craft’s writing is almost faultless. Her lyrical and evocative word choices are ideal for reading aloud in order to enjoy the rhythms of the poetic language. . . . Swinson’s illustrations augment the sense of love and respect conveyed by the words. . . . Highly recommended.”

CM Reviews, 01/29/21

“This quiet contemplative account of learning to live with nature and together as people has a place in every collection, and while its meditative tone will appeal to older and more advanced readers, it could be the centerpiece of a story hour for younger listeners.”

School Library Journal, *starred review, 06/21

“Elegantly reveals the intended beauty and harmony of a treaty from an indispensable Indigenous perspective.”

Publishers Weekly, *starred review, 07/26/21