Canada

'Listen. Can you hear the voices of the Old Ones speaking to you in a language you've forgotten?' An Indigenous child struggles with a school assignment that asks, 'What makes you proud to be Canadian?' To find the answer, they call on the strength of their ancestors. The ancestors' warm presence reminds them that we are in this together and we always have been - 'every soul that has fallen head over heels in love with the spell of this country.' This powerful and timeless poem written by Richard Wagamese is seen through the eyes of an Indigenous child in the captivating illustrations by Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. As the poem speaks to a new generation of Indigenous children, it welcomes everyone to honor the past, find belonging here and now, and look toward the future in this place now called Canada.