By Hanna Sam

December's ground floor display at the OISE Library celebrates Indigenous Stories and Storywork. You can find the materials on the Ground Floor display shelf just past the OISE Library service desk, across from the New Arrivals display. They are available to sign out!

Each book in this display was chosen with the intent to inform and centre Indigenous voices and writers, who believe deeply in the transformative power of storytelling. Through their stories, Indigenous writers explore and re-imagine connections among communities, the land, history, family, and individuals.

The Gift is in the Making: Anishinaabeg Stories is a collection of previously published stories retold by writer, traditional storyteller, and musician Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Storytelling within Anishinaabeg traditions is a way of teaching and inspiring not only children but also people of all ages. Her aim in presenting the versions of these ancient narratives in The Gift is in the Making is to liberate them from the colonial contexts in which they have been documented. Betasamosake Simpson is hopeful that these stories can be used as a tool to regenerate political culture, governance, and leadership, while also becoming narratives of resistance and resurgence.

Book cover for Love After the End Edited by Joshua Whitehead, Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, showcases Two-Spirit and queer Indigenous writers from across Turtle Island. These visionary writers illustrate how queer Indigenous communities flourish through utopian storytelling, highlighting the resilience and vitality of Two-Spirit and queer identities even as they navigate the ongoing challenges of settler colonial histories. Contributors include Nathan Adler, Darcie Little Badger, Gabriel Castilloux Calderon, Adam Garnet Jones, Mari Kurisato, Kai Minosh Pyle, David Alexander Robertson, jaye simpson, and Nazbah Tom.

What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal is written by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger. This children’s nonfiction book looks at how Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island have responded to invasion. It shares stories of resistance, showing the many ways Indigenous peoples stood against colonial pressures. It highlights ongoing acts of renewal that unite communities across time and place, despite attempts of assimilation and erasure. Through their work, Yellowhorn and Lowinger tells history through an Indigenous lens, offering a perspective that is often overlooked.

Storyteller Skye: Teachings from my Ojibway Grandfather, written by Lindsay Christina King, tells the story of a young girl who captivates listeners with tales passed down from her grandfather. She shares five animal stories, each carrying its own lesson. The watercolor art, full of funny and expressive faces, brings warmth and humor. The book ends with a reminder of the connective power of stories, urging other children to become storytellers too!