"Larry Amik Smallwood had the gift of making people laugh. Of all the teachings Amik strove to pass along to his students, he cherished most the humor of his Ojibwe people. In this bilingual collection, Amik tells of his many adventures and those of others he knew. Learning to speak English in the first grade. A spectacular mishap while harvesting wild rice. Using an old blanket as an invitation to dance. Tales of his hilarious drunkard uncle. With...

When fourteen-year-old Norvia moves from Beaver Island to Boyne City in 1914, she has to contend with a new school, a first crush, and a blended family, but she also must keep secret her parents' divorce and her Ojibwe heritage. Includes author's note.

"Beth cherished her childhood summers on a pristine northern Canadian lake, where she reveled in the sweet smell of dew on early morning hikes, the loons' evening trills across the lake's many bays, every brush stroke of her brother's paintings celebrating their cherished place, and their grandfather's laughter as he welcomed neighbors to their annual Welsh harvest celebration. Theirs was an unshakable bond with nature, family, and friends, renewed...

"Against long odds, the Anishinaabeg resisted removal, retaining thousands of acres of their homeland in what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Their success rested partly on their roles as sellers of natural resources and buyers of trade goods, which made them key players in the political economy of plunder that drove white settlement and U.S. development in the Old Northwest. But, as Michael Witgen demonstrates, the credit for Native persistence...