Canadian publisher offers ‘a sacred place' for Indigenous authors

Yahoo

27-02-2025

Miles MorrisseauICT
First Nations author Carol Rose GoldenEagle didn't think twice about where to turn when it came time to publish her first children's book.
Medicine Wheel Publishing in British Columbia was the obvious choice.
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GoldenEagle, one of Canada's most accomplished and acclaimed Indigenous journalists in earlier years under the name Carol Morin, was drawn to Medicine Wheel because of the Indigenous writers who had already chosen the publishing house.
'I took a look at the roster of authors that are affiliated with that publisher, and I was very impressed,' GoldenEagle, Cree/Dene, told ICT from her home in Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan. 'I thought I would be honored to be a part of that.'
Morin was a groundbreaking journalist, becoming one of the first anchors for APTN national news and the first Indigenous anchor for a national news program, CBC NewsWorld. She went on to publish several prior books after a name change to Carol Daniels or Carol Rose Daniels.
Now writing under a new moniker taken from her Cree name, Osawa Mikisew Iskwew, she chose Medicine Wheel for her new picture book, 'Mother Earth: My Favourite Artist,' which is illustrated by Cree artist Hawlii Pichette.
She's not the only one who has noticed the work by Medicine Wheel. The publishing house was recognized in 2024 as British Columbia Publisher of the Year for its commitment to excellence and for donating more than 15,000 books to Indigenous communities
Her book is one of five from Medicine Wheel now available for pre-order, and is set to be released April 1.
Prominent authors
Among the list of prominent writers featured at Medicine Wheel are David Bouchard, who was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2008, and Phyllis Webstad, whose story of losing her new orange shirt at residential school led to creation of Orange Shirt Day in Canada.
Bouchard, Métis/Ojibway, has published more than 70 books, including the 2017 book, 'Proud to be Métis,' and the children's books, 'Meet your Family,' and 'We Learn from the Sun.'
Bouchard is a former educator and high school principal who has a school named after him in Oshawa, Ontario. He grew up in Saskatchewan and now lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
Webstad is Northern Secwépemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem'c Xget'tem First Nation, Canoe Creek Indian Band. She comes from mixed Secwépemc and Irish/French heritage, and was born in Dog Creek. She now lives in Williams Lake, British Columbia.
She first captured attention in 2013, when she shared her childhood story of arriving at a residential school wearing a new orange shirt her grandmother had given her, only to have it taken away and never returned. Her efforts to draw attention to the notorious Canadian residential school system led to the creation in 2013 of Orange Shirt Day, later renamed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is held on Sept. 30 each year in Canada.
In 2018, Webstad published a children's book, 'The Orange Shirt Story,' to share her story in her own words. She has written several other picture books, including 'Beyond the Orange Shirt Story' published in 2021 and "Today is Orange Shirt Day' published in 2024.
She was featured in a 2021 Canadian documentary film, 'Returning Home,' and in 2022 was awarded the Governor General's Meritorious Service Cross in the civil division, which is given to Canadians for works that bring honor to Canada.
Another author, Peter Thomas Mckay, or Galksi De'entkw, is an educator from the Nisga'a First Nation along the Nass River Valley in the Northwest Coast region of British Columbia.
Mckay was born into the matrilineal fireweed fortress clan among the killer whale crest people. His oral stories have been favorites in his home and in the schools where he works. He grew up hearing his language and the cultural stories of his nation.
'I look at Medicine Wheel and it's a place, a sacred place that allows for Indigenous voices to return to the natural world.' Mckay told ICT. 'I feel safe with them.'
His book, 'Grandmother Mouse,' is an expression of evolving Indigenous storytelling, based on traditional stories and his own interpretation of those stories that he shares with his children.
''Grandmother Mouse' came about because I used to tell stories to my children when they were quite young, and it was a way to get them to go to bed,' said Mckay, who now teaches social studies to grade 12 students. 'Originally, in my traditional stories, growing up, I would hear of this creature named Mouse Woman, who would appear to intervene with humankind if the human was in danger.'
