I live and grew up on the traditional and unceded territory of the Haudenosaunee Peoples, specifically the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk). Additionally, many of my stories and poems would not have been possible without the experiences I had while living on the sovereign territory of the Inuit, and the traditional and unceded territory of the Innu, Beothuk, and Mi’kmaq Peoples.

The land has given me so much. It gave me a curiosity for the living beings around me. It gave me the escape I needed while surviving an abusive marriage. It gives me the fruits I feed to my family and the means of connecting me deeper to my community. I will be forever thankful for these gifts and many more. What I have to offer in return seems small in comparison, but we as settlers have a responsibility to act with reciprocity where we can. We must always act to preserve and nourish the land as it does us, and I continue to work toward a relationship with the land that acknowledges it as an equal partner much the way my Mohawk neighbors have related to the land for centuries.

Acknowledging the ancestral stewards of the land we live on is only the first step toward reconciliation. As settlers, we must listen to the voices of the Indigenous people around us. Whenever possible we must act to prevent past and ongoing atrocities, whether that is land theft or child abuse at the hands of the state or the many missing and murdered Indigenous girls and women.

Despite centuries of ongoing colonial genocide, we live on and eat of and breathe in Indigenous lands. These will always be Indigenous lands and their ancestral stewards are not relics of the past. They are still here, and they are worth celebrating. Below is a list of works by the Indigenous authors of Turtle Island that have moved me. This is only a small selection of the many creative offerings that Indigenous creators have to offer.

Understanding past and present struggles:

21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph

As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Truth Telling by Michelle Good

As Long As Grass Grows by Dina Gilio-Whitaker

All Our Relations by Tanya Talaga

And a vital piece of history:

Knock on the Door by the Truth and Reconciliation Council of Canada

Other Nonfiction:

Rehearsals for Living by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robin Maynard

Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

How to Lose Everything by Christa Couture (Also look up her music!  “Lucky or Lost” is my favourite song.)

Finding Otipemisiwak by Andrea Currie

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (I recommend the audiobook)

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Becoming a Matriarch by Helen Knott

Nishga by Jordan Abel

52 Ways to Reconcile by David A. Robertson

Science Fiction and Fantasy:

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson (trilogy)

Buffalo is the New Buffalo by Chelsea Vowel (collection)

Love After the End edited by Joshua Whitehead (anthology)

Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time edited by Hope Nicholson (anthology)

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

The Peacekeeper by B.L. Blanchard

Poetry:

Shapeshifters by Délani Valin

Scars and Stars by Jessie Thistle

NDN Coping Mechanisms by Billy-Ray Belcourt

She Falls Again by Rosanna Deerchild

Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist (Content warnings: sexual violence, transphobia)

Resisting Canada edited by Nyla Matuk (Note: the editor is not Indigenous to Turtle Island but many of the contributors are.)

Frayer par Marie-Andrée Gill (en français) (English translations of her poetry exist but if you understand French, I recommend the original text.)