A Deninu Kue First Nation author has won a national award for a beautifully-illustrated and tenderly-written childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 book about death.
Last month, Lisa Boivin was named a winner of the annual First Nations Communities READ program for her childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 book, We Dream Medicine Dreams.
The award, which honours some of the best Indigenous literature in the country, is run by the Ontario First Nations public library community under the Ontario Library Service (OLS) and sponsored by Periodical Marketers of Canada.
BoivinSA国际影视传媒檚 book is about a little girl, her grandfather, and their shared discovery of how dreams SA国际影视传媒� that feature animal guardians including bear, hawk, caribou and wolf SA国际影视传媒� connect them to their ancestors.
Later, the little girl must call on this knowledge as she learns to say goodbye when her grandfather gets sick and passes away.
Nancy Cooper, a First Nation consultant with the Ontario Library Service who spoke to the Hub on BoivinSA国际影视传媒檚 behalf, called it, SA国际影视传媒渁 beautifully illustrated intergenerational story about death.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淚t follows the story of an unfortunate passing but this little girl in the book remembers all the teachings that they received from their grandparent, and all the teachings we receive on a daily basis from animals in the world around us,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 a big fan of it,SA国际影视传媒� she continued. SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 a big fan of Lisa. SheSA国际影视传媒檚 doing some really important work.SA国际影视传媒�
Boivin is both author and illustrator of We Dream Medicine Dreams. Her previous works include, I Will See You Again, another award-winning book aimed at helping children process difficult emotions and heal from loss.
In addition to her work as an author and interdisciplinary artist, Boivin is also a PhD candidate at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine where she studies bioethics.
Cooper noted how her academic work and her writing share common themes, as they both draw on Indigenous knowledge to tackle the subject of death in a very practical way.
SA国际影视传媒淪heSA国际影视传媒檚 teaching institutions about the process of death in Indigenous communities and the importance of certain ceremonies and decisions,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淪heSA国际影视传媒檚 bringing death to the forefront and making it easy to have a discussion about it, which I think is really important because you donSA国际影视传媒檛 read many books about death in childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 literature.SA国际影视传媒�
The PMC Indigenous Literature Award comes with a cash prize for each author. Winners are chosen by a jury of Indigenous librarians from across Ontario.
Over 75 selected works were entered into this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 competition. The number of entries speaks to the depth of quality in Indigenous literature across the province, said Cooper.
SA国际影视传媒淭here was a lot of amazing literature that the jury had to get through,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
After two SA国际影视传媒渧ery adamantSA国际影视传媒� jury members came to an impasse, two winners were declared in the childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 category SA国际影视传媒� the first tie in the competitionSA国际影视传媒檚 history, according to Cooper.
Little Bear in Foster Care by Anishinaabe Algonquin author S.P. Joseph Lyons was also a winner in the childrenSA国际影视传媒檚 category.
Carol Anne Hilton, of Nuu-chah-nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation, authored the winning title in the adult category for her book, Indigenomics, a non-fiction book about how an emerging Indigenous economy, built around relationships and multigenerational stewardship of the land, is laying the groundwork for economic reconciliation.
Correction: A previous version of this story displayed the incorrect photo. SA国际影视传媒 apologizes for the error and any confusion or embarrassment it may have caused.
