Spring 2025 Workshops – Book Bundle for Children

Sila and the Land is the story of a young Inuk girl who goes on a journey across the North, East, South and West. Along the way Sila meets different animals, plants and elements that teach her about the importance of the land and her responsibilities to protect it for future generations.

Three young Indigenous women came together to write a children’s book that could help share perspectives on the land common across First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. This includes a shared respect for the earth and an understanding of our responsibilities to protect it for future generations.

In order to convey these perspectives in the story, the authors spoke with youth from a number of Indigenous communities across Canada. They asked about why the environment was important to each of them and what land based teachings and experiences were significant to their identities and cultures. Their responses helped shape the book, offering examples of things Sila could learn from the land during her journey travelling across the North, East, South and West.

It is important to note that while there are shared perspectives across Indigenous communities there are also many differences. This book does not claim to represent any specific cultures or teachings, but instead encourages children and youth to seek out knowledge from the territories that they are living on. It also aims to inspire other young Indigenous writers and illustrators to believe in their gifts and the power of their stories.

Authors

Sila and the Land was co-authored by three incredibly inspiring Indigenous youth: Ariana Roundpoint, a writer of the wolf clan of the Kanien’kehakah people, born and raised in Akwesasne; Shelby Angalik, a writer from Arviat Nunavut, an Inuit hamlet on the western shore of Hudson Bay; and Lindsay DuPré, a Métis social worker and educator based in Southern Ontario. The beautiful illustrations for Sila and the Land were developed by Halie Finney, an artist of Métis heritage from the Lesser Slave Lake region of Alberta.

Learn about Indigenous plant relationships and how we are all connected to nature through plant-based foods, medicines, and materials.

The best way to learn about plants is through observing and interacting with living examples. Join Held by the Land author Leigh Joseph and her children in The Land Knows Me, an educational, hands-on journey to discover all the wonderful uses and gifts of the plants around us.

Through the Indigenous traditions of Squamish culture you’ll learn how to ground yourself on the land, how to introduce yourself in the Squamish language to your plant relatives, and the many teachings about plants, cultural stories, and learnings related to the flora seen on your walk.

This essential and colorful introduction to Indigenous plant knowledge includes informative sidebars, reflection questions, and plant names in both Squamish and English so children can learn a new language.

The Land Knows Me concludes with a 15 plant profile directory featuring detailed plant illustrations and kid-friendly botanical drawings to aid in learning about the many great uses for plants and the native history behind them. You'll meet plants like:

• Ḵwiĺayus (kw-ill-eye-os), Red-Flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum
• Ḵ’emeláý (k-em-ill-eye), Bigleaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum
• Séliýaý (s-elle-ee-eye), Oregon Grape, Mahonia nervosa
• Xápaýay (hey-pie-eye), Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata
• Ḵwe7úpaý (kw-oh-pa-eye), Pacific Crabapple, Malus fusca
• And more!

Follow the stream, cross the field, and step into a forest full of rich, botanical diversity rooted in history and tradition...

Author: Styawat / Dr. Leigh Joseph

A protector of the collective and a keeper of knowledge, Dr. Leigh Joseph, whose ancestral name is Styawat, is the ethnobotanist, researcher, activist, and Indigenous founder of Sḵwálwen. She is also a mother and wife, a daughter and community leader whose aim is to help heal the intergenerational effects of cultural trauma within the Squamish Nation by learning, working with and preserving Indigenous plants, and carrying them forward into the modern world.

Join the author for a free virtual workshop! 

Pre-orders Available! Anticipated shipping date: March, 2025

Prepare to embark on a journey rich with the wisdom of our ancestors and the secrets shared by Mother Earth.

In this newly released children's book, you will follow a path once tread by those before us, where the songs of the trees, the dance of the rivers, and our stories are carried by the wind. These teachings are invaluable treasures passed down through generations.

You’ll discover the language of animals, the lessons of plants, and the wisdom of the land. If you listen closely, you will hear the "Whispers of the Earth," guiding you on this incredible adventure.

60 pages, printed locally on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

About the Authors & Illustrator

• Author Launa Purcell is a member of the Xa’xtsa First Nation and a mother of two. Launa works as an Indigenous Educator and teaches Indigenous outdoor camps.
• Carl Sam advised on the language, and is "Ha7li" of the Bear Clan from Skookumchuck, part of St'at'icmulh Nation, sometimes referred to as the Interior Salish. Through this book he shares elements of the Ucwalmícwts language.
• Illustrated by Carla Joseph, a Cree artist from Prince George, B.C. She has a very unique style which many people look forward to experiencing. She loves the way she makes people feel with her art. It inspires her to continue with her gift.

Rooted in Indigenous teachings, this stunning picture book encourages readers of all ages to consider the ways in which they live in connection to the world around them and to think deeply about their behaviors.

Addressing environmental issues, animal welfare, self-esteem and self-respect, and the importance of community, the authors deliver a poignant and universal message in an accessible way: Be a good ancestor to the world around you. Thought-provoking stanzas offer a call to action for each one of us to consider how we affect future generations. Every decision we make ripples out, and we can affect the world around us by thinking deeply about those decisions.

Indigenous Author Leona Prince is from the Lake Babine Nation and Nak’azdli Whut'en and belongs to the Lhts’umusyoo (Beaver) Clan. Leona is an award-winning educator and is currently the Director of Instruction of Indigenous Education for School District 91 (Nechako Lakes). She also authored A Dance through the Seasons.

Illustrated by Carla Joseph, a Cree artist from Prince George, B.C. She has a very unique style which many people look forward to experiencing. She loves the way she makes people feel with her art. It inspires her to continue with her gift.

Readers of all ages will admire Young Woman as she endures and learns from each of the four seasons using many traditional means.

Like Young Woman, we all have something to learn – from nature, the seasons, and our Elders, when we recognize and trust in our guides.

Indigenous Author Leona Prince is from the Lake Babine Nation and Nak’azdli Whut’en and belongs to the Lhts’umusyoo (Beaver) Clan. Leona is an award-winning educator and is currently the Director of Instruction of Indigenous Education for School District 91 (Nechako Lakes). She also authored Be a Good Ancestor.

Illustrated by Carla Joseph, a Cree artist from Prince George, B.C. She has a very unique style which many people look forward to experiencing. She loves the way she makes people feel with her art. It inspires her to continue with her gift.