Siha Tooskin Knows the Gifts of His People

Siha Tooskin Knows series

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Pub Date 26 May 2020 | Archive Date 30 Apr 2020
Portage & Main Press | HighWater Press

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Description

Transportation, housing, agriculture, communications…there are so many modern conveniences. But are they really modern? Where did they really come from?

Paul Wahasaypa—Siha Tooskin—will learn about their origins and more on his walk home from school with Ade (his father). There’s so much to learn about the earliest forms of technology, travel, medicine, and food from right here on Turtle Island. Come along with Paul and Ade to hear all about the gifts of his people.

The Siha Tooskin Knows series uses vivid narratives and dazzling illustrations in contemporary settings to share stories about an 11-year-old Nakota boy.

Transportation, housing, agriculture, communications…there are so many modern conveniences. But are they really modern? Where did they really come from?

Paul Wahasaypa—Siha Tooskin—will learn about...


Advance Praise

"Siha Tooskin Knows the Love of the Dance" is absolutely wonderful and I have such respect for the authors Charlene & Wilson Bearhead (Nakota) and Chloe Bluebird Mustooch (Nakota) in creating such a beautiful piece! The text and illustrations match together perfectly as well as creating such a positive learning atmosphere! This book was a genuine joy to read and the excitement of Paul (Siha Tooskin), his Uncle Lenard, and Paul's non-Indigenous friend Jeff put a huge smile on my face.

This wonderful story is about Paul taking Jeff to his first powwow and Jeff learning how to appreciate and understand what a powwow is while also being worried that he will accidentally say something offensive. Jeff learns about the laws in Canada intended to restrict Indigenous activities such as powwows and he is visibly shaken-- not understanding how something so beautiful could be punished. This is such an important message and was handled so well.

"Siha Tooskin Knows the Love of the Dance" is a book for all ages that encourages readers to learn more about Indigenous groups and terms that are unfamiliar (the book has a glossary at the back). I am so excited to see that this is a series and I have so much more research to do based on the issues and traditions that the book discusses.

This is a book that is very much needed in Canada (although not just Canada) and I cannot articulate enough how much I enjoyed it and how much it will be with me in future. Truly, Charlene Bearhead, Wilson Bearhead, and Chloe Bluebird Mustooch deserve several awards for this book.

—NetGalley reviewer

"Siha Tooskin Knows the Love of the Dance" is absolutely wonderful and I have such respect for the authors Charlene & Wilson Bearhead (Nakota) and Chloe Bluebird Mustooch (Nakota) in creating such a...


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National and regional publicity and advertising campaigns

Promotion at national and regional school, library and trade conferences


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781553798347
PRICE US$11.95 (USD)

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Average rating from 12 members


Featured Reviews

This book is one of a series about 11 year old Siha Tooskin and his family, who are members of the Nakota tribe. In this one, Siha is asked to bring a food that's from his culture to school and his father teaches him about all of the foods and inventions that Native American people brought the world. Nakota language is worked into the text for words like mother and father. This is much-needed representation in children's books and it does a great job of dispelling myths about Native American culture and teaching some history. I regret that I'm not a fan of the art style, but I'm so glad that the authors and illustrator are all First Nations people. I plan to check out other books in the series with my kids.

I read a digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

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While the reading level of Siha Tooskin Knows the Gifts of His People is designed for elementary students, the content is perfect for K-8. It talks about the struggle Siha Tooskin faces in appreciating and understanding his culture. The book is written in English with the inclusion of a few words in the Nakota language. Siha Tooskin means “little foot” but he also carries the English name of Paul.

In the first couple of pages Siha Tooskin’s dad talks to him about how Indigenous groups had more food than just bannock which people automatically tend to associate with Indigenous cultures. I love that he explains where bannock actually originated and what Indigenous foods are really like.

As the book goes on, it continues to talk about a variety of topics including, harvesting, medicines, and communication (to name a few). This book does a great job of normalizing Indigenous lives while proving background information about the history of the culture. On the walk home from school, Ade (Siha’s father) points out things they see every day and then gives him the history of how Indigenous cultures did those same things before the ‘conveniences’ of modern systems.

Another great thing about the book is the way it touches on many Indigenous tribes with the understanding that Indigenous peoples are not monolithic. It gives a variety of examples of how tribes lived on the different coasts.

The use of pictures in this book are a great way to further illustrate the beauty of Indigenous culture.

Overall I think this is a worthwhile book for any classroom or home library.

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This is a easy book to make children think about their surroundings it would be excellent or kindergarten teachers to plan their teachings.

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This series of books is awesome, I have enjoyed every single one.

I love Paul's Ade because he reminds me of my father, his stories rambled sometimes but always got to a very important point in the end. I enjoyed hearing all of Ade's stories about the First Nations from around the world and the traditional knowledge that was adopted by and credited to European settlers. I have already recommended to my Manager that we should order all of the books in this series and create an end cap to highlight these fantastic books.

#SihaTooskinKnowsTheGiftsOfHisPeople #NetGalley

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