Did you know that February is Indigenous Storytelling Month? At Second Story Press we were thrilled to learn about this important celebration of Indigenous perspectives. Started by a group of librarians and storytellers from Saskatchewan, the month of February is dedicated to supporting, promoting, and celebrating First Nations, Métis & Inuit oral storytelling traditions as well as promoting cross-cultural relationships, and facilitating and growing a living oral storytelling collection. Second Story Press is honoured to have published so many Indigenous storytellers and artists.
If looking for more resources and ways to support Indigenous Storytelling Month, we've included a list of organizations from Saskatchewan and the Prairies who have been doing the work to highlight this month:
- Library Services for Saskatchewan Aboriginal Peoples which coordinates activities and supports community events to celebrate Indigenous Storytelling Month.
- Métis Nation–Saskatchewan and their National Indigenous Storytelling Month Métis story book list, highlighting Métis specific traditional and contemporary stories for all ages.
- Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre which partners with First Nations University to offer in-person and livestreamed storytelling programming to celebrate Indigenous History Month.
- Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre comprehensive classroom lesson guides which provides educators a lesson plan to explore Indigenous storytelling with guided activities.
- Storytelling in the Classroom: More than Just Words
- Circles and Stories: How to Bring Oral Storytelling and Listening into the Classroom
Below is a collection of Indigenous titles from Second Story Press:
The Mighty Muskrat Mystery series by Michael Hutchinson
Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story by Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn
The Fabulous Edweena by Edwin Dumont and illustrated by Melissa Cho
Naaahsa is an Artist! by Hali Heavy Shield
The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson
Auntie's Rez Surprise by Heather O'Watch and illustrated by Ellie Arscott
Nibi is Water by Joanne Robertson
What's in a Bead? by Kelsey Borgford and illustrated by Tessa Pizzale
Le pouvoir d'une perle by Kelsey Borgford, illustrated by Tessa Pizzale, and translated by Isabelle Montagnier
Phoenix Gets Greater by Mary Wilson-Trudeau with Phoenix Wilson and illustrated by Megan Kyak-Monteith
Runs With the Stars written by Darcy Whitecrow and Heather M. O'Connor and illustrated by Lenny Lishchenko
Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold by Jessica Outram
Tilly and the Crazy Eights by Monique Gray Smith
The Train by Jodie Callaghan and illustrated by Georgia Lesley
Check out our Dual Language Indigenous titles here.
Featured image is art by Lenny Lishchenko from Runs With the Stars written by Darcy Whitecrow and Heather M. O'Connor.
