Thirteen Moons of Recommended Reading
A Review of Indigenous Literature for National Indigenous People's Month
Indigenous values and knowledge carry deep connections to the world around us and the natural flow of the universe. National Indigenous Peoples History Month marks a dedicated period of learning and engagement with Indigenous ways of and being knowing, as we have done since time immemorial. This National Indigenous Peoples History Month, ONWA is proud to share this resource of powerful Indigenous literature, curated in connection to the Thirteen Moons of Creation.
Like in many cultures around the world, Indigenous peoples map annual community practices by moon cycles. Each moon is marked by environmental changes and comes with specific teachings; the names of these moons vary from culture to culture, depending on the changes experienced on their traditional lands. The names provided are traditional to Anishinabewaki, the greater area of Thunder Bay, where ONWA’s head office is located.
This list acts as an invitation to read and learn about Indigenous ways of knowing and being beyond the range of June. Indigenous peoples are creating, learning, sharing, and acting all year long: we invite you to move with us throughout the Thirteen Moon Cycle as we do.
THE BOOKS
Spirit Moon: Moon of Connection
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (2013) by Robin Wall Kimmerer Under the Spirit Moon, we explore who we are in connection to our relations, the land, the water, and all of creation. In Braiding Sweetgrass, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer weaves together personal storytelling, Western science, and Indigenous knowledge to explore her own relationship with the environment as an Indigenous woman. This thorough and vibrant piece of contemplative literature is well-loved by Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers alike, bridging our understandings of the world around us through shared biological knowledge. Find it here: https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/YoqefBrscwlZoRaDtILPvg https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/YoqefBrscwlZoRaDtILPvg https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=6102&f= https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/braiding-sweetgrass?_pos=1&_sid=213fb8133&_ss=r https://goodminds.com/products/9781571313560
Bear Moon: Moon of Introspection
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder (2016) by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Marie Louise Plummer In the time of the Bear Moon, we reflect on our past and how the lessons we learn inform our futures. Ma-Nee Chacaby's courageous written exploration of her experiences proves the value of introspection: not only to ground ourselves in our own paths, but also to support others in our communities as they navigate their own. From outlining her early days growing up in the northern community of Ombabika to reconciling with her Two-Spirit lesbian identity in Thunder Bay in the 1980s, Chacaby's story is one of Indigenous resilience, self-care, and the imperative role of love and solidarity in our communities. Find it here: https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/U0JBKMUC5_9wX2PLVyhfuw https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=7308&f= https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/a-two-spirit-journey?_pos=1&_sid=c015c73a9&_ss=r https://goodminds.com/products/a-two-spirit-journey-the-autobiography-of-a-lesbian-ojibwa-cree-elder
Snow Crust Moon: Moon of New Beginnings
The Seed Keeper (2021) by Diane Wilson During the Snow Crust Moon, we celebrate the power of our voices in a time of rebirth and reawakening. The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson is a multigenerational exploration of Indigenous tradition and community. In it, Rosalie Iron Wing begins a journey to reconnect with her Indigenous identity. She finds her roots in generations of Dakota women that persevered through hardship, protecting their families and the seeds that keep their traditions alive. This novel is a haunting reawakening to our relationship with the earth, and a reminder that we are linked to our ancestors, and all of creation, through nurtured relations with the seeds that birth new life. Find it here: https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/YoqefBrscwmwZlYRhFTZjg https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/YoqefBrscwmwZlYRhFTZjg https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=9073&f= https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/the-seed-keeper?_pos=1&_sid=b157dcb1d&_ss=r https://goodminds.com/products/the-seed-keeper-a-novel
Sugar Bush Moon: Moon of New Life
Dancing on Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Niishnabeg Recreation, Resurgence, and New Emergence (2011) by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson The Sugar Bush Moon offers a time of cleansing and celebration of new life. We practice healing for all our relations and prepare ourselves for the journey ahead. Dancing on Our Turtle's Back is Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's call to Indigenous peoples to return to traditional knowledge and ways of being through a remonstration and reassessment of what it means to achieve reconciliation. In this original and passionate endeavour into Indigenous philosophy, Simpson deftly explores the importance of family and emphasizes the key role of women in effecting Indigenous sovereignty through self-governance. Find it here: https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/BfSVUaEfxp82dfe24LZYLw https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/BfSVUaEfxp82dfe24LZYLw https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=3009&f= https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/dancing-on-our-turtles-back?_pos=2&_sid=1fd15132b&_ss=r https://goodminds.com/products/9781894037501
