SATA

• Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes ( Children's nonfiction) Tundra Books of Northern New York (Plattsburgh, NY), 2018
• Walking in Two Worlds ("The Floraverse Series" book one) Tundra Books of Northern New York (Plattsburgh, NY), 2021
• The Everlasting Road ("The Floraverse Series" book two) Tundra Books of Northern New York (Plattsburgh, NY), 2022
• An Anishinaabe Christmas ( Picture book) Tundra Books (Plattsburgh, NY), 2024
• The Reason You Walk ( Memoir) Viking (Toronto, ON, Canada), 2015

1. We are still who we are LCCN 2024949837 Type of material Book Personal name Kinew, Wab, author. Main title We are still who we are / Wab Kinew, Janine Gibbons. Published/Produced Plattsburgh : Tundra, 2026. Projected pub date 2601 Description pages cm ISBN 9781774883594 (hardcover) (epub) Item not available at the Library. Why not? 2. An Anishinaabe Christmas LCCN 2023937954 Type of material Book Personal name Kinew, Wab, author. Main title An Anishinaabe Christmas / Wab Kinew, Erin Hill. Published/Produced Plattsburgh : Tundra, 2024. Projected pub date 2410 Description pages cm ISBN 9781774883570 (hardcover) (epub) Item not available at the Library. Why not? 3. The everlasting road LCCN 2021949358 Type of material Book Personal name Kinew, Wab, author. Main title The everlasting road / Wab Kinew. Published/Produced Plattsburgh : Tundra Books of Northern New York, 2022. Projected pub date 2211 Description pages cm ISBN 9780735269033 (hardcover) (epub) Item not available at the Library. Why not? 4. Walking in two worlds LCCN 2020950733 Type of material Book Personal name Kinew, Wab, author. Main title Walking in two worlds / Wab Kinew. Published/Produced Plattsburgh : Penguin Teen, 2021. Projected pub date 2109 Description pages cm ISBN 9780735269002 (hardcover) (epub) Item not available at the Library. Why not? 5. Go show the world LCCN 2017951211 Type of material Book Personal name Kinew, Wab. Main title Go show the world / Wab Kinew, Joe Morse. Published/Produced Plattsburgh, NY : Tundra Books of Northern New York, 2018. Projected pub date 1809 Description pages cm ISBN 9780735262928 (hardcover) 9780735262935 (epub) Item not available at the Library. Why not? 6. The reason you walk LCCN 2019403817 Type of material Book Personal name Kinew, Wab, 1981- Main title The reason you walk / Wab Kinew. Published/Produced Toronto : Viking, [2015] ©2015 Description 273 pages : illustrations ; 8 unnumbered pages of plates ; 24 cm ISBN 9780670069347 (hardback) 0670069345 (hardback) CALL NUMBER E99.C6 K49 2015 CABIN BRANCH Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE

• Wikipedia -

  Wab Kinew

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  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  The Honourable
  Wab Kinew
  MLA

  Kinew in 2024
  25th Premier of Manitoba
  Incumbent
  Assumed office
  October 18, 2023
  Monarch Charles III
  Lieutenant Governor Anita Neville
  Deputy Uzoma Asagwara
  Preceded by Heather Stefanson
  Leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party
  Incumbent
  Assumed office
  September 16, 2017
  Preceded by Flor Marcelino (interim)
  Leader of the Opposition in Manitoba
  In office
  September 16, 2017 – October 18, 2023
  Preceded by Flor Marcelino
  Succeeded by Heather Stefanson
  Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Fort Rouge
  Incumbent
  Assumed office
  April 19, 2016
  Preceded by Jennifer Howard
  Personal details
  Born Wabanakwut Kinew
  December 31, 1981 (age 43)
  Kenora, Ontario, Canada
  Political party New Democratic
  Spouse Lisa Monkman ​(m. 2014)​[1]
  Children 3
  Residence Crescentwood, Winnipeg[2]
  Alma mater University of Manitoba (BA)
  Occupation Broadcaster, university administrator, musician, author
  Website wabkinew.ca Edit this at Wikidata
  Wabanakwut "Wab" Kinew MLA (/wɑːb kɪˈnuː/; born December 31, 1981) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 25th premier of Manitoba since October 18, 2023 and the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP) since September 16, 2017. Kinew represents Fort Rouge in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and was the leader of the Opposition from 2017 until the NDP's victory in the 2023 Manitoba election.

  Before entering politics, Kinew was an author, musician, broadcaster and university administrator, best known as a host of programming on CBC Radio and CBC Television.[3] Kinew is Canada's first provincial premier of First Nations descent, and Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since Métis Premier John Norquay in 1887.

  Early life and education
  Wabanakwut "Wab" Kinew was born on December 31, 1981, in Kenora, Ontario. From the Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, he is the son of Tobasonakwut Kinew,[4] a former local and regional chief and a professor of Indigenous governance at the University of Winnipeg, and Dr. Kathi Avery Kinew, a policy analyst.[5]

  Kinew moved to suburban Winnipeg with his parents in childhood and attended Collège Béliveau,[6] a French immersion school, and vacationed in Onigaming in the summers.[5] He graduated from the University of Winnipeg Collegiate,[6] a private high school which Kinew said in a 2014 interview was "one of the best in Winnipeg."[7] Kinew went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Manitoba,[6] later pursuing a master’s degree in Indigenous governance.[8]

  Career
  Broadcasting and media
  Kinew began working in broadcasting after the Winnipeg Free Press published a letter to the editor which he had written about Team Canada hockey, and a local CBC Radio producer contacted him to express interest in creating and airing a documentary feature on the matter.[4]

  In 2010, Kinew was a finalist for the Future Leaders of Manitoba award and lost to Canadian filmmaker and director Adam Smoluk.[9] Other notable finalists of the award include Olympic champion Jennifer Jones, radio personality David 'Ace' Burpee,[10] friend of Bell Let's Talk Karuna (Andi) Sharma,[11] artist Kal Barteski,[12] and Canadian restaurateur and philanthropist Sachit Mehra.[13]

  Kinew has been a reporter and host for the CBC's radio and television operations,[14] including the weekly arts magazine show The 204 in Winnipeg and the national documentary series 8th Fire in 2012.[3] He is also a host of the documentary program Fault Lines on Al Jazeera America.[15]

  In 2014, he appeared as a panelist on CBC Radio's Canada Reads, defending Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda.[16] The novel won the competition.

  Kinew was a guest host of Q for two weeks in December 2014,[17] and moderated the 2015 edition of Canada Reads.[18]

  Music
  After being a member of the hip-hop groups Slangblossom and the Dead Indians[19] in the mid 2000s, Kinew released his debut individual CD as a rapper, Live by the Drum, in 2009.[14] The CD won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD.[20] His second CD, Mide-Sun, followed in 2010.[21]

  Albums
  Year Album details Awards
  2009 Live By the Drum
  Released: January 24, 2009
  Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award
  2010 Mide-Sun
  Released: September 4, 2010
  University administration
  In 2011, the University of Winnipeg named Kinew its first director of Indigenous Inclusion.[20] In 2014, Kinew was appointed associate vice-president of Indigenous Relations after Jennifer Rattray resigned the position.[4][8] He is also an honorary witness for the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[4]

  On October 25, 2014, Kinew received an honorary doctorate degree from Cape Breton University.[22]

  Books
  Kinew has written a total of four books—The Reason You Walk, Go Show the World, Walking in Two Worlds, and The Everlasting Road—all published by Penguin Canada.[23]

  The Reason You Walk is a memoir that chronicles the year 2012, during which Kinew strove to reconnect with the Indigenous man who raised him. In the book, Kinew details his point of view on several controversial matters related to his past, including convictions resulting from alcoholism, his assault of a taxicab driver, and misogynistic and homophobic lyrics from his music career.[24] A reviewer for The Globe and Mail commented: "the undeniable significance of The Reason You Walk's message, and the fact that the book holds so much for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal readers, makes it a must-read. This is not just a memoir, it's a meditation on the purpose of living." Kinew was honoured with the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for non-fiction, for this book, which comes with a $10,000 cash award.[25]