'Grandmother Mouse' is set to be released on April 8.
Another author whose works are published by Medicine Wheel is Ḵung Jaadee, Haida, from the village of Old Massett, Haida Gwaii in northern British Columbia. Jaadee is a storyteller who shares her works at schools, museums and other events.
She is perhaps best known as an author for her 'Raven' series. She wrote her first book, 'Raven's Feast,' in 2016 after being approached by Medicine Wheel to turn her stories into a book. 'Raven's Feast' was one of the first books published when Medicine Wheel launched in 2016.
'Gifts from Raven' followed in 2019, with both books illustrated by Jessika von Innerebner. Jaadee's latest, 'I am Connected,' illustrated by Carla Joseph, was recently released.
'Listening to elders'
Teddy Anderson, the founder of Medicine Wheel Publishing, is very clear about two things: He is not Indigenous, and he is committed to protecting Indigenous stories and storytellers.
Anderson spent his summers in the far north in Canada's Yukon territory and was surrounded by Indigenous culture, language and stories. He has been adopted into a Tlingit family.
'Being adopted does not make me Indigenous at all,' Anderston told ICT. 'It's … like I'm given a sacred trust.'
Before entering the publishing industry Anderson was a teacher, working in schools across Canada.
'I realized that a lot of people were terrified to teach culture,' Anderson recalled. 'They didn't know how to approach it. They didn't want to be disrespectful. It was all very well-intended, a lot of good intentions, but that fear was almost crippling for a lot of people.'
Schools have been scrambling to reset the curriculum to reconcile with the true history of Canada, to include the truth about residential schools but also to include authentic Indigenous voices and worldviews. Anderson saw publishers who were stepping up to fill that void who didn't mind stepping on Indigenous creatives at the same time.
'I saw Indigenous elders, storytellers with these beautiful stories, just being taken advantage of in the publishing community,' he said. "There's a lot of really good publishers out there, which I would vouch for, but there's also some that are doing things like buying the rights to stories and owning them and then dictating how the elder is to share them. You know, there's a lot of issues that way.'
It is these stories of historical and cultural significance that Anderson says he is trying to share and protect.
'When Phyllis Webstad or Ḵung Jaadee or anyone says, 'This is my story,' I'm being gifted a trust to make sure that I do a good job with it,' he said. 'I just feel very grateful for the opportunity. There's a line there that I think I have to navigate very delicately where my job is to empower and support, and if I ever stop doing that, I need to just stop what I'm doing.'
Medicine Wheel received the 2024 Jim Douglas Publisher of the Year Award from the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia, which noted the publishing house has been referenced in the House of Commons and featured on national television.
'Medicine Wheel Publishing produces acclaimed, culturally authentic Indigenous books, resources, and tools tailored for moral and cultural education,' according to the announcement of the award.
Medicine Wheel now also works with the Indigenous Elders and Educators Council.
'A sense of awe'
For GoldenEagle, the publication of 'Mother Earth: My Favourite Artist' is the result of a dream decades in the making.
She released her first novel, 'Bearskin Diary,' under the name Carol Daniels, in 2015 about a First Nations journalist trying to find her Indigenous identity. She followed up four years later under the name Carol Rose Daniels with a volume of poetry, 'Hiraeth,' which was shortlisted for the Saskatchewan Book Award.
The same year, after changing her name to GoldenEagle, she published her second novel, 'Bone Black,' about a missing First Nations woman.
But she also wanted to write for children.
'I left the media as you know, it's been almost 20 years now, because I wanted to pursue my love of writing,' GoldenEagle told ICT. 'And that includes writing for children. So this one is my first one, and I'm very proud of it.'
When asked about her inspiration for the new book, she chuckles.
'What was the inspiration?' she responded. 'All you have to do is go outside, honest to goodness, looking at the sunset or the sunrise, looking at different rocks on the ground, looking at birds and how they interact and move.
'All of these things just really filled me with a sense of awe.'
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