National Indigenous History Month 2025

In honour of National Indigenous People’s Day on June 21st, and National Indigenous History Month, and  we’ve compiled a list of recently published books that highlight the history, art, and literature of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.

Looking for more books? Check out the McGill-Queen’s Indigenous and Northern Studies series.

Winner of the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award for English-Language Nonfiction!

Aki-wayn-zih

A Person as Worthy as the Earth

By Eli Baxter

Aki-wayn-zih is one man’s story of growing up in the hunting and gathering society of the Ojibways and surviving the residential school system, woven together with traditional legends in their original language. A story about the land and its relationship with the Anishinaabayg, from the beginning of their life on Turtle Island to the present day.

Atiqput

Inuit Oral History and Project Naming

Edited by Carol Payne, Beth Greenhorn, Deborah Kigjugalik Webster and Christina Williamson
Foreword by Jimmy Manning

Atiqput is the first book-length study of Project Naming, the photo-based history research initiative established by the Inuit school Nunavut Sivuniksavut in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada. Through oral testimony and photography, Atiqput rewrites settler societies’ historical record and challenges a legacy of colonial visualization.

Métis Music

Stories of Recognition and Resurgence

By Monique Giroux

Monique Giroux traces the path of Métis music as it has moved within and through mainstream spaces while remaining embedded in relationships with place, community, and kin.

Odagahodhes

Reflecting on Our Journeys

By Gae Ho Hwako Norma Jacobs, Edited by Timothy B. Leduc

Odagahodhes follows an Indigenous sharing circle, relaying teachings by Cayuga Elder Gae Ho Hwako Norma Jacobs and the diverse experiences and knowledge participants bring into reflective relation with the teachings. Each circle ends by inviting the reader into the sacred space of odagahodhes and calls for a transformation in how we live.