  In 2018, Kinew published a children's book, Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes, about notable figures in First Nations history, including John Herrington, Sacagawea, Carey Price, and Crazy Horse. He was inspired to write the stories of such people by Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing, and K’naan’s song Take a Minute.[26] The book went on to make the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for young people’s literature – illustrated shortlist.[27]

  In 2021, Kinew released Walking in Two Worlds, a young adult fantasy novel published by Penguin Teen, in which an Indigenous teen girl is caught between the real world and a virtual video-game universe.[28] The book won Kinew an Aurora Award for science fiction and fantasy in 2022.[29]

  Political career
  Kinew considered running for the leadership of the Assembly of First Nations in its 2014 leadership election,[30] but decided not to mount a campaign as he was newly married in August and felt that it was not the right time to be away from home for an extended period.[4]

  In 2016, he was announced as a Manitoba New Democratic Party candidate for Fort Rouge for the 2016 provincial election.[31] During the final days of the campaign, misogynistic and homophobic tweets and other social media comments were discovered by media on Kinew's Twitter feed. This created a scandal with calls for the New Democratic Party to drop Kinew from the ballot.[32][33] Following an apology for his past comments, at the election on April 19, 2016, Kinew defeated Manitoba Liberal Party leader Rana Bokhari in the riding of Fort Rouge.[34] He was subsequently named the NDP's spokesperson for reconciliation and opposition critic for Education, Advanced Learning, and Training, as well as for Housing and Community Development.[35]

  Kinew was a candidate in the 2017 Manitoba NDP leadership election; at the September 16 convention, he defeated the only other candidate, former cabinet minister Steve Ashton, by a margin of 728 votes to 253. This made Kinew the first elected First Nations leader of a major party in Manitoba's history.[36]

  In 2017, Kinew introduced Bill 223 to mark September 30 as Orange Shirt Day, a day meant to honour residential school survivors,[37] while in 2019, he introduced Bill 228, the Sikh Heritage Month Act.[38][39] Later in 2019 Kinew also put forward a private member's bill that would bestow title of honorary first premier to Métis leader Louis Riel and require Riel's contributions be part of the school curriculum.[40]

  Kinew led the Manitoba NDP into the 2019 provincial election; the party gained six seats but the Progressive Conservative Party were re-elected to a majority.[41]

  Kinew continued as leader after the 2019 election, following which the NDP gained a lead over the governing PCs in polling. Ahead of the 2023 provincial election, the race tightened during the campaign period.[42] The NDP campaign focused on healthcare reform.[43] The NDP won the election, making Kinew the first First Nations person, and second Indigenous person overall, to be elected a provincial premier in Canada.[44][45]

  Premier of Manitoba
  Kinew was sworn in as Premier of Manitoba on October 18, 2023.[46]

  During his first year as premier, Kinew implemented his campaign promise of a provincial fuel tax holiday until the end of 2024, costing the provincial government $340 million in tax revenue.[47] In addition to the provincial fuel holiday, Kinew's government also announced a 5-point plan to address crime and public safety, including plans to create a community monitoring and supervision program for chronic offenders.[48] Kinew also campaigned on promises to strengthen Manitoba's healthcare system, efforts as of December 2024 include provincial coverage for prescription birth control and menopause transition medications under pharmacare, expanded capacity of existing health clinics across Manitoba, the opening of the first of five new neighbourhood health clinics in Manitoba, and revamping the province's paper health card with the introduction of plastic ones starting in 2025.[49][50] In the NDP's 2024 budget, spending increased by 6%.[51]

  In December 2024, Kinew pledged to combat homelessness by starting to move homeless people from homeless encampments into proper housing in 2025.[52]

  Personal life
  Kinew recounts that he "experienced racially motivated assaults by adults" during his time growing up in suburban Winnipeg.[5]

  Some time after moving out of his parents' home at the age of 19, Kinew began experiencing problems with alcohol.[24]

  On February 24, 2003, Kinew was arrested in Winnipeg, after he was spotted erratically driving his father's 2000 Dodge Dakota by Henderson Highway late in the evening. A witness testified in court that they followed Kinew for several kilometres and saw him lose control of his vehicle twice after striking a guard rail and street light. Kinew continued to drive several more kilometres with a blown-out front tire before police caught up to him at a parkade. Police reported Kinew as having bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, as well as being unsteady on his feet. A near-empty bottle of gin that was purchased that afternoon was found in the back seat. Kinew refused to undergo a breathalyzer after being taken into custody.[53] For this incident, Kinew was convicted of impaired driving.[53]

  In June 2003, Kinew was charged by the RCMP with two counts of domestic assault related to allegations that he threw his then-girlfriend, Tara Hart, across a room during an argument.[54] A Crown attorney and Kinew's lawyer appeared in court several times between January and June 2004.[55] The charges were subsequently stayed. Kinew denies the allegations, while Hart has continued to maintain otherwise.[54][55] These charges were previously unknown to most during Kinew's public life, only coming to light in 2017 via anonymous emails sent to Winnipeg media outlets. Hart has said that she can only recall one alleged assault and does not know why two charges were filed. She claims that after she left Kinew, she was living outside Winnipeg and never heard from the Crown on why the charges were stayed.[55]

  On June 27, 2004, while bound by a court recognizance on his previous DUI charge, Kinew was arrested following an altercation with a taxi driver. Kinew was intoxicated when he caught the cab shortly before 5 in the morning. According to the Crown prosecutor, Kinew "began to insult the [cab driver] with some racial comments which continued until the driver reached the intersection of Portage Avenue and Fort Street." While stopped at a red light, Kinew exited the vehicle, approached the driver's side door window, which was open, and punched the driver in the face. A passerby yelled out and momentarily interrupted the assault. When the driver exited the cab, Kinew pushed him to the ground and kicked him, according to CBC News. Kinew attempted to flee the scene when police arrived, and Kinew declined to discuss the incident after being taken into custody. The taxi driver suffered a small laceration to his elbow and swelling to his face.[56] On page 70 of his 2015 memoir, The Reason You Walk, Kinew claimed he had grabbed a cab with friends and "hopped out without paying," after which:[24]

  [T]he driver caught up with us and pushed me. I turned around and shoved him back. A passing cabbie saw what was happening, stopped his taxi and jumped out to help his fellow driver. He swung and hit me in the face. I grabbed him and swung back. We stood in the middle of the street, arms flailing in full-on hockey fight mode. The police showed up and tackled me.

  It has been pointed out that Kinew's account of the incident in his book heavily differs from what was heard in court during his 2004 sentencing hearing.[24]

  Also in 2004, Kinew was given a conditional discharge for an assault in Ontario after getting into a fight.[57][58] Kinew also claims that in 2006 he was charged with stealing a money order, but that charge was stayed when he repaid the money.[58]

  Kinew has gone through various exercises to rehabilitate himself from his issues with alcohol, including attending sweat lodges and a sun dance event where he fasted for four days and pulled buffalo skulls by piercings cut into his body. Kinew also began attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.[24]

  Kinew has since quit drinking and, in 2014, applied for a pardon from the Canadian government, which was granted by the Parole Board of Canada in 2016. The Parole Board ruling removed from the Canadian Police Information Centre database references to his convictions on assaulting a taxi driver, a Driving Under the Influence conviction for refusing a breathalyzer sample, and two breaches of court orders.[59]

  In September 2016, Kinew married Dr. Lisa Monkman, an Ojibway family physician who practises medicine at an inner-city clinic.[6][60][61] The couple welcomed a son in May 2017.[62] Kinew has two sons from a previous relationship.[5]

  Kinew is trilingual: he speaks Ojibwe, English and French.[63]

