Highwater Press often sets a high bar for Indigenous-centric publishing. This post recommends two of their 2022 releases: Returning to the Yakoun River and Dancing with Our Ancestors. Both are by Sara Florence Davidson and her father, Robert Davidson, illustrated by Janine Gibbons. Dancing with Our Ancestors is among the Globe & Mail's top-10 children's book for 2022. Both are on AICL's list of the best books we read in 2022, and here's a "short and sweet" summary of why.
Reason #1 to recommend these two books: Emphasis on Indigenous pedagogies
Both offer a close "insider perspective" on two traditions of Haida communities -- fish camp (Returning to the Yakoun River) and potlatch (Dancing with Our Ancestors). The text and the illustrations work together to portray intergenerational Indigenous teaching and learning.
Reason #2: The story-telling
Both are based on the authors' experiences. The writing is clear and straightforward, yet effective at conveying both informative and emotional content. See, for example, Sara Davidson's closing words in Dancing about her brother, or the descriptions of the children's fish camp experience in Yakoun River. I couldn't help but smile at their pleasure over breakfast of "tiny boxes of cereal that we are never allowed to eat at home" and their dash to climb into a little boat so they can ride the wake of a passing motorboat.
Janine Gibbons' illustrations are powerful, and play a key part in the storytelling -- for example, in Returning, you'll see panoramic scenes (such as the end papers), extreme close-ups (such as a cereal bowl, a salmon head seeming to threaten a finger) and more, not just matching but accentuating portions of the text.
Reason #3: The supplemental information
In the back of each book is a map of Haida Gwaii, where the action in the books takes place, as well as some information about the Davidson family.
Take a look at this video on the Portage and Main Web site (less than 30 minutes long) about the potlatch on which Dancing with Our Ancestors is based.
The archived virtual book launch for both books is available for viewing, and is full of interesting information.
Highwater Press sells a teacher's guide to go with the Sk'a'da Stories, and there's a link to a free pronunciation guide to the Haida words that appear in the books.
Reason #4 to recommend these two books: They're part of a strong series.
The two previous Sk'a'da Stories, Jigging for Halibut with Tsinii and Learning to Carve Argillite, created by the same author/illustrator team, were among CBC Books' Best Children's Books of 2021. Throughout the series, they interweave cultural and historical information with storytelling about their family and community. The information goes beyond the basic "Here's what our tradition looks like", in line with an essential purpose of the series -- to actively preserve Haida culture for future generations:
As I watch from the side, I think about the laws that tried to stop us from gathering .... They wanted to stop us from being Haida. No laws stop us today. Today our history is recorded in our art, our stories, our dances, and our songs. Today we dance with our children so our culture cannot be stolen again."
In short, Dancing with OurAncestors and Returning to the Yakoun River are two books to learn from and to appreciate for storytelling and for the Indigenous knowledge shared.
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