Dorothy Thunder is a Plains Cree (nêhiyawiskwêw) from Little Pine First Nation, Saskatchewan and full-time Cree instructor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.
Dragonfly invites the reader to journey with her to visit the places in our lives that give rise to brilliant dreams for the future, from our bookshelf, where we picture the stories we will tell, to the blanket of moss, where we feel nurtured and peaceful.
Charlie’s Kohkom tells the story of recently receiving her first drum. Kohkom wasn’t raised Cree because she was taken from her family as a child as part of the Sixties Scoop. After hearing her story, Charlie offers to teach Kohkom a song on his drum—and they agree to go to the Friendship Center drum circle every week from now on.
Auntie always greets Cree in Nehiyaw when she comes for a visit. When Auntie arrives with a surprise gift hidden in her bag, Cree can’t wait to discover what it is. The first clue? It’s from the rez. As Cree tries to figure out what it might be, the bag starts to move!
This beautifully illustrated picture book empowers young readers to embrace their potential by fostering understanding of identity, tradition and culture.
In this gentle picture-book lullaby written in both Plains Cree and English, the sounds of the land soothe an Indigenous child to sleep on a stormy summer night on the Plains.
