CanLit was born within a colonial landscape, just as each of us has been. The very words we speak, and the forms in which we write were also birthed within that context. Here is a reading list of indigenous authors, living in what is now known as Canada,  whose work reclaims languages, expands beyond colonial structures, and celebrates lives that are systematically oppressed.

Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival has been thrilled to host many authors from this list, including Waubgeshig Rice, David A. Robertson, Drew Hayden Taylor, Michelle Good, Lee Maracle, Liz Howard, and Gregory Scofield. Stay tuned for our 2023 program!

Station Eleven

By Emily St. John Mandel

Empire of Wild

By Cherie Dimaline

VenCo

By Cherie Dimaline

Son of a Trickster

By Eden Robinson

In My Own Mocassins

By Helen Knott

Letters In A Bruised Cosmos

By Liz Howard

Moon of the Crusted Snow book cover

The Moon of the Crusted Snow

By Waubgeshig Rice

Birdie

By Tracy Lindberg

Motorcycles & Sweetgrass

By Drew Hayden Taylor

Celia’s Song

By Lee Maracle

Black Water

By David A. Robertson

Five Little Indians

By Michelle Good

Witness, I Am book cover

Witness, I Am

By Gregory Scofield

Life In The City of Dirty Water

By Clayton Thomas-Muller

Hope Matters

By Lee Maracle, Columpa Bob, Tania Carter

Moccasin Square Gardens

By Richard Van Camp

Crow Winter

By Karen McBride

Split Tooth

By Tanya Tagaq

A Two-Spirit Journey

By Ma-Nee Chacaby

Noopiming

The Cure for White Ladies

By Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Seveb Fallen Feathers

Racism, Death, and Hard Truths In a Northern City

By Tanya Talaga

Avenue Of Champions

By Conor Kerr

Indigenomics

Taking A Seat At the Economic Table

By Carol Anne Hilton, MBA

Dog Tracks

Dog Tracks

By Ruby Slipperjack

The Only Good Indians

By Stephen Graham Jones

Sanaaq

By Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk

Before The Usual Time

By Darlene Naponse

21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act

By Bob Joseph

Cut To Fortress

By Tawahum Bige

The Night wanderer

The Night Wanderer

By Drew Hayden Taylor