Stolen Words /
kimotinâniwiw itwêwina

MELANIE FLORENCE | Cree

GABRIELLE GRIMARD  

  • English, Plains Cree

  • Residential School, Indigenous language revitalisation, Plains Cree, grandfather and grandchild

  • Pre Kindergarten +

The story of the beautiful relationship between a little girl and her grandfather. When she asks her grandfather how to say something in Cree, he tells her that his language was stolen from him when he was a boy. The little girl then sets out to help her grandfather find his language again. This sensitive and warmly illustrated picture book explores the intergenerational impact of the residential school system that separated young Indigenous children from their families. The story recognizes the pain of those whose culture and language were taken from them, how that pain is passed down, and how healing can also be shared.