Pīsim Finds Her Miskanow Picture Book Published

Piisim Finds Her Miskanow Book CoverThe Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures (CRYTC) is pleased to announce the publication of the picture book Pīsim Finds Her Miskanow. This book, written by William Dumas and illustrated by Leonard Paul, is the result of a six-year research collaboration between a group of scholars and educators from the University of Winnipeg, the Manitoba Museum, and the Government of Manitoba, and land-based members of the South Indian Lake community. The project of developing the story and collecting the additional information on Rocky Cree language and culture, archaeology and history, maps, and songs included in the book was supervised at CRYTC.

Pīsim Finds Her Miskanow is about a week in the life of Pīsim, a young Cree woman living in the late 1600s. The 1993 archaeological excavation of the remains of a woman and her belongings from Nagami Bay at South Indian Lake, Manitoba, was the inspiration for the story. In the story, Pīsim begins to both recognize her purpose for being and develop her gifts for fulfilling her purpose. On the edges of the words and pictures of the story, readers will find supplementary material — maps, diagrams, explanatory notes, Rocky Cree vocabulary — to help them to situate and to extend the meanings of the story.

Pīsim Finds Her Miskanow was published in August by Highwater Press and is available through their website (https://highwaterpress.com/shop-2/pisim-finds-her-miskanow/), McNally Robinson, Indigo, and Amazon.ca.

Reviews for Pīsim Finds Her Miskanow:

This enchanting book deserves a place in every school and library. It is a beautiful rendition of historical fiction that can give all young people a collective understanding of the power of our history in shaping who we are. Through the collaboration of many, the book has transformed a three hundred year old story of a young girl living on the shores of what is now South Indian Lake into a magical narrative that will enthrall young audiences, and I dare say many older readers as well.
— Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Winnipeg

Pīsim Finds Her Miskanow is an honour song of beauty and life. Through rich story and complex detail, it brings alive the history and language of Asiniskow Ithiniwak in Manitowapow while illustrating the cultural breadth of a dynamic community. This book is a joy to read, teach, and share with my daughter.
— Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Native Studies, University of Manitoba

In imagining the life of a young Cree woman, this volume provides a wonderful evocation of the wisdom and language of Cree elders that seamlessly incorporates archaeology, ethnology, and oral traditions.
— Stephen Loring, Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

The brilliant teamwork between archaeologists, the Cree, and an accomplished children’s book author gives us . . . a beautifully written and illustrated journey into a centuries-old world . . . [the book] promises to be a classic of Canadian history.
— Brian Fagan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of The First North Americans

Pīsim finds her Miskanow . . . is a wonderful bringing together of archeology, anthropology, history, and Cree language to make a story that brings these disciplines to a living place in our hearts and minds. William Dumas has presented Pisim and her family in such a way that their lives will be etched into our memory. The story is complemented by the beautiful and realistic illustrations of Leonard Paul. . . . This book is wonderful!
— Joe McLellan, Author of Nanabosho

CFP – Child, Youth, and Place in Atlantic Canadian Literature / Enfants, jeunes et lieux dans la littérature canadienne de l’Atlantique

Child, Youth, and Place in Atlantic Canadian Literature
Enfants, jeunes et lieux dans la littérature canadienne de l’Atlantique

Enfants, jeunes et lieux dans la littérature canadienne de l’Atlantique
Appel à contributions pour le 9ième colloque Thomas Raddall, du 9 au 12 juillet 2015
Acadia University, Wolfville, N.-É.

