Reading for Reconciliation

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Reading for Reconciliation 
 
This is a list of list suggested fiction, poetry and non-fiction books on First Nations topics. The focus is on books that are 
written by Indigenous authors, but the list also includes some non-Aboriginal contributors writing about issues relevant to 
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s process. Many books have a B.C. focus, and most are available in the 
Vancouver Island Regional Library system. The list is far from complete, and should be considered a work in progress. 
 
Some of the authors represented have several books which are all worthy of being included However in the interests of 
keeping the list manageable, in most cases only one book by each author is featured. If you discover an author on this list 
whose work speaks to you, consider seeking out other books they have written. 
 
Every effort has been made to ensure that the books on this list represent authentic First Nations voices and/or points of 
view. As such, most titles have been cross-referenced from multiple sources to ensure that they are genuinely well-
regarded in the Indigenous community. 
 
Books can be windows into other cultures, and they can be doors. Through the act of reading we engage our imagination 
and open our minds. We learn, but we also dream. We hope that you find something on this list that will inspire you, 
challenge you, move you, and help to guide you on your own personal path of Truth and Reconciliation. 
 
We are all treaty people. 
Huy ch q'u siem 
 
Fiction 
 
 
 
 
 
Birdie by Tracy Lindberg, 2015 
 
Birdie is a darkly comic and moving first novel about the universal experience of recovering 
from wounds of the past, informed by the lore and knowledge of Cree traditions. Part road trip, 
part dream quest, part travelogue, the novel touches on the universality of women's experience, 
regardless of culture or race. 
 
Tracey Lindberg is a citizen of As’in’i’wa’chi Ni’yaw Nation Rocky Mountain Cree and hails from 
the Kelly Lake Cree Nation community. She is an award-winning writer for her academic work 
and teaches Indigenous studies and Indigenous laws at two universities in Canada. 
 
 Shortlisted for Canada Reads 2016 
 Selected for the National Post's 99 Best Books of 2015 
 Selected for CBC's Best Books of 2015 
 Shortlisted for Alberta Reader's Choice Award  
 
 
 
 
The Break by Katherena Vermette, 2016 
 
The Break is a critically acclaimed novel set in Winnipeg’s gritty North End. A series of shifting 
narratives exposes a larger, more comprehensive story about the lives of an extended 
Indigenous family. A powerful intergenerational saga. 
 
Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Treaty One territory, the heart of the Métis nation, 
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her first book, North End Love Songs won the Governor 
General’s Literary Award for Poetry.  
 
 Longlisted for Canada Reads 2017 
 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Finalist, 2016 
 Governor General's Literary Award Finalist, 2016 
 

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