Research Guides: Resources for Decolonizing Your Teaching: Finding Indigenous Authors

Finding Indigenous Authors

There are no standard lists of Indigenous researchers, academics, or writers. The following sources focus on Canadian authors.

CBC: 108 Indigenous writers to read as recommended by you. 2017 reading list.

Encyclopedia of literature in Canada: entries on Algonquian, Cree, Haida, Inuit, Iroquoian, Ktunaxa, Kwakwala, Northern Athapaskan, Ojibwa, Salish, Tlingit, Tsimshianic, and Wakashan and articles on individual authors.

Highway, T. (2017). From oral to written: A celebration of Indigenous literature in Canada, 1980-2010. Vancouver: Talonbooks.

King,T. The Truth About Stories: A native narrative. Toronto : House of Anansi Press , 2003. Listen to King's talk on this work on the 2003 CBC Massey Lectures.

Maracle, L., & Laronde, S. (2000). My home as I remember. Toronto: Natural Heritage Books. Describes literary and artistic achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Metis women across Canada and other places.

McCall, S., Reder, D., Gaertner, D., & Hill, G. L. H. (Eds.). (2017). Read, listen, tell: Indigenous stories from Turtle Island. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Sinclair, N. J. & Cariou, W. (Eds). (2011). Manitowapow: Aboriginal writings from the land of water.

Examples of memoirs.

Bear Chief, A. (2016). My decade at Old Sun, my lifetime of hell. Edmonton: AU Press.
Downie, G., & Lemire, J. (2016). Secret path. Toronto, Ontario: Simon & Schuster Canada.
Highway, T. (1998). Kiss of the fur queen. Toronto: Doubleday Canada.
Maracle, L. (2017). My conversations with Canadians (First ed.). Toronto: BookThug
Merasty, A. (2017). The education of Augie Merasty: A residential school memoir. Regina: University of Regina.
Metatawabin. E. (2015). Up Ghost River: A Chief’s journey through the turbulent waters of native history. Toronto: Knopf.
Tagaq. (2018). Split tooth. Toronto: Random House.
Talaga, T. (2017). Seven fallen feathers: Racism, death, and hard truths in a northern city. Toronto: Anansi.
Wagamese, R. (1994). Keeper’n me. Toronto: Doubleday Canada.

Key Reading

There are several approaches to locating Indigenous researchers.

1. Browse journals that specialize in publishing Indigenous scholarship such as those on the Indigenous Studies author page.

2. Consult lists of Indigenous researchers at Queen's and faculty such as the one at UBC.

3. GoodMinds is a local book store/ distributor in Brantford Ontario from which the library purchases many titles. Search their catalogue or browse topical lists.

4. Locate federal and provincial Indigenous organizations and associations in your field for the reports and research they produce.