Indigenous History Month

6 Indigenous History Month recommended reads

Learn more with these resources from UM Libraries.

Book cover
Estimated Read Time:
1 minute
Miss Chief Eagle Testickle painting by Kent Monkman for the cover of his book.
Miss Chief Eagle Testickle painting by Kent Monkman for the cover of his book.
Estimated Read Time:
1 minute
By

Lyle Ford

To support the UM community in learning and reflection, UM Libraries recommends the following reading for Indigenous History Month.  

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, an opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions and experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. It's a time to honour the stories, excellence and resilience of Indigenous Peoples. Numerous events are held across UM each year in recognition of this month and National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. UM Libraries is committed to building collections that recognize new perspectives and diverse ways of knowing.  

Lyle Ford, Senior Lead, Indigenous Engagement at UM Libraries, selected all titles below. All titles are accessible for free with a library account. 

Lyle Ford serves as Senior Lead, Indigenous Engagement at UM Libraries. He provides subject assistance and resources for Indigenous languages and culture and Indigenous studies .

Histories of Indigenous peoples and Canada shows the breadth and depth of Indigenous history while also examining how Canadians came to understand it as a footnote. 

Cover for Histories of Indigenous peoples and Canada

What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous stories of rebellion and renewal is a young adult graphic novel that “shares accounts of the people, places, and events that have mattered in Indigenous history from an Indigenous viewpoint.”

Cover for What the eagle sees: Indigenous stories of rebellion and renewal

David Robertson’s 52 ways to reconcile: how to walk with Indigenous peoples on the path to healing presents a year of activities to learn how colonization weakened everyone and how we all get stronger together. 

Cover for 52 ways to reconcile: how to walk with Indigenous peoples on the path to healing

The stunning Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle : a true and exact accounting of the history of Turtle Island = Okiskisiwina okimâwiskwêw kihêw mitisoway blends history, fiction, and memoir to offer a glimpse of what happened when Europeans met longstanding Indigenous cultures, what ensued, and how we exist together now. 

Cover for Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle

mahikan ka onot: The Poetry of Duncan Mercredi collects the best work of Duncan Mercredi (until 2020) and, among other things, voices Cree and Métis history in Misipawistik (Grand Rapids), Winnipeg, and Cranberry Portage. 

Cover for mahikan ka onot: The Poetry of Duncan Mercredi

Thou Shalt Forget: Indigenous sovereignty, resistance and the production of cultural oblivion in Canada “examines colonial state imperatives to oppress Indigenous peoples and history from mainstream national narratives," illustrating that such erasure contributes to weakened personal agency and resistance. This book speaks about memory and forgetting while promoting the self-actualization of the Essipiunnuat, the “People of the Brook Shells River.”

Cover for thou shalt forget: Indigenous sovereignty, resistance and production of cultural oblivion in Canada

For help finding resources on a specific topic, contact a subject librarian.

Boilerplate: reconciliation

At UM, we are working together to advance reconciliation for transformative change, which is among the commitments you’ll find in MomentUM: Leading change together, the University of Manitoba’s 2024–2029 strategic plan.