Flowering Moon: Moon of Cleansing
Five Little Indians (2020) by Michelle Good Under the Flowering Moon, we cleanse and replenish our spirits to ready ourselves for what is yet to come. Michelle Good's Five Little Indians presents fictional stories of five survivors of Arrowhead Residential School in British Columbia. Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction in 2020, this prudent novel navigates five separate healing journeys, mindfully explaining the systemic relationships between colonial trauma and the realities of homelessness, substance abuse, and familial displacement. Braided stories of loss, anger, kinship, and Indigenous resilience gently reflect the real-life experiences and lifelong healing journeys of many Indian Residential School Survivors. Find it here: https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/ihViYpG-txU0OAslmMRdTQ https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/ihViYpG-txU0OAslmMRdTQ https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=8681&f= https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/five-little-indians?_pos=1&_sid=26e6370df&_ss=r https://goodminds.com/products/9781443459181
Strawberry Moon: Moon of Growth
The Break (2016) by Katherena Vermette The Strawberry Moon is a time of growth, during which we acknowledge the importance of strong relationships and the significance of supporting one another in all that we do. The Break by Katherena Vermette follows the interconnectedness of Indigenous women living in a window of time around a violent incident in Winnipeg's North End. Presented through shifting narratives of ten Indigenous people affected by the incident, The Break reaffirms the importance of our shared relationships. Told primarily through the perspectives of Indigenous women, this novel is a stitching-together of pain, kinship, and trauma that ripples through generations of women, seamed by the multitude of varying connections that weave all our relations together. Find it here: https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/temoIPlhFAjhMreZgIMCzg https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=6193&f= https://goodminds.com/products/the-break
Berry Moon: Moon of Change
Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining the Future (2022)
by Patty Krawec
In the time of the Berry Moon, we remember the importance of kindness in accepting change and growth within the interconnectedness of all of creation. Becoming Kin is Patty Krawec's exploration of conciliation between settler and Indigenous peoples, blending personal experience, Indigenous ways of knowing, and analytical practice to challenge settler perspectives of colonialism. The result is a dismantling of invented histories through consideration of Indigenous truth and experience, and a call for employing kinship practices to reimagine our shared futures.
Find it here:
https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/ayM6jXFx2nXFkMuoK-iQnQ
https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/ayM6jXFx2nXFkMuoK-iQnQ
https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=10166&f=
https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/becoming-kin?_pos=1&_sid=7ba9c7c89&_ss=r
Ricing Moon: Moon of Balance
The Marrow Thieves (2017)
by Cherie Dimaline
During the Ricing Moon, we practice balance through harvest, recognizing the importance of taking only what we need to ensure sustainability in our futures. Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves explores the lives of Indigenous peoples as they navigate a world devastated by global warming. This coming-of-age novel follows Indigenous protagonist Frenchie as he migrates across the wilderness of Turtle Island, fighting for not only survival in the calamitous pursuit of his bone marrow, which is key to regaining the ability to dream that everyone else has lost, but also for the survival of Indigenous knowledge and traditions. Deeply reminiscent of historical and contemporary colonial oppression tactics, The Marrow Thieves is a haunting call for sustainable action in the face of climate change and colonialism.
Find it here:
https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/Sz_EzYizsPmBJQBb2Ar14Q
https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/Sz_EzYizsPmBJQBb2Ar14Q
https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=6472&f=
https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/the-marrow-thieves?_pos=1&_sid=a70249fd1&_ss=r
Leaves Turning Moon: Moon of Reflection
Jonny Appleseed
by Joshua Whitehead
The Leaves Turning moon offers a time to reflect on what we've learned and to recognize change in ourselves and our families within the world around us. In Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, a young Two-Spirit gay man acclimates to life in Winnipeg, having left his home in Peguis First Nation, and prepares to return for his stepfather's funeral. Grappling with the intricacies of systemic poverty, Jonny navigates the complexities of love, queerness, trauma, and loss as he undertakes the quest to find his way home.