  Electoral record
  vte2023 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge
  Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
  New Democratic Wab Kinew 6,761 70.57 +19.33 $23,088.15
  Progressive Conservative Rejeanne Caron 1,566 16.34 -2.48 $0.00
  Liberal Katherine Johnson 1,152 12.02 -1.05 $5,193.76
  Communist Robert Crooks 102 1.06 – $106.40
  Total valid votes/expense limit 9,581 99.59 – $64,588.00
  Total rejected and declined ballots 39 0.41 –
  Turnout 9,620 58.04 -0.73
  Eligible voters 16,576
  New Democratic hold Swing +10.90
  Source(s)
  vte2019 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge
  Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
  New Democratic Wab Kinew 5,055 51.24 13.60 $23,922.64
  Progressive Conservative Edna Nabess 1,857 18.82 -9.97 $7,290.07
  Green James Beddome 1,580 16.01 5.00 $8,974.33
  Liberal Cyndy Friesen 1,290 13.08 -7.00 $8,223.63
  Manitoba First Michael McCracken 54 0.55 -1.41 $582.58
  Manitoba Forward Bradley Hebert 30 0.30 – $0.00
  Total valid votes 9,866 – –
  Rejected 47 –
  Eligible voters / turnout 16,870 58.76 -6.39
  Source(s)
  vte2016 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge
  Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
  New Democratic Wab Kinew 3,360 37.63 -13.63 $39,199.49
  Progressive Conservative Audrey Gordon 2,571 28.80 8.64 $42,245.54
  Liberal Rana Bokhari 1,792 20.07 -3.06 $30,238.82
  Green Grant Sharp 983 11.01 5.57 $322.90
  Manitoba Matthew Ostrove 175 1.96 – $945.26
  Communist Paula Ducharme 47 0.53 – $33.67
  Total valid votes / expense limit 8,928 – – $44,855.00
  Rejected 125 –
  Eligible voters / turnout 13,896 65.15 3.92
  New Democratic hold Swing –11.04
  Source(s)

• Government of Manitoba website - https://www.gov.mb.ca/minister/premier/index.html

  Wab Kinew
  Wab Kinew
  President of the Executive Council
  Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and International Relations
  Minister responsible for Indigenous Reconciliation

  Biography
  Premier Wab Kinew is the 25th premier of Manitoba. Kinew was first elected as the MLA for Fort Rouge in 2016 and was elected party leader and leader of the official opposition in 2017. He is the son of Dr. Tobasonakwut Kinew and Dr. Kathi Kinew and is from the Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Before becoming an MLA, Kinew worked as a broadcaster and as an administrator at the University of Winnipeg. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Manitoba and a master's degree in Indigenous governance. Kinew is an honorary witness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a bestselling author. He is a caring dad to three boys and a devoted husband to his wife Lisa, who is a doctor.

• CBC - https://www.cbc.ca/books/there-s-still-a-path-forward-wab-kinew-reflects-on-canada-reads-and-the-meaning-of-reconciliation-1.6201862

  'There's still a path forward': Wab Kinew reflects on Canada Reads and the meaning of reconciliation
  The 2023 edition of the great Canadian book debate takes place March 27-30
  CBC Books · Posted: Oct 07, 2021 12:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: February 9, 2023

  Wab Kinew is the leader of Manitoba's New Democratic Party. Prior to his career in politics, Kinew was a hip hop musician and broadcaster, hosting the CBC series 8th Fire and Canada Reads in 2015. (Rachael King)
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  Back in 2002, a radio program dedicated to uplifting and highlighting Canadian literature launched. Coined a "literary Survivor," Canada Reads has artists, celebrities and prominent Canadians debate books in order to determine which title will be crowned the one book the whole country should read.

  The 2023 edition of Canada Reads will take place March 27-30.

  The year 2023 marks the 22nd edition of Canada Reads.

  Canada Reads premiered in 2002. The first winning book was In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, which was defended by musician Steven Page. In 2021, CBC Books put together a retrospective to look back at the show's biggest moments and its impact on Canadian literature.

  LISTEN | Canada Reads celebrates 20 years:

  Canada Reads1:37:20
  Canada Reads 20th anniversary special
  We're celebrating the great Canadian book debate's 20th anniversary! Host Ali Hassan looks back at some of the most dramatic and unexpected moments in the show’s history and speaks with past authors and panellists to find out what their Canada Reads experience means to them.
  Wab Kinew is the only person to have ever been both a panellist and host of the show. Kinew, the leader of Manitoba's New Democratic Party, competed as a panellist in 2014, when he successfully defended The Orenda by Joseph Boyden. He was the Canada Reads host in 2015.

  Wab Kinew: My life in books

  Kinew is the author of The Reason You Walk, a memoir about mending his relationship with his father, and Go Show the World, a children's picture book that highlights Indigenous heroes throughout history. His latest, Walking in Two Worlds, is a YA novel that follows a shy Indigenous teen who finds comfort and belonging through multiplayer video games.

  Wab Kinew on his new YA fantasy novel Walking in Two Worlds

  Ali Hassan spoke to Kinew about his experience on Canada Reads.

  Let's start with the year you were the winning panellist. When you got the call for Canada Reads, what was that like?

  It's pretty exciting. I definitely had an advantage: not only had I listened to candidates over the years, but I also knew a few past winners. One in particular lives in Winnipeg — John K. Samson, who won it twice.

  I reached out to John K. and asked for advice and said, "What do I need to do to win this thing?"
  So when I got the call, I was excited to be part of the show. Then I reached out to John K., and asked for advice and said, "What do I need to do to win this thing?" I guess his advice helped — though maybe not in the way that I expected. When I asked him for his advice, I took him out for coffee. He said, "When I was on the show, I focused on being really nice to everybody around me and everything worked out."

  I started talking to some other friends about that and I was saying, "John K. has said just be really nice to everybody." Then these two guys I was talking to, they looked at each other, then they looked back at me and said, "Well, you know, that worked out for John K. because he's really nice, but you're a different kind of person, so you're going to have to have a different approach when you go to Canada Reads."

  Let's talk about how you prepared for the show.

  First of all, I read the books. We can't take anything for granted, so I definitely read the books, and I tried to think about it like a debate. What are the strengths and the weaknesses for each of them, including my own? Then I did a little bit of social media testing. I went on Twitter and I posted some of the arguments and some of the lines that I thought were relevant to the different books. And I looked at which tweets got the most likes. Then I tried to focus in on those tweets to prepare for the actual show.

  The book you defended in 2014 was The Orenda by Joseph Boyden. And then two years later, an investigation by Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network revealed that Boyden had been misrepresenting his Indigenous heritage. What was that revelation like for you at that time?

  I was reading the media coverage along with everyone else. I spent my time thinking about it. I ended up writing an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail that I think still does capture the way that I feel about it. It basically says, "OK, so this has happened. There's still a path forward for Joseph, if he wants to put the time in and work on relationships — because that's something that I've seen in my own life many times over."

  Life is long and there's always an opportunity for reconciliation to make things whole again.

  What do you think it meant for your win on Canada Reads and the legacy of The Orenda, which you so passionately championed for that week?

  It's an interesting question. I don't know if there's an asterisk next to it, but I do feel like the arguments that I put forward on the show are things that I do believe in and are important for Canadians to think about. There is an Indigenous history that we all need to learn about, and there are different perspectives that come along with Indigenous peoples. Reconciliation is not just a second chance at assimilation. It's not just, "OK, we were maybe a little bit misguided in the past, but this time we'll get it right." It really is about being inclusive, in the sense of being willing to accommodate, modify and change the way our society works so that Indigenous peoples and our worldviews can really be fully included. Those are still things that I very much stand by and believe in. But if I were asked to present that perspective now, I would probably choose a different author, a different book.

  Reconciliation is not just a second chance at assimilation ... It really is about being inclusive.
  Let's talk about 2015, when you hosted the show. Is preparing to host versus preparing as a panellist easier, harder or something different altogether?

  It's different because the pressure is different. It's a big production and [as a host] you have the pressure of delivering a live performance, a good show, something that's engaging, something that the audience wants to laugh or cry along with. As a panellist, I felt a different kind of pressure which was: don't let down the author, don't let down the publisher, don't let down the reader.

  It's very much different. It's difficult to compare the two experiences. But what I would say is that Canada Reads has a little micro-culture around it. It's a very fun place to be. I find it to be a very, very rewarding place to be.

