LibGuides: Indigenous Studies: Indigenous Literature

Introduction

This guide provides OC Library and web resources related to Indigenous literature as well as search strategies on this and related topics. Indigenous literature is meant as a term to indicate literature written by Indigenous authors and should not be thought of as being stylistically homogenous. Indigenous communities are culturally unique and have their own literary practices.

From Aboriginal Literatures in Canada: A Teacher's Resource (2003):

As Okanagan author and director of the First Nations Creative Writing School (the En’owkin Centre in Penticton, B.C.), Jeannette Armstrong, put it in an interview with Renate Eigenbrod on August 6, 2001: “I would stay away from the idea of “Native” literature, there is no such thing. There is Mohawk literature, there is Okanagan literature, but there is no generic Native in Canada.”

IMPORTANT: the dominant structure for organizing information is from a western perspective, for this reason you may need to use outdated (sometimes offensive) terminology to find resources related to Indigenous peoples; please contact us if you'd like assistance navigating this.

Combine keywords related to the concept of Indigenous identity with keywords related to your area of interest.

For example:

Indigenous	Aboriginal	"First Nations"
Inuit	Métis	"Indians of North America"
Indian	Native	Name of Nation or Community (e.g. Secwépemc)

AND

Literature	Writing	Stories
Representation	OwnVoices	"Literary criticism"
Author		Specific genre (e.g. fiction, poetry, horror)

Search Tips:

Use quotation marks to search for a phrase (e.g. "residential schools").
Use an asterisk to search for words with the same stem (e.g. litera* retrieves literary, literature, literatures).
Terminology changes over time. You many need to search for alternative spellings of a word, for example: Sto:lo, Stó:lô, Staulo, Stahlo or you may need to search for alternate words, for example: Kwakiutl/Kwakwaka'wakw or Nootka/Nuu-chah-nulth

Subject headings are a tool designed to help researchers find similar materials. These are only some examples of the many subject headings that Okanagan College Library uses. Spend a few minutes exploring them when you find a book in the catalogue that supports your research.

Search by Subject Terms

American Literature--Indian authors--History and criticism
Canadian Literature--Indian authors--History and criticism
Indians in literature
Indigenous authors--21st century
Colonization in literature

Featured Books - Literary Study

Indigenous Poetics in Canada
Indigenous Poetics in Canada broadens the way in which Indigenous poetry is examined, studied, and discussed in Canada. Breaking from the parameters of traditional English literature studies, this volume embraces a wider sense of poetics, including Indigenous oralities, languages, and understandings of place.
Introduction to Indigenous Literary Criticism in Canada
The texts gathered in this collection trace the development of Indigenous literatures while highlighting major trends and themes. The essays explore issues that mark the study of Indigenous literature: appropriation of voice, stereotyping, traditional knowledge, language, land, spirituality, orality, colonialism, post-colonialism, gender, hybridity, authenticity, resistance, and ethical scholarship.
Learn, Teach, Challenge: Approaching Indigenous Literatures
This is a collection of classic and newly commissioned essays about the study of Indigenous literatures in North America. The volume is organized into five subject areas: Position, Imagining Beyond Images and Myths; Debating Indigenous Literary Approaches; Contemporary Concerns; and Classroom Considerations.
Literary Land Claims: the "Indian land question" from Pontiac's war to Attawapiskat
Indigenous people have long been represented in literature as roaming “savages” without land title and without literature. This book analyzes works produced between 1832 and the late 1970s by writers who resisted these dominant notions. If the land is to be respected and shared as it should be, literary studies needs a new critical narrative, one that engages with the ideas of Indigenous writers and intellectuals.
Native American Literature
By setting indigenous literature in historical moments, the author skillfully traces its evolution from the ancient role of bringing rain and healing the body, to its later purpose in resisting European invasion and colonization, into its current place as a world literature that confronts dominance while celebrating the imagination and resilience of indigenous lives.
Stories in a New Skin: Approaches to Inuit Literature
In an age where southern power-holders look north and see only vacant polar landscapes, isolated communities, and exploitable resources, it is important to note that the Inuit homeland encompasses extensive philosophical, political, and literary traditions. Stories in a New Skin is a seminal text that explores these Arctic literary traditions and, in the process, reveals a pathway into Inuit literary criticism.
Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
Part survey of the field of Indigenous literary studies, part cultural history, and part literary polemic, this book asserts the vital significance of literary expression to the political, creative, and intellectual efforts of Indigenous peoples today.