Find it here:
https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/6nvBPLOyqFgjT22bOzDrNw
https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/6nvBPLOyqFgjT22bOzDrNw
https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=7345&f=
https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/jonny-appleseed?_pos=1&_sid=dacb77210&_ss=r
Falling Leaves Moon: Moon of Letting Go
Rose's Run (2014)
by Dawn Dumont
Under the Falling Leaves Moon, we practice the honour of gifting our gatherings with others and recognize the important journey of letting go of what we no longer need to carry. Dawn Dumont's novel Rose's Run shares the story of one woman's quest towards self-acceptance and recognition of personal strength while navigating the complex relationships she shares within her reserve community in rural Saskatchewan. Dumont carves a beautiful tale of motherhood, friendship, and rez humour, haunted by a relentless fear of women's strength that is all too familiar for women across Turtle Island in a time of continued colonial imperialism. Dumont here draws on Indigenous legend, epitomizing that fear in the form of an old spirit that feeds off the strength of women in Rose's community.
Find it here:
https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/kiHpWDI6yaqwm1-Y_yNbIw
Freezing Moon: Moon of Rest
Essential Ingredients (2021)
by Carol Rose GoldenEagle
During the Freezing Moon, we share our sacred teachings and songs, and take time to rest and appreciate our families and everything we have received. This poetry collection by Carol Rose Golden Eagle outlines her personal reflections on memories and experiences shared with her children. Golden Eagle's tribute to time spent raising her children celebrates the gifts of parenthood and reflects on reciprocal moments of hardship and joy. Essential Ingredients exposes universal truths about what it means to be both parent and child and reminds us all to engage with and appreciate the fleeting early years of our lives and the lives of our children.
Find it here:
https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/LsYOQ1babcynIxRgqCyVNg
https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=9590&f=
https://goodminds.com/products/essential-ingredients-oct-16-21
Little Spirit Moon: Moon of Story
Buffalo is the New Buffalo (2022)
by âpihtawikosisân (Chelsea Vowel)
In the time of Little Spirit Moon, we share our stories and come to understand who we are and how we came to be, acknowledging our traditional ways of being. âpihtawikosisân (Chelsea Vowel) in Buffalo is the New Buffalo explores the importance of remembering our traditions in contemporary contexts. In this collection of short stories, Indigenous stories meet science fiction, channelled through a Metis lens; history is rewritten, prioritizing Indigenous existence by imagining a post-contact Turtle Island in which Indigenous peoples resist colonialism through innovative technology. Kinship and community prove key to revitalizing Metis traditions. This reinventing of science fiction embraces the reality of colonialism while releasing characters from the intergenerational psychological baggage of its impacts.
Find it here:
https://shop.irondogbooks.com/item/6nvBPLOyqFjWuY9dJ6erkA
https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=9822&f=
https://ravenreads.org/products/book-buffalo-new-buffalo?_pos=1&_psq=buff&_ss=e&_v=1.0
https://birchbarkbooks.com/products/buffalo-is-the-new-buffalo?_pos=1&_sid=badf7be3d&_ss=r
Great Spirit Moon - Moon of Creation
You Are the Medicine: 13 Moons of Indigenous Wisdom, Ancestral Connection, and Animal Spirit Guidance (2022)
by Asha Frost
The Great Spirit moon is a time to truly understand life, including ourselves and our interconnectedness with all of Creation. In You Are the Medicine, Asha Frost combines shared histories of trauma and oppression faced by Indigenous peoples with an in-depth immersion-based undertaking of traditional knowledge. The result is a rounded and generous outline of Indigenous knowledge and truths based in Frost's own personal experiences. Every chapter begins with the sharing of Creation stories, rooting the cyclical healing journey in traditional ways of gifting knowledge, and includes guided reflection periods to ensure readers are engaging appropriately with the knowledge being shared.
Find it here:
https://storestock.massybooks.com/item/b-oJT-xgmCTfAaL3cSlCaQ
https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_display.php?i=9739&f=
Canadian Publishers to Watch:
Theytus Books – Penticton Reserve, BC
https://www.theytus.com/ Indigenous owned, Theytus is operated in partnership with the En’owkin Centre. Since 1980, Theytus has published critical Indigenous literature by authors such as Cherie Dimaline, Lee Maracle, and Rby Slipperjack.