  The states, the U.K., they have Big Brother. And our country has a reality show about books.
  It also says something about our country. The States, the U.K., they have Big Brother. They have these romantic shows where hot singles get locked onto an island together and have to sort it out. And our country has a reality show about books. I think that says something about Canadians, it says something about the public broadcaster. I do think that it reflects well on our society, that we have a fun, lively, vibrant show that also is literary and encourages people to develop a lifelong love for the written word.

  In 2021, Devery Jacobs successfully championed Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead. What was it like watching that victory?

  I was very impressed. First of all, Devery did an amazing job as a champion and I was very proud of her performance. I thought it was an important title to celebrate as well, because that's a voice that needs to be heard. Checking out that novel and hearing not just a two-spirit Indigenous writer, but also a young voice finding their rhythm and their cadence as an author was a very, very special experience for me.

  Right now there is a voice, and myself, maybe being a little bit too old, I can't articulate that. But somebody like Joshua, somebody championed by Devery can articulate that.
  But Jonny Appleseed definitely speaks to not just the Indigenous resurgence that we're seeing in literature, but also to the particular flavour of Indigenous youth culture right now. There may be this bigger Indigenous resurgence that's been happening and building up over the past decade. Right now there is a voice, and myself, maybe being a little bit too old, I can't articulate that. But somebody like Joshua, somebody championed by Devery can articulate that. I think it's really important for Canada to hear that. It's good that this show could be a venue for that.

  Canada Reads 2021: Finale Highlight

  4 years ago
  Duration1:48
  Devery Jacobs and Roger Mooking face off on the final day of the battle of the books.
  We're celebrating 20 years of Canada Reads. What would you hope to see happen in the next 20 years of Canada Reads?

  I definitely hope it continues and continues to be a platform for emerging writers. I hope it continues to be a place of discovery for the reader, even the panellists like me. I knew some of the authors. I read a couple over the years previously, but others were an introduction to me, like Kim Thúy and Rawi Hage. Those are very amazing authors — just extraordinary. I hope that the people who watch and listen and absorb the show have the same experience of discovery. But at the end of the day, hopefully every year you can continue to provide a platform for five titles to get the spotlight and to get that boost of interest that they still rightly deserve.

  I hope it continues to be a place of discovery for the reader.
  This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

• Quill & Quire - https://quillandquire.com/authors/wab-kinew-speaks-his-mind/

  Wab Kinew speaks his mind

  Wab Kinew September 2015
  (photo: Pat O’Rourke)

  The first time Wab Kinew was strangled in public came while he was in elementary school in Winnipeg. Young Wabanakwut back-talked a substitute teacher who grabbed him by the throat and began choking him. As the Anishinaabe boy struggled, the teacher leaned in and quietly whispered a racial slur in his ear. When she eventually let him go, Kinew promised her his dad would “kick her ass.” That night, his father assured him that he wouldn’t be fighting his teacher – or anyone else – for him.

  The second time Kinew was strangled in public came after he shouted a joke through the open doors of a community bingo hall. The bingo caller grabbed him by the throat and began choking him. As Kinew – still just a scrawny child – struggled, the man swore at him and issued a racial slur. This time, Kinew broke free of the chokehold on his own, pushing the man away.

  “I was never raised to be somebody who would keep my mouth shut,” Kinew says. “I was raised to speak my mind. I hope that I’m starting to do that in a way that’s productive and not harmful.”

  He is. In his teens, Kinew became a rapper in a group called Dead Indians and travelled North America performing. He then became a reporter, first for CBC Winnipeg and later for Al Jazeera America. He hosted the CBC documentary series 8th Fire, guest-hosted CBC Radio’s cultural program Q, became an honorary witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and is now associate vice-president of indigenous affairs at the University of Winnipeg.

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  Last year, the man who has grown from a back-talker into a passionate and eloquent speaker commanded national attention championing Joseph Boyden’s novel, The Orenda, on CBC’s Canada Reads. (This year, he hosted the competition.) The precise way Kinew spoke his mind, positioning The Orenda at the centre of a wider debate about aboriginal issues in this country, drew the attention of Penguin Random House Canada.

  “He was a revelation on Canada Reads,” says Diane Turbide, Penguin Canada’s publishing director and Kinew’s editor. “His intensity, his articulateness, his presence, were very impressive. We all wanted to know more about this person.”

  The Reason You Walk – the 33-year-old author’s new memoir, forthcoming in September from Penguin Canada – tells more. The book is Kinew’s attempt to add his voice to a conversation about truth and reconciliation, but not in the capital-lettered sense. It’s a deeply personal account of his father’s terrifying years in residential schools and the cascading trauma through Wab’s own life.

  While tracing his family history, Kinew faces issues – a distant, emotionally battered parent; a struggle with alcoholism; a tendency toward confronting differences with violence – that can only be dealt with through self-analysis and self-clemency. His story has no filters. It pursues forgiveness, but not by running away from the ugliness that makes forgiveness necessary.

  Wab Kinew September 2015
  (photo: Pat O’Rourke)

  “This thing called reconciliation, whether it’s on a national level or on a really personal level between two people, it’s a messy thing,” Kinew says. “No one is perfect and we all have dark aspects of our personalities and challenges that we’re trying to work through.”

  The search for reconciliation doesn’t always make for comfortable reading. Penguin Canada publisher Nicole Winstanley says this is part of what attracted Penguin to Kinew. Winstanley watched him in person on Canada Reads and worked hard to sign his memoir and his forthcoming children’s book, which is still a couple of years away.

  “What’s exciting about this book is what was exciting about him [on Canada Reads]: the confidence and directness of his voice, the strength of his passion, and his pure, unadulterated honesty,” Winstanley says. “Wab makes you feel uncomfortable. Some books make you feel uncomfortable and you put them down. Some books make you feel uncomfortable and you realize you should have been uncomfortable with this all along.”

  Kinew didn’t set out to write the definitive text about residential schools or reconciliation, or to become a figurehead – but he has. Boyden calls Kinew a bridge between native and non-native cultures.

  “I don’t think it’s accidental that he’s become a spokesperson,” Boyden says. “I think it’s exactly what the country needs: they need to see strong, young aboriginal voices that are direct, that are unwavering in what they have to say, that do speak about reconciliation.”

  Turbide agrees: “He’s an inspiring example of a modern, educated aboriginal, determined to hang on to the best of his culture, determined to see justice done.”

  Kinew wants to show that the lines between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures don’t reflect what most Canadians imagine. He worries about being a good father, about respecting his partner, about relating to his parents, and about trying to find meaningful work. These are struggles that transcend any single community, though Kinew offers lessons from within his own to overcome them.

  “The life that we lead is such that things are always being pushed apart and conflict is often being sown,” Kinew says. “So one of the primary skills we have to learn if we want to be good people is the ability to take things that have been broken apart and put them back together, the ability to take relationships that have been harmed and try to fix them.”

  That, he teaches us, is the reason you walk. The reason you walk and, maybe, also the reason you speak.

• Windspeaker - https://windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/author-wab-kinew-reaches-out-his-young-audience-through-their-virtual-world

  Author Wab Kinew reaches out to his young audience through their virtual world
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  Tuesday, January 10th, 2023 5:31pm
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  Wab Kinew with book cover for The Everlasting Road
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  Author Wab Kinew with the book cover from his newest release The Everlasting Road for young adults. Photo of Wab Kinew by Rachael King
  Summary
  “…spending some summers in Onigaming, the books we had in the house on the rez were one of my windows into the outside world. So I think it’s very powerful what a book can do…” Wab Kinew
  By Shari Narine
  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
  Windspeaker.com
  When the coronavirus pandemic forced school-learning to happen remotely in the beginning of 2020, it occurred to Wab Kinew that most teenage communication had already been happening virtually.

  It was with that in mind that Kinew launched his two-volume series that saw his young characters not only interact in the real world, but through gaming as well.

  The second book in that series, The Everlasting Road, has just been released. It follows two years after the first in the series, Kinew’s Aurora Award winning Walking in Two Worlds.

  “Most kids are gamers and just to put things in their perspective, video games are a pretty important part of the landscape and I thought it was a good way to connect,” said Kinew, who himself is no stranger to gaming.