9th Thomas Raddall Symposium, July 9-12, 2015
Acadia University, Wolfville, NS
la version française suit

There are many varied representations of children and youth in Atlantic Canadian Literature, be they in realistic or fantastic fiction, in (auto)biography, in poetry, in texts that incorporate illustration such as picture books or comics: Kevin Major’s Hold Fast, David Adams Richards’s Lives of Short Duration, Christie Ann Conlin’s Heave, Kathleen Winters’s Annabel, Lynn Coady’s Strange Heaven, Andy Jones’s Jack tales. . . Likewise there are many representations of setting both realist and imaginary, critical and nostalgic: Antonine Maillet’s Acadie, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Prince Edward Island, Richards’s Miramichi . . . What do these books tell us about childhood and youth, its spoken and unspoken challenges? About place in a geographical and social sense? About the place of children or youth in relationships with peers, adults, institutions? About the place of stories for or about children? And how do readers and critics respond to them?

On trouve dans la littérature canadienne de l’Atlantique de nombreuses représentations d’enfants et de jeunes, que ce soit dans la littérature réaliste ou fantastique, dans des (auto)biographies, dans des textes qui incluent des images, comme les albums ou les bandes-dessinées : Hold Fast de Kevin Mayor, Lives of Short Durations de David Adams Richards, Heave de Christie Ann Conlin, Annabel de Kathleen Winter, Strange Heaven de Lynn Coady, les contes de Jack de Andy Jones… De même, on trouve de nombreuses représentations de sites, soit réalistes ou imaginaires, critiques ou nostalgiques : l’Acadie d’Antonine Maillet, l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard de Lucy Maud Montgomery, le Miramichi de Richards… Que nous disent ces livres au sujet de l’enfance et de la jeunesse, de ses défis dits et non-dits ? Au sujet de l’espace au sens géographique et social ? Au sujet de la place des enfants ou des jeunes en relation avec leurs pairs, avec les adultes ou avec les institutions ? Au sujet de la place des histoires sur ou pour les enfants ? Comment les lecteurs et les critiques répondent-ils à ce genre de littérature ?

The objective of this symposium is to open up conversations on the relations among peoples and places: children, adolescents, adults, schools, libraries, universities, publishing houses, and their habits and habitats. We are particularly interested in fostering dialogue among educators at all levels (pre-school through university), librarians, editors and publishers concerning the full range of books that depict childhood/youth and place in Atlantic Canadian Literature in both English and French.

L’objectif de ce colloque sera d’entamer des discussions au sujet des relations entre les gens (les enfants, les adolescents, les adultes) et les lieux qu’ils habitent, fréquentent, découvrent ou bien où ils travaillent (les écoles, les bibliothèques, les universités, les maisons d’édition) ainsi que d’interroger leurs habitudes et habitats. Nous souhaitons tout particulièrement encourager le dialogue entre les enseignants de tout niveau (du préscolaire à l’université), les bibliothécaires, les rédacteurs et les éditeurs au sujet de toute la gamme de livres qui représentent les enfants, les jeunes et les lieux dans la littérature canadienne de l’Atlantique à la fois anglophone, francophone et acadienne.

Évènements spéciaux /Special Events:

Acadia University Art Gallery Exhibit of Atlantic Picture Book Illustration / Exposition d’illustrations d’albums atlantique : 1980s & 90s: Molly Lamb Bobak (Sheree Fitch’s books) (NB), Brenda Jones (PEI/IPE); 2000s: Darka Erdelji (Andy Jones’s Jack tales) (NL), Leonard Paul (NS/ NÉ), plus selections from Annapolis Valley illustrators. Gala exhibit opening, panel presentation featuring the living artists, and a performance by Andy Jones’s of one of his Jack tale puppet shows. Atlantic Publishers panel with Running the Goat (NL/TL), Acorn Press (PEI/IPE), Gaspereau (NS/NÉ), Nimbus (NS/ NÉ) and Bouton d’or Acadie (NB). Lecture par Sophie Bérubé (Le Projet Persée; La trombe sacrée).

Symposium organizers / organisateurs du colloque: Andrea Schwenke Wyile, English & Theatre Dept. Acadia University, Wolfville, NS; Sue Fisher, curator, Eileen Wallace Children’s Literature Collection, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB; Vivian Howard, School of Information Management, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS.

