Canadian indigenous children’s books through the lense of truth and reconciliation

Abstract

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) published 94 Calls to Action designed to continue the national work of reconciliation related to the legacy of Indigenous residential schools, including those in Canada’s North. This process is difficult and complex. Because story telling is a traditional Indigenous way of communicating knowledge and wisdom, this study is designed to explore how TRC themes and concepts are being communicated through children’s fiction (pre readers to young adult) by Canadian Indigenous authors. To identify these books, we used the Amazon Best Sellers in Children’s Native Canadian Story Books list sampled over a seven week period and supplemented with other sources such as academic library, public library and publisher lists. Books written by Canadian Indigenous authors were read and themes identified. More than 150 books met the inclusion criteria. The primary outcome of this project was a list of all of the books meeting the inclusion criteria for this study, and academic presentations and publications about the reconciliation-related themes that appear in these books.