  Kinew admits that when he was younger, whether it was with his friends from school, from Winnipeg, from the Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario, or hockey, it was all about playing Nintendo or Sega or other video games.

  Video games, like music and movies and tv shows, were all part of his pop culture landscape.

  That’s the same now, he says, but he wants his books to add another dimension to the pop culture that youth share today. Namely, that one of their influences can come from Indigenous perspectives.

  “I hope young Indigenous readers and non-Indigenous readers both feel like the world is theirs, to go out and make the most of it; that they all have gifts and that they should go show the world what those gifts are. Live a life of positivity,” said Kinew.

  The protagonist of both books is Bugz, a young Anishnaabe girl, who lives on the Rez. In the virtual world, or the Floraverse as it’s called, she’s “the myth, the legend, the ruler.”

  Gaming does allow for that escapism, says Kinew, where somebody can be more than they are in their everyday life.

  “It can be an element of escaping your day-to-day, but it’s also a situation where I wanted it to reflect in the books (that) for many young people what happens in the online world is at least as important as what happens in the real world,” he said.

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  Bugz’s real world is grief-filled. Having lost her older brother to cancer, she struggles with how to deal with that loss. That struggle blends the boundaries between her real world and the virtual world.

  Bugz’s best friend Feng, who also lives on the Rez, has his own struggles. Along with being worried about Bugz and her unhealthy attachment to her new creation in the Floraverse, he’s dealing with a sudden discovery about his parents. Feng is an Uyghur from China.

  This novel, like its predecessor, touches on some heavy subjects. Along with discussing the plight of the Uyghurs, other issues include residential schools, cyberbullying, environmental concerns and artificial intelligence.

  Kinew firmly believes that young people are “very smart and well versed” in political or human rights and social or cultural issues.

  “I just thought it would be a way to boil down things into book form (and) a young person would think, ‘Yeah, I’m exposed to all sorts of different ideas in the online world, in the real world, in the media, in social media. If I can be thoughtful and be true to who I am then I can still chart my course forward in this life and figure out how to think and respond and react to these different topics I’m being exposed to,’” said Kinew.

  “I just wanted to show a couple of fictional young people who are being exposed to all sorts of different ideas like this and are still finding a way forward where they can be good people and true to who they are as individuals.”

  Grief is also an issue Kinew wanted to deal with.

  As leader of the Manitoba NDP, Kinew has spoken to teachers, counsellors and other professionals who deal with youth.

  “I’ve heard time and time again that often we don’t help young people grieve. And here, when I say grief, it can be losing somebody who is close to you or it might also be grieving a stage in your life that has passed by because you’re growing up. Or grieving your community when you move somewhere else to pursue school or sports or a career,” he said.

  In The Everlasting Road, Kinew draws on the ancestors and the “very sophisticated and strong and compassionate” way the Anishnaabe culture has to support people in their grief.

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  “I wanted to introduce some of those cultural traditions. Again I kind of present them in a fictionalized way in the book because I want to respect the culture…but I’m trying to introduce to the young people, ‘Listen if this is something that becomes a challenge for you, there are things within our cultural background that can help you and support you,’” said Kinew. “In fact, I think that’s what the ancestors were doing in handing down these traditions to us. They were giving us tools that might help us in our own journeys through life, whether they’re positive experiences or some of those more challenging experiences.”

  The title of the novel, The Everlasting Road, refers to “the path you walk on through life,” says Bugz. “And that’s the path that souls take after they leave this world …”

  In one powerful image, Bugz further explains the concept to Feng through rock art in their virtual world. She says, “Each of these diagonal lines is a different path your life can take. You can take off into these random directions. Get into trouble. Do things that aren’t healthy…It’s up to us to stay true. To keep moving forward on the path that we’re supposed to.”

  Feng replies, “Your people really had a lot figured out.”

  Kinew doesn’t say he has it all figured out, but what he does know is that he has the best of two worlds: he finds his job as a politician rewarding and he enjoys the spare time he has when he can sit and write.

  “To me that’s very meaningful because when I was a young kid…spending some summers in Onigaming, the books we had in the house on the rez were one of my windows into the outside world. So I think it’s very powerful what a book can do and I’m writing these books with the hope they’ll be a window into the outside world for young people, including those in northern Ontario and northwestern Ontario,” he said.

  Kinew has no plans right now for a third book in the Bugz series, but he does admit the “door is open.”

  Kinew is also the bestselling, award-winning author of the picture book Go Show the World and the memoir The Reason You Walk.

  The Everlasting Road, published by Penguin Random House Canada, hits the bookshelves on Jan. 10. The Winnipeg launch with McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg is on Jan. 25.

  Local Journalism Initiative Reporters are supported by a financial contribution made by the Government of Canada.

• Reader's Digest Canada - https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/rd-interview-wab-kinew/

  RD Interview: Wab Kinew
  By Courtney SheaBy Courtney Shea
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  The author of “The Reason You Walk” talks Canada Reads, dream interviews and what it’s like to hear Paul McCartney address you by name.

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  RD Interview: Wab Kinew
  Illustration by Aimee Van Drimmelen

  Is it fair to say that Canada Reads is Survivor for bookworms?
  It is a classic reality-show format. We start with five books, with five prominent Canadians defending them. Each day, we vote off a book until we’re left with one. Breaking barriers is this year’s theme.

  Last year, you defended Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda and won the competition. Any advice for the 2015 advocates?
  The contest benefits the well-prepared. I sat with every one of the books and read them very thoroughly. I considered strengths and weaknesses. I went online and tested out different arguments, measuring the amount of likes, retweets, favourites. Social media was my polling group.

  This edition pits a singer (Martha Wainwright) against an actress (Kristin Kreuk) against a movie guru (Cameron Bailey) against an activist (Craig Kielburger) against a professional gossip (Elaine Lui). Who’s got the edge?
  The only thing I’ll say is that a person who’s super well-known is probably super busy-they may expect to coast on charisma, but you need substance as well as style. This is more than a show about books and a chance to celebrate Canadian authors. It’s an opportunity to address issues you care about in front of a national audience.

  In 2012 you hosted a series called 8th Fire about the need to improve relations between First Nations and the rest of Canada. Three years on, do you see progress?
  There has been more attention paid to political issues like Idle No More and First Nations education in the mainstream media. Musicians like A Tribe Called Red and writers like Boyden and Richard Wagamese are crossing over. We have a long way to go, but I think many Canadians are starting to engage with these issues in a meaningful way.

  You recently filled in as the host of Q on CBC Radio. You’re hosting Canada Reads. You’re a musician and a social activist. The comparisons to Jian Ghomeshi are inevitable. How have you handled that?

  My approach is just to be straight-up and do my best to deal with it. With Canada Reads, it doesn’t make sense to speak specifically about what happened. I don’t have insight into Ghomeshi’s case. But I do feel like I’m watching the broader conversation, whether it’s around Q, Bill Cosby or the NFL, and it seems like a good chance to speak about sexual misconduct and gender violence.

  On a lighter note, you got to interview Paul McCartney!
  That was huge. I’m not a diehard Beatles fan, but I have tremendous respect for the band. To hear McCartney say “Hey, Wab” was like, whaaaa! I felt warm and fuzzy.

  If I’m a guest genie and I can grant you your dream guests, who would they be?
  Edward Snowden and Barack Obama, for sure.

  I thought you were going to say Rihanna. I hear you have a crush on her.
  Ha! Yeah, but where do I take that?

  Canada Reads runs from March 16 to 19.

  This is the Best Place to See Fall Foliage in Canada
  Reader's Digest Canada
  Originally Published in Reader's Digest Canada

Kinew, Wab AN ANISHINAABE CHRISTMAS Tundra Books (Children's None) $18.99 10, 8 ISBN: 9781774883570

Kinew (Onigaming First Nation), premier of Manitoba, tells the story of a Native family returning home to the reservation on the winter solstice.