Call for papers for the 9th Thomas Raddall Symposium, July 9-12, 2015 Acadia University, Wolfville, NS

Please send in your 500 word proposals for papers that examine representations of place in literature for and about children/youth in Atlantic Canadian literature, your contact information, and 100 word biography to andrea.schwenke.wyile@acadiau.ca by midnight December 1, 2014. Panel proposals are also welcome and should include a panel overview along with proposals for the individual papers.

http://english.acadiau.ca/raddall-symposia.html

Handy Internet resources to start you off:

  1. Atlantic Canadian Books for Children and Young Adults 1978-2011
  2. The New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia
  3. Waterfront Views: Contemporary Writing of Atlantic Canada
  4. Portolan: an annotated bibliography of Atlantic Canadian Children’s Literature held by UNB Libraries
  5. La littérature francophone en Acadie depuis 1980

Some questions/angles that could be pursued:

  • What do these stories reveal about the times or the trends?
  • Why read/teach these texts?
  • Are there effective strategies and rationales for how to read/teach them?
  • What kinds of student responses are there to particular texts?
  • What is the role of these texts outside of English/French (Language Arts) classes (such as History/Social Studies)?
  • Are there obstacles to writing, publishing, and/or teaching texts outside the mainstream/sanctioned guidelines?
  • What explanations are there for the relative absence of diversity in Atlantic texts?
  • What do analyses of literary, critical, social, or publishing trends reveal?
  • What is the place of historical “monuments” (such as Anne of Green Gables and Barometer Rising) in relation to the newer signposts in the literary landscape?
  • What are the effects of prizing, translation, (inter)national success (or the lack thereof)?
  • _______________________ (fill in with your own good question)

Appel à contributions pour le 9ième colloque Thomas Raddall, du 9 au 12 juillet 2015 Acadia University, Wolfville, NÉ

Vous pouvez proposer un projet de communication en français ou en anglais qui étudie les représentations de l’espace dans la littérature canadienne de l’Atlantique pour et sur les enfants et les jeunes. La proposition de communication doit comprendre un résumé de 500 mots, vos coordonnées et une biographie de 100 mots. Vous devez soumettre le tout à andrea.schwenke.wyile@acadiau.ca avant minuit le 1er décembre 2014. Les propositions de séances sont aussi les bienvenues et elles doivent inclure une vue d’ensemble des communications proposés.

http://english.acadiau.ca/raddall-symposia.html

Voici quelques ressources internet utiles pour vous aider à commencer vos recherches :

  1. Atlantic Canadian Books for Children and Young Adults 1978-2011
  2. The New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia
  3. Waterfront Views: Contemporary Writing of Atlantic Canada
  4. Portolan: an annotated bibliography of Atlantic Canadian Children’s Literature held by UNB Libraries
  5. La littérature francophone en Acadie depuis 1980

Voici quelques questions ayant trait au thème du colloque:

  • Que revelent ces histoires au sujet des modes et des époques ?
  • Pourquoi lire / enseigner ces textes ?
  • Y-a-t-il des stratégies efficaces ou des motivations pour les lire / les enseigner ?
  • Quelles sont les réponses des étudiants face à différents textes ?
  • Quel est le rôle de ces textes en dehors des cours d’anglais / de français ou de sciences humaines ?
  • Est-ce qu’il y a des obstacles à l’écriture, la publication et / ou l’enseignement de textes en dehors du courant dominant ?
  • Quelles raisons peut-on alléguer pour expliquer le peu de diversité dans les textes de l’Atlantique ?
  • Que révèle l’analyse des mouvements littéraires, critiques, sociaux ou éditoriaux ?
  • Quelle place occupent les « monuments » historiques (comme Anne of Green Gables et Barometer Rising) en relation avec les nouveaux jalons du paysage littéraire ?
  • Quel est l’intérêt des prix, des traductions, du succès ou du manque de succès à l’échelle (inter)nationale ?
  • Ou _________________________ complétez avec vos propres bonnes questions…