National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Non-Fiction for Adults

A selection of recent books written by Indigenous authors in Canada. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is is recognized on September 30th.

Updated September 14, 2024
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21 things you may not know about the Indian Act
Joseph, Robert P. C.
Paper Book
Since its creation in 1876, the Indian Act has dictated and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples, and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes. Bob Joseph's book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process, when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous...
Alha Disnii My Truth : Words from a Wet'suwet'en Woman
George, Corinne.
Paper Book
My name is Corinne George. I am Wet'suwet'en with Gitksan lineage from the Gidimt'en (Bear) Clan. This is my truth, and through sharing my truth, I strive for ongoing healing and to continue the journey of reconciliation. As a Wet'suwet'en woman born and raised on what is now known as the "Highway...
Becoming a matriarch
Knott, Helen
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER Co-winner of the 2024 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature Winner of the Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes (part of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes) Shortlisted for the 2024 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize Finalist for the...
Black Water : family, legacy, and blood memory
Robertson, David
Paper Book
A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of the Year A Quill & Quire Book of the Year A CBC Books Nonfiction Book of the Year A Maclean's 20 Books You Need to Read this Winter "An instant classic that demands to be read with your heart open and with a...
The fire still burns : life in and after residential school
George, Sam
Paper Book
"My name is Sam George. In spite of everything that happened to me, by the grace of the Creator, I have lived to be an Elder." Set in the Vancouver area in the late 1940s and through to the present day, this candid account follows Sam from his idyllic childhood growing up on the Eslhá7an...
First Nations 101
Gray, Lynda.
Paper Book
First Nations 101: Tons of Stuff You Need to Know (2nd edition) by Lynda Gray, member of the Gisbutwada (killer whale) Clan of the Ts'msyen Nation and the community of Lax Kw'alaams, is a comprehensive, accessible overview of the real history of Canada as it relates to Indigenous people....
From the ashes : my story of being Métis, homeless, and finding my way
Thistle, Jesse
Paper Book
*#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER *Winner, Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Nonfiction *Winner, Indigenous Voices Awards *Winner, High Plains Book Awards *Finalist, CBC Canada Reads *A Globe and Mail Book of the Year *An Indigo Book of the...
The Knowing: The Enduring Legacy of Residential Schools
Talaga, Tanya
Paper Book
From Tanya Talaga, the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Seven Fallen Feathers, comes a riveting exploration of her family's story and a retelling of the history of the country we now call Canada For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members...
Kw
Pauls, Cole
Paper Book
Indigenous Voices Award winner Cole Pauls returns with a robust collection of stories that celebrate the cultural practices and experiences of Dene and Arctic peoples. Gathering Pauls's comics from magazines, comic festivals and zine making workshops, these comics are his most personal...
Peyakow : reclaiming Cree dignity
McLeod, Darrel J.
Paper Book
Mamaskatch, Darrel J. McLeod's 2018 memoir of growing up Cree in Northern Alberta, was a publishing sensation--winning the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction, shortlisted for many other major prizes and translated into French and German editions. In Peyakow, McLeod...
Picking up the pieces : residential school memories and the making of the Witness Blanket
Newman, Carey
Paper Book
"Will educate and enlighten Canadians for generations to come. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to understand Canada's residential-school saga. Most importantly, it's a touchstone of community for those survivors and their families still on the path to healing."--Waubgeshig Rice, journalist...
Richard Wagamese selected : what comes from spirit
Wagamese, Richard
Paper Book
Richard Wagamese, one of Canada's most celebrated Indigenous authors and storytellers, was a writer of breathtaking honesty and inspiration. Always striving to be a better, stronger person, Wagamese shared his journey through writing, encouraging others to do the same. Following the...
Silence to strength : writings and reflections on the Sixties Scoop
Smith, Christine Miskonoodinkwe
Paper Book
From the 1960s through the 1980s the Canadian Children's Aid Society engaged in a large-scale program of removing First Nations children from their families and communities and adopting them out to non-Indigenous families. This systemic abduction of untold thousands of children came to be known...
Teeth
Hunt, Dallas
Paper Book
This is a book about grief, death and longing. It's about the gristle that lodges itself deep into one's gums, between incisors and canines. Teeth details not only the symptoms of colonization, but also the foundational and constitutive asymmetries that allow for it to proliferate and...
True reconciliation : how to be a force for change
Wilson-Raybould, Jody
Paper Book
There is one question Canadians have asked Jody Wilson-Raybould more than any other: What can I do to help advance reconciliation? This has been true from her time as a leader of British Columbia's First Nations, as a Member of Parliament, as Minister of Justice and Attorney General,...
Truth telling : seven conversations about Indigenous life in Canada
Good, Michelle
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER High Plains Book Award FINALIST for the Writers' Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy FINALIST for the Indigenous Voices Award Longlisted for the First Nation Communities READ A bold, provocative collection of essays exploring...
Unbroken : my fight for survival, hope, and justice for Indigenous women and girls
Sterritt, Angela
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER: A Globe and Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller A finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Writers' Trust Hilary Weston Prize for Nonfiction. "A remarkable life story. . . Angela Sterritt is a formidable storyteller...
Valley of the Birdtail : an Indian reserve, a white town, and the road to reconciliation
Sniderman, Andrew Michael Stobo
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER Winner - 2023 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize Winner - 2023 John W. Dafoe Book Prize Winner - 2023 High Plains Book Award for Indigenous Writer Winner - 2022 Manitoba Historical Society Margaret McWilliams Book Award for Local...

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