Baby, an Anishinaabe child, doesn't want to go back to the rez for Christmas: How will Santa find the family if they aren't in the city? On the drive into the country, Baby's pressing concerns fill the car: Why are presents exchanged on Christmas? Why is the rez "home" if they don't live there? Baby's parents, who both have tan skin and black hair like Baby, answer each question by centering Anishinaabe language and values: Daddy explains that miigiwe means "giving away," while Mommy says that giiwedaa ("let's go home") reflects the Anishinaabe reality that "home is where we live. But home is also where we come from." The tender reunion with Kookom (Grandmother) and Mooshom (Grandfather) includes storytelling, sipping tea and eating bannock, singing, and giving gifts. Indigenous illustrator Hill's cartoon art brings warmth and heart to Kinew's simple narrative. Backmatter briefly spotlights the Anishinaabe customs of sharing food and gifts during the winter solstice, as well as the community's reclamation of feasting and miigiwe at the end of the year. The sense of cultural pride and holiday joy will resonate with many young readers and their families.

A sweet window into Indigenous Christmas traditions.(Picture book. 4-7)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Kinew, Wab: AN ANISHINAABE CHRISTMAS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A806452786/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fcc19efc. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Wab Kinew, Manitoba's first First Nations premier, wants to start with a clean slate

IN EARLY OCTOBER, Manitoba chose Wab Kinew. The leader of the NDP and the son of an Anishinaabe chief, Kinew became the first First Nations premier in the province's history-breaking a chain of conservative counterparts that, hours before, had stretched from Alberta to P.E.I. On the campaign trail, Kinew made the usual big-tent promises (balancing the budget and slashing the health-care queue), but many Manitobans also saw him as the rare politician who'd deliver.

Progress is a satisfying campaign buzzword, but it's a lot harder in practice, which is something Kinew knows well. Before he was premier, an NDP MLA and even a CBC broadcaster (his real claim to fame), Kinew spent years mired in addiction, a dark period that included an impaired-driving charge and an assault conviction, detailed in his 2015 memoir, The Reason You Walk. Kinew has since gotten clean, raised three sons and set up shop in the Manitoba legislature, but now, new work begins, like navigating reconciliation, carbon taxes and crime. On all fronts, he wants to move forward. "I was given a second chance in life," Kinew said during his victory speech. "I'd like to think I've made good on that opportunity."

It's always a bit intimidating to interview another career journalist. Is the media blitz of your early days in office making you nostalgic for broadcasting?

I really enjoyed being in the field. Back in 2011, Manitoba had an election, the Jets came back to Winnipeg and we experienced record floods--big news. One day, I'd cover huge celebrations about the return of the NHL, then the next, I'd talk to people in the Interlake region whose lives were totally disrupted by flooding. Now, I'm visiting those places again, but I'm better equipped to help.

Any on-air gaffes?

I once interviewed a guy whose dad founded a business called Ronald's Fine Shoes. I asked what his dad's name was.

In addition to media, you've been an administrator at the University of Winnipeg, a rapper--which we're definitely coming back to--and now you're the premier. What's the common thread between all those jobs?

Talking to people. A lot of my mentors, at CBC and the university, helped me learn the importance of listening, too.

You once described yourself as someone who wasn't raised "to be somebody who'd keep my mouth shut." Politician is the perfect job for someone like that!

Moderation is good, sometimes.

You're the first First Nations premier in Manitoba. How's that weight sitting a month in?

I'm trying to maintain a sustainable schedule of work and public-facing events, make time to coach my kids' hockey teams and take dance lessons with my wife, Lisa. After the election, one of my first trips was to Cross Lake, a large First Nation up north, for a health centre opening. Seeing thousands of kids outside schools, yelling and waving and wanting to take selfies with me--that excitement is what it's all about.

Health care was your major platform issue. Many reserves still don't have clean water, and lots of Indigenous people can't find doctors who understand their cultural needs. What other stumbling blocks come up over and over again in First Nations communities--things that just don't get resolved?

Folks are aware of the many things wrong with health care, but Manitoba also has a growing number of Indigenous physicians. Our First Nations COVID task force collected data that informed public-health policy across Canada. Barry Lavallee at Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin is working on culturally specific delivery of health services. Courtney Leary runs a clinic in her home area of Norway House Cree Nation. We should devote our attention to that. I'm biased, though, because I'm married to a super-smart Indigenous doctor.

There are so many recent, high-profile examples of Canada's political progress toward reconciliation--Orange Shirt Day, for example. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal just approved a $23-billion settlement for Indigenous families harmed by the child welfare system. Then we read about the outgoing Manitoba government refusing to search the Prairie Green landfill, near Winnipeg, for the remains of two First Nations women who were allegedly murdered, over logistical and safety concerns for workers. Does that never-ending back-and-forth ever discourage you?

My view on reconciliation is that we can improve the lives of Indigenous people without making the lives of non-Indigenous people worse. In Manitoba, Orange Shirt Day now is one of the most important days in the school calendar. A generation is growing up talking about residential schools. I don't think of it as two steps forward, one step back. You know how, when you're downloading something onto your phone, there's a progress bar?

I've never heard someone compare reconciliation to an iPhone.

Canada hasn't hit the 100 per cent mark on the reconciliation progress bar. We're still in the downloading phase, if you will. It's important to take the long view.

Politics has become way more divisive since you became an MP in 2016. You talked on the campaign trail about your "second chance" at life. You struggled with addiction and had several run-ins with the law when you were younger. What was it like to have to review the "before" parts of your story, and have them raised by the opposition?

I understood what I was signing up for. Everyone knew the Manitoba campaign was going to be negative. But then the PC party ran ads against the landfill search, which effectively used the families of murder victims as political props. The same happened with the "parental rights" ads; we're talking about vulnerable trans kids. I'm fair game, but once you bring other folks into it--people who haven't signed up to join the fray--that's when the divisiveness goes too far. The voting public is getting turned off by that.

We seem to be in a really interesting era of, not just politics, but politicians. On one end of the spectrum, you have the inaccessible, hide-your-skeletons camp--the old guard. On the opposite end, you have a more extreme camp of what I'd call "proud assholes," politicians who seem almost delighted by the controversy they create. Lots of Canadians don't want to vote at all because, to them, very few candidates seem like normal humans who just want to get stuff done. What do you make of your colleagues these days?

There are still a lot of good people in politics. My colleague Danielle Adams, the former MLA for Thompson, comes to mind. She was the NDP's critic on child care, housing, disability and poverty issues. She once relied on the shelter system, and when she was first elected, she lived in a trailer park. She had a learning disability, and every time she had to speak during question period, she'd rehearse for hours beforehand. Nothing was handed to her. She passed away two years ago in a car wreck, while travelling for her MLA work. Her mom told me all of this afterwards.

Wow, that's ...

For me, Danielle is the standard. Politicians also need to remember that any kid out there could replace us in the future.

In your election-night address, you spoke directly to young people in Manitoba who might want to change their lives, whatever that means for them. You said, "The government can't do it for you. You have to be the person who decides to take that first step." To some, that message sounded pretty ... conservative. Was that a misread?

I meant what I said; I just don't think about it in political terms. Anyone who's made a significant change understands the necessity of self-awareness, of being straight up with themselves. But nobody does anything alone. So I said, If you take the first step, our government will meet you with support.

As a society, we're slowly unhooking from the idea that we're all just doomed to become our parents and moving toward the notion that, actually, you can break the cycle. What cycle did you have to break?

All of us inherit a legacy, but many of us have legacies that were more dramatically affected by failed governments of the past. I'll simply say that my goal is to not pass along trauma from residential schools to the next generation. Growing up in a community--Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario and, more generally, the community of Indigenous nations--I've seen that trauma play out in lives of many people I know. I feel a responsibility to be a sober, devoted husband and a loving dad who's on the ice at my sons' games.

Part of your recovery happened in Alcoholics Anonymous. Another part came by way of Indigenous traditions. What did leaning into your culture offer you that more Westernized forms of care didn't?

For me, the sundance was a very visceral, powerful experience--as far from the nine-to-five North American lifestyle as you can get. It's a sacred ceremony that plays out over eight days, one that involves fasting (including water), sleeping for a couple of hours a night and dancing from sun-up until evening. Sometimes, there are piercings and name-givings. You live with your immediate family in a teepee, with your extended family around a central campfire. I'm grateful they all had my back. It probably wasn't easy to walk with me then.