Kegedonce Press – Neyaashiinigmiing, ON
https://www.kegedonce.com/ Indigenous owned and operated, Kegedonce Press has been producing literature across a wipe span of genres since 1993. They also release monthly author spotlights, which offers a wonderful way to engage and learn about Indigenous literature.
Inhabit Media – Iqaluit, NU
https://inhabitmedia.com/ Inhabit Media is a proudly Inuit-owned publishing company in the Canadian Arctic. They are driven to promote and preserve Inuit and Arctic-based stories, knowledge, and artwork. Formed in 2006, Inhabit’s roots lie in the need for Nunavut children to see themselves represented in media.
Pemmican Publications – Winnipeg, MB
https://www.pemmicanpublications.ca/Home.html Actively participating in the publishing world since 1980, Pemmican Publications focuses on Metis stories across many genres. Started by the Manitoba Metis Federation, they aim to promote Canadian Metis writers and illustrators in sharing their stories and experiences.
Fernwood Press – Black Point, NS and Winnipeg, MB
https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/ Non-indigenous owned and operated, Fernwood Publishing was founded in 1991 and is dedicated to producing literature based in critical thought. Though they historically have focused on academic literature, they now publish general literature as well through their Roseway imprint.
Highwater Press (Portage & Main Press) – Winnipeg, MB
https://www.portageandmainpress.com/HighWater-Press Highwater Press is a literary imprint of Portage&Main Press dedicated to publishing literature from Indigenous writers. Their primary focus is to support Indigenous resurgence through authentic storytelling.
Fifth House Publishing - AB
https://www.fifthhousepublishers.ca/Fifth-Native/?sk=0 Founded in 1982, Fifth house is a non-Indigenous owned trade book publisher that centres on literature from Western Canada, primarily focusing on nonfiction, biography, and Indigenous writing. Their Indigenous publications include authors such as Tomson Highway, Alanis King, and Drew Hayden Taylor.
Second Story Press – Toronto, ON
https://secondstorypress.ca/ Second Story Press is a non-Indigenous owned and operated publishing company that focuses on featuring strong female characters in explorations of social justice and human rights issues, particularly in traditionally underrepresented communities.
About the Bookstores:
Massy Books
Cree and Metis director Patricia Massy of As’in’î’wa’chî Ni’yaw Nation founded Massy Books in Vancouver in 2015. They are passionate about out-of-print and bestsellers alike, and celebrate exploration and connection over literature, believing in “the power of books to enrich lives and build community”.
Iron Dog Books
Founded by Cliff Atleo (Nuu-Chah-Nulth/Tsimsian) and Hilary Atleo (Anishinaabe/settler), Iron Dog Books started in 2017 as a mobile bookstore created to address accessibility needs driven by Vancouver’s housing crisis. After nearly two years in business, the couple also opened a storefront, which now serves as a home base for their “centre of community engagement and discourse”.
Strong Nations
Author Terri Mack (Da’naxda’xw First Nation) is the CEO and co-founder of publishing house and bookstore Strong Nations, which was originally located in Nanaimo, BC, now operates solely online. Strong Nations centralizes education in their “mission to create authentic Indigenous literature and additional learning resources for use in schools, community organizations, and homes”.
Raven Reads
Founded in 2017 by Metis entrepreneur Nicole McLaren, Raven Reads is an Indigenous and woman-owned bookstore in British Columbia. While only one book from our list is listed on Raven Reads, we recommend exploring the other titles they have available on their website. They also offer a subscription service for Indigenous books and giftware.
Birchbark Books
Founded by Ojibwe author Louise Erdich, Birchbark Books is the only bookstore listed here that is not located in Canada. This eco-conscious bookstore in Minneapolis celebrates community and curates their selection based in values of education, tradition, and care.
Owned by Ojibwe entrepreneur Achilles Gentle of Skownan First Nation, GoodMinds.com is a vast resource of vetted Indigenous literature and educational resources. Based in Six Nations, the online bookstore promotes Indigenous authorship and community-centred learning.