With the discovery of the bodies of 215 children by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, the Pinawa Public Library recognizes that it is located on Treaty 3 territory, the homeland of the Anishinaabe Nation. We empathise with the children’s families, the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc community, and all survivors of residential schools for whom this has made horrible memories resurface.
The Pinawa Public Library has fiction and non-fiction books about residential schools and the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada. We hope that by recognizing Canada’s past and the problems that still exist, and by making these books visible, our library is a safe space for our Indigenous patrons, and a place for learning for our non-Indigenous patrons.
Fiction:
- The Break, by Katherena Vermette
- This Place: 150 Years Retold, by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm
- Five Little Indians, by Michelle Good
- These are my Words: the Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens, by Ruby Slipperjack
- Tilly and the Crazy Eights, by Monique Gray Smith
Non-fiction:
- Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Volume 1 Summary
- Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools: a memoir by Theodore Fontaine
- They came for the children: Canada, Aboriginal peoples, and residential schools, by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
- Canadian Geographic Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, by Royal Canadian Geographical Society
- A National Crime: the Canadian government and the residential school system, 1879 to 1986, by John Sherridan Milloy
- Seven fallen feathers: racism, death, and hard truths in a northern city, by Tanya Talaga
- Reclaiming power and place: the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, by National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
You can find more books about Indigenous people, history and experiences by searching the keyword “Indigenous” in the Search Our Catalogue function on our website.
For more information on Treaty 3 territory and the Anishinaabe Nation, you can visit Home – Grand Council Treaty #3 (gct3.ca)