What else helped you?

Going to the gym. Making new friends who were more engaged with health and fitness than partying. Yes, you do need the dramatic interventions that help you find something greater than yourself, but it's also really important to have a day-to-day thing. I run, I lift weights and, sometimes, I take the kids hunting.

We talked about the inflammatory digs that politicians trade in. The rap world has its share of those, too. In the early 2000s, you rapped about slapping women in a group called Dead Indians. In 2009, you tweeted about taking up wrestling because "jiujitsu wasn't gay enough." What made you change your way of thinking?

The fundamental answer is: I grew up. When I was young, I was into the party lifestyle. When I became a parent, I wanted to be a positive force in my kids' lives. Now, I'm even older, and I try to think about how the things I say affect my community--specifically, what I say in public.

Do you go back to Onigaming often?

We were there last weekend for a ceremony, and we try to go every summer. It was tough to get the kids out there until we got Wi-Fi.

Kids can bring a certain please don't make me do this vibe to family activities, but are there certain traditions you want your sons to pick up on?

I want them to know the lakes in the area: Lake of the Woods and Crow Lake. I want them to have the feeling that I have when I get out onto the water in a boat, when you leave the shore and the waters open up and your spirit swells. I want them to know what it feels like to walk in the bush and see a rock painting, knowing their ancestors were there. And I want them to know the people I grew up with, to have a living connection to the homeland.

We've talked a lot about progress today, but do you ever notice your own parents come out when you're parenting? Like, Oh my god, that was my dad.

One hundred per cent. My dad was the guy who, if I got 99 per cent in a class, he'd ask where the other one per cent went. Classic, right? Still, he gave me a no-nonsense attitude toward duty. I'd like to pass that along, maybe without his attendant harshness.

You're still within the all-important first-100-day window of your premiership. Is any of your dad's advice guiding you now?

My dad was chief of Onigaming, a politician, but the advice I use has nothing to do with politics. When I started out in TV, a hosting opportunity came my way. I told my dad I was worried that having to look into a camera all the time would make it challenging for me to maintain humility. He just said, "Use the pipe." There's the sacred pipe, but he meant to lean into my cultural teachings. I try to wake up before the sun each day and pray in the old way. The goal is to live by what my community taught me. I don't always reach it, but every day, I get up again. I try to do it a little better.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 St. Joseph Media
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Underwood, Katie. "CONVERSATIONS WITH THE NATION'S NEWSMAKERS." Maclean's, vol. 136, no. 11, Jan. 2024, p. 17. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779055104/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bf8a272d. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Kinew, Wab THE EVERLASTING ROAD Tundra Books (Teen None) $17.99 1, 10 ISBN: 9780735269033

This sequel to Walking in Two Worlds (2021) returns readers to the virtual and real worlds in which a teen girl navigates grief, confronts those who wish to undermine her, and grows in self-confidence.

Picking up soon after Anishinaabe teen Bugz has lost her older brother, Waawaate, to cancer, the book immediately plunges readers back into the action. Bugz is officially dating Feng, the Uighur boy who lives on the reservation with his doctor aunt, but in the depths of her grief, she spends most of her time in the virtual realm of the Floraverse with her latest creation, a Waawaate-bot. Meanwhile, the hostile players who ganged up on Bugz in the Floraverse and even destroyed the sacred Thunderbird's Nest on the Rez have become the target of the Waawaate-bot, who grows increasingly powerful, menacing, and out of control, crossing worlds in ways that should not be possible. Seeing the terrifying impact of her well-intentioned creation forces Bugz to look honestly at how she is coping with her brother's loss, especially when Feng receives shocking news from China. The story also follows Waawaate as his soul travels Gaagigewekinaa, or the Everlasting Road, in the afterlife. Kinew (Anishinaabe) presents readers with another well-paced novel set in a vividly realized world in which young people create new paths that are grounded in community and cultural continuity.

Plenty of thrills alongside thoughtful, poignant explorations of love and loss. (Anishinaabe terms and pronunciation guide, author's note, resources) (Science fiction. 12-18)

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"Kinew, Wab: THE EVERLASTING ROAD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729727503/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=40906be5. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Kinew, Wab WALKING IN TWO WORLDS Penguin Teen (Teen None) $17.99 9, 14 ISBN: 978-0-7352-6900-2

A teen navigates different worlds: real and virtual, colonized and Indigenous.

In the near-future real world, Bugz’s family has clout in the community—her mom is their first modern-day woman chief, her father’s a highly admired man, and her older brother is handsome and accomplished. Socially awkward Bugz, by contrast, feels more successful in the virtual gaming world of the Floraverse, where she has amassed tremendous power. Yes, her ’Versona has a slimmed-down figure—but Bugz harnesses her passion for the natural world and her Anishinaabe heritage to build seemingly unbeatable defenses, especially her devoted, lovingly crafted Thunderbird and snake/panther Mishi-pizhiw. Cheered on by legions of fans, she battles against Clan:LESS, a group of angry, misogynistic male gamers. One of them, Feng, ends up leaving China under a cloud of government suspicion and moving to her reservation to live with his aunt, the new doctor; they are Muslim Uighurs who have their own history of forced reeducation and cultural erasure. Feng and Bugz experience mutual attraction—and mistrust—and their relationship in and out of the Floraverse develops hesitantly under a shadow of suspected betrayal. Kinew (Anishinaabe) has crafted a story that balances heart-pounding action scenes with textured family and community relationships, all seamlessly undergirded by storytelling that conveys an Indigenous community’s past—and the vibrant future that follows from young people’s active, creative engagement with their culture.

A thrilling, high-tech page-turner with deep roots. (glossary, resources) (Science fiction. 14-18)

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"Kinew, Wab: WALKING IN TWO WORLDS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A668237835/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=81806677. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Walking in Two Worlds. By Wab Kinew. 2021. 296p. Penguin Canada, $17.99 (9780735269002). Gr. 7-10.

Kinew's first novel for teens stands out in the field of speculative fiction with its respectful, celebratory, and nuanced exploration of cultures and communities all too often at risk of erasure (particularly Indigenous communities). In the virtual realm of the Floraverse, Bugz is an unbeatable warrior with seemingly limitless power to create mythical creatures and hardcore weapons. Her only real enemy is Clan:LESS, a group of alt-right gamers who despise women in gaming and who want nothing more than to rule the Floraverse. In real life, Bugz is an Anishinaabe girl living with her family on the rez, where she also feels out of place because of certain gender-based traditions. When she meets Feng, a Uyghur Muslim boy who has fled China, Bugz realizes she isn't the only one feeling trapped between two worlds. After finding out that Feng is a member of ClamLESS, though, Bugz has to fight even harder to figure out her place in both the Floraverse and the real world and to sort out her relationship with Feng. Kinew (Go Show the World, 2018) explores real-world teen struggles with identity, toxic masculinity, and complicated family and cultural dynamics, as well as generational shifts relating to (and relying on) technology, all set against the backdrop of a post-pandemic, high-tech future. --Rob Bittner

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
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Bittner, Rob. "Walking in Two Worlds." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2021, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A696452050/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cc46275f. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

KINEW, Wab

Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes

Illustrated By Joe Morse. Tundra Books. 2018. 40p. Illus. Gr. K-5. 978-0-73526-292-8. Hdbk. $21.99

Many will recognize author Wab Kinew from his days as a musician, broadcaster, and current role of leader of Manitoba's New Democratic Party. In the Author's Note at the end of the book, he indicates that his inspiration for this book comes from Barak Obama's Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to my Daughters and K'naan's song Take a Minute. In this new work for children, which is essentially a rap song set to paper, he has highlighted and celebrated great Indigenous leaders from diverse communities and time periods all across North America. Leaders profiled include Sacagawea, Jim Thorpe, Beatrice Culleton Mosionier, Te-Wau-Zee, Dr. Evan Adams, John Herrington, Carey Price, Crazy Horse, etc. The Biographies section at the end of the book provides short and informative information about each individual, including their years of birth and death (if historical), the tribe or nation each one represents, and their contribution to Indigenous life and culture. Though brief, each person's story is compelling and readers may likely want to find out more. Collectively, the stories empower the reader with the strong message of: "We are people who matter, yes, it's true; now let's show the world what people who matter can do." It is a call to action and a message of hope for the Indigenous community, as well as a lesson to all readers of the valuable contributions made by American and Canadian Indigenous peoples.

