Canada would be a much better place for all of us if Canadians read more Indigenous lit. People often ask how they can be good allies, how they can w… - Cherie Dimaline

I realized in writing over the years that some of the first readers I’ve ever had, and people who still pick up my books, are a lot of Native youth. It’s such a privilege to have them read my work. And I get it. I remember growing up, there wasn’t Native literature around. It wasn’t common; you didn’t see yourself reflected—certainly not in a good way—in any of the media you had access to, books or movies or TV shows. You didn’t see yourself in a good way in the classroom because the version of history you were being taught was that we were saved, and we were savages, and all of these horrible narratives that really don’t feel good when you’re growing up and this is your community.

"Sometimes you risk everything for a life worth living, even if you're not the one that'll be alive to see it." (p152)

I would say that globally, readers and the industry that has been built around them are becoming privy to our stories and the skill in which they’re told and preserved. We’re going through a pretty brutal learning curve right now because Indigenous literature is unlike any other, and the rules are different. It’s why we’re having to call out writers and stories that are harmful or that misrepresent. The resulting skirmishes over “free speech” and “appropriation” were bound to happen since this is new territory to the publishing world and there’s no precedent. Many of our stories are ceremony, history, teachings, and cannot be mishandled. We are a generous people and [we] share, but [our stories are] not out there to be “cherry picked” and morphed.