Indigenous Canadian voices
In these YA and middle grade books, three Indigenous authors portray the experiences and challenges of Indigenous teens in contemporary Canada.
In both urban and reserve settings, these easy-to-read short novels portray believable Indigenous youth making tough decisions, facing major social issues, and dealing with questions of identity.
These stories can provide valuable context for social emotional skills development and discussion.
Not every child is a reader, but for those who are, the easy-to-read books below provide a safe way for you and a student to start a conversation about anxiety.
- Canadian settings and characters
- Realistic fiction
- Relatable challenges
- Diverse characters
- Stories featuring main characters who are experiencing anxiety in some form and learn about managing it
Titles featuring young Indigenous Canadian characters
Creeboy
By Teresa Wouters
$16.95 Paperback
SEL SKILL: Self-Awareness
An Indigenous teen living on a reserve faces with pressure to join a gang, while his family challenges him to take another path. He finds ways to successfully navigate these challenges.
If I Go Missing
By Brianna Jonnie, Nahanni Shingoose, Neal Shannacappo
$24.95 Paperback
SEL SKILL: Responsible Decision Making
An Indigenous teen’s powerful real-life letter demands justice amid the crisis of missing Indigenous people in Canada, brought to life in a compelling graphic novel blending imagined visuals with the reality of her words.
Powwow Summer
By Nahanni Shingoose
$14.95 Paperback
SEL SKILL: Self-Awareness
A teen novel about a young woman’s exploration of her Indigenous background and how it influences her identity and sense of self.
Northern Star
By Lorna Schultz Nicholson
$12.95 Paperback
SEL SKILL: Self-Awareness
An Indigenous teen hockey star from the Northwest Territories rises to fame but struggles with losing his sense of self as others see only his talent, not the person behind it.
School Statue Showdown
By David Starr
$16.95 Paperback
SEL SKILL: Social Awareness
In a small BC town, a teen’s search for the truth behind his grandfather’s defaced statue leads to an emotional reckoning with Indigenous history, colonialism, and family legacy.
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