Featured Books - Indigenous Literature

#IndianLovePoems
The poetic speaker, a First Nations Donna Giovanni, relates stories of her search for The One, or even better, that One-Night-Stand, in heated lines that fearlessly shed light on the intimacy and honesty that may arise even from the most fleeting encounter, leading to reflection on the complexities of sex, race, culture, and intention within relationships.
Amun
In the Innu language, amun means "gathering." This collection brings together Indigenous authors from different backgrounds, First Nations, and generations.
Kisiskâciwan: Indigenous Voices from Where the River Flows Swiftly
This groundbreaking anthology from territory that is now Saskatchewan, kisiskâciwan, includes rich oral narratives; early writings from Cree missionaries; speeches and letters by Treaty Chiefs; stories from elders; archival discoveries; and contemporary literary works in all genres.
Moon of the Crusted Snow
A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.
River Woman
Governor General's Award-winning Métis poet and acclaimed novelist Katherena Vermette's second poetry collection explores her relationship to nature -- its destructive power and beauty, its timelessness, and its place in human history.
Split Tooth
Veering between the grittiest features of a small arctic town, the electrifying proximity of the animal world and the ravishing world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions between good and evil, animal and human, real and imagined lose their meaning, but the guiding power of love remains.
There There
Here is a story of several people, each of whom has private reasons for travelling to the Big Oakland Powwow. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and unspeakable loss.

Featured Articles

The Importance and Power of Indigenous Representation in Literature
Tafoya, A. (2021). The importance and power of Indigenous representation in literature. Eighteenth-Century Fiction, 33(2), 205–207.
Indigenous literature and comparability
Durnin, K. (2011). Indigenous literature and comparability. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, 13(2).
Literature, healing, and the transformational imaginary: thoughts on Jo-Ann Episkenew's Taking Back Our Spirits
Justice, D. H. (2012). Literature, healing, and the transformational imaginary: thoughts on Jo-Ann Episkenew’s Taking Back Our Spirits: Indigenous literature, public policy, and healing. Canadian Literature, 214, 101.
On Critical Frameworks for Analyzing Indigenous Literature: The Case of Monkey Beach
Lacombe, M. (2010). On critical frameworks for analyzing Indigenous literature: The case of Monkey Beach. International Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue Internationale d’Etudes Canadiennes, 41, 253–276.

Featured Podcasts

Indigenous Brilliance
The Indigenous Brilliance Podcast is an important project of the larger Indigenous Brilliance Collective, and features innovative and exciting episodes, highlighting the multi-disciplinary voices of Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, and Indigiqueer artists as we discuss cultural resurgence in Indigenous arts.
masinahikan iskwêwak – Book Women Podcast
A podcast where three Métis aunties figure out how to publish, edit, and write Indigenous stories.
Matriarch Movement
October 4, 2021: Decolonizing Storytelling
Chelsea Vowel and Sandra Lamouche talk about mentorship, their journey to writing that was very motivated by the lack of representation of Indigenous people, how the landscape of writing is changing, Indigenous vs. western storytelling, and the true meaning of decolonization.
Storykeepers Podcast
Join hosts, Waubgeshig Rice and Jennifer David, as they talk ‘all things Indigenous books’.

Literature Awards

Indigenous Voice Awards (Canada)
The IVAs were established in 2017 to support and nurture the work of Indigenous writers in lands claimed by Canada.
Manitoba Book Awards (Canada)
Awards include the Manitowapow Award for Indigenous writers or oral performers who demonstrate excellence in writing, storytelling or spoken word and who also actively support Indigenous verbal arts in Manitoba. The past winners page is in development.
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2021 (Australia)
Awards include a category for Indigenous writing. Past years can be seen under the "projects" drop down menu.
Pikihuia Awards (New Zealand/Aotearoa)
Pikihuia is a short story competition open to all Māori writers. Selected writers have their stories published in the Huia Short Stories collection, a contemporary fiction series published by Huia Publishers.

Indigenous Specific Publishers

Eaglecrest Books
Specializes in providing educators with quality early literacy books that feature First Nations children.
Gabriel Dumont Institute
Promotes the renewal and development of Métis culture through research, materials development, collection and distribution of those materials and the design, development and delivery of Métis-specific educational programs and services.
Heartdrum
An imprint of Harper Collins showcasing Native American authors for kids 8+.
HighWater Press
An imprint of Portage & Main Press, publishes award-winning stories by emerging and established Indigenous writers.
Inhabit Media
Inuit-owned, independent publishing company in the Canadian Arctic.
Kegedonce Press
Indigenous owned and operated. Committed to the development, promotion, and publication of the work of Indigenous writers nationally and internationally.
Pemmican Publications
Promotes Métis authors, illustrators and stories. A not-for-profit company that operates as an arm’s-length affiliate of the Manitoba Métis Federation.
Theytus Books
First Nations owned and operated and a leading North American publisher of Indigenous voices.