Acclaimed artist Joe Morse's illustrations are colourful and very striking and greatly add to the context and impact of the text.

This book is highly recommended for personal, school and private libraries. It would make a great read-aloud, as well as an exemplar for exploring other heroes of various cultural backgrounds.

Thematic Links: Indigenous Peoples Canada; United States of America; Heroes; Leaders; First Nations

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Resource Links
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Hansen, Erin. "KINEW, Wab: Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes." Resource Links, vol. 24, no. 1, Oct. 2018, p. 20. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A561344225/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1f025aa5. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Kinew, Wab GO SHOW THE WORLD Tundra (Children's Fiction) $17.99 9, 11 ISBN: 978-0-7352-6292-8

Kinew uses lyrical language to pay tribute to Indigenous heroes and leaders of North America.

In his picture-book debut, Canadian politician and musician Kinew (Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation) aims to uplift and inspire youth, especially Indigenous youth. Readers learn about historical figures such as Sac and Fox athlete Jim Thorpe, Omaha doctor Susan LaFlesche Picotte, and Mohawk Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller, who was wounded by a soldier during the Oka crisis. Touching on topics of Creation, Indian boarding schools, and the anti-Dakota Access Pipeline movement, this book has a broad reach. Though the lines in verse are occasionally awkward, Kinew packs a great deal of power into just a few words: "We are people who matter. / Yes, it's true. / Now let's show the world what people who matter can do." That being said, the spread honoring Sacagawea unquestioningly portrays her as a willing agent in American imperialism, which it celebrates by implication: "Under starry nights west Sacagawea led / Lewis and Clark, so America could spread. / Plus she healed them when they were almost dead. / The men got the credit, but should she have instead?" Morse's watercolor, digital color, and collage illustrations are masterful. Long limbs and necks, powerful hands, and photorealistic details are characteristic of his style. Most figures are either facing readers or moving towards the right, creating a flow that suggests looking forward to a bright and hopeful future.

A little rough but ultimately a beautiful celebration of Indigenous excellence. (author's note, biographies) (Informational picture book. 5-12)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Kinew, Wab: GO SHOW THE WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A549923657/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cea4a21f. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Wab Kinew is a university vice-president, musician, pipe carrier and CBC broadcaster. He is 33. Raised on the Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario and in south Winnipeg, he is a son of Tobasonakwut Kinew, also known as Peter Kelly, a widely known Anishinaabe scholar and advocate for civil and language rights. Tobasonakwut was also a residential school survivor, taken from home as a five-year-old. Kinew's new memoir, The Reason You Walk, is a deeply personal story of a son's reconciliation with his father, and a father's reconciliation with his country.

Q: You were anointed by your father and members of your community as a leader. Do you see yourself heading a First Nations organization, or a city or riding?

A: I'd be open to all those things, but the change I really want to see is at the federal level. I'm pretty ambitious about what I want to do. I want to combat poverty in this country. I want to change the Constitution. And to do that, you need to be able to work with Quebec. You need to be able to get all the provinces on side. And I can't do those things without a lot of experience, a lot of expertise and broad-based support. I'm cognizant that there is a lot I need to learn before I try, so I don't mess things up too badly.

Q: What does that mean?

A: While I do want to get into public life, I'm in no rush.

Q: Why do you want to tackle the Constitution?

A: Section 91(24)--the so-called Indian Act--is responsible for a lot of the inequities that First Nations, Metis and Inuit people face, because we're put under federal jurisdiction for a lot of our social services. I believe that Indigenous governments should be a separate constitutional order. I think it's no surprise to anyone that Quebec is a distinct society. It is a nation within Canada. We should have a Constitution that reflects that. And I scratch my head as to why we have a monarchy in this country in this day and age, and everyone wants to reform the Senate. So, why don't we do all that?

Q: So that means running as an MP?

A: Someday.

Q: There's been a lot of focus within the Indigenous community on whether or not people should be voting in this election.

A: Yeah. I don't hear anyone arguing against voting for your local chief or councillor. I've voted every time, since I was 18--every election, every level: First Nations, civic, school. Q: Have you decided how you're going to vote in October?

A: I'm not really strongly partisan, but it's definitely not going to be Conservative. I don't think, on First Nations issues alone, anyone could vote Conservative, which is too bad, because, on fiscal issues, I would be 100 per cent open to a Conservative platform.

Q: In your book, you write how you started off a very straight-shooting kid. Then at university, things got a bit screwy. What happened?

A: I think I was rebelling against expectations that I would be the upstanding, straight-edged kid. It wasn't a sharp turn, but, day after day, I started making poorer decisions. And in my third and fourth year of university, I'm getting arrested for drunk driving, or getting into fights and leading a self-destructive lifestyle.

Q: Why did you choose to open up about it?

A: I'm asking this country for truth and reconciliation and it would be hypocritical if I didn't offer the truth about myself. And the same thing with my father--it's not a flattering portrait of him.

Q: Truth is important to you.

A: I feel that confronting the truth makes you stronger. That's what I did in my own life. The book has also changed my life with respect to how I'm parenting my own sons.

Q: How so?

A: I'm too quick to anger. I have an idea of what I want to be as a parent: the compassionate, supportive dad. And yet, in the moment--when they're not listening to me, and acting crazy--I'm all those things that I don't want to be. So writing the book, reflecting on my father's childhood, how he was raised by harsh disciplinarians and sometimes worse, and thinking about how he made me feel when he was parenting me, I recognize I'm making my sons feel that same way.

Q: What does that tell you?

A: That's when I really understand, on the personal level, what the legacy of residential schools is in my family today. It's not necessarily physical abuse or addiction anymore.

Q: What, then?

A: It's preventing us from being the fullest embodiment of the values that we aspire to: love, kindness and respect. So for my dad, you showed weakness and you were beaten; or, you spoke the only language you knew, and you were beaten. In order to survive, he had to bottle up his emotions. So when he was a parent to me, it was: "Real men don't cry." I'm sick with a virus and it's: "Real men don't vomit." Every time we're working outside, it was, "Harder, faster, stronger." A lot of that was positive. We were cultivated with a strong work ethic. But that negative attitude unleashed an anger in me. It's something that I'm still trying to deal with to this day.

Q: We're here at Winnipeg's National Summit on Racism, and I wanted to ask you about the racism you faced as a boy.

A: I did see some pretty ugly racism: I was choked out by a teacher, attacked by adults at the community club. Growing up, I never heard the word "Indian" by itself. It was always with a nasty adjective before it: Effen Indian, dirty Indian, dumb Indian, stupid Indian. But as I'm older now, I recognize that's a reflection of those people's problems. But there is still a broader racism in Canadian society. A lot of times, it's just by omission.

Q: It affected your father's cancer treatment.

A: Yes. In Manitoba, he should have been eligible for a type of treatment, but he was denied because he's a status Indian [and his health coverage was paid by the federal government, making him ineligible for the provincial program], I don't blame that for his death; we-have resources. But it raises that question: Why does a First Nations man, in this day and age, have to ask if his life would be different--if he might live longer?

Q: Growing up, how did you see your Indigenous identity?

A: Race is a social construct; it doesn't exist. Governments have tried for years to make us the Indian race, then the First Nations race and the Aboriginal race. But we're not a race. We're Indigenous nations. For me, more and more, it's the Anishinaabe identity that makes sense to me. When I look in the mirror, I think of myself as a human being, then as Anishinaabe, then Canadian. But as a kid, the dichotomy--the distance between reserve and Winnipeg-forced me to confront my Indigenous identity.

Q: As an adult, you've become fluent in Anishinaabemowin, in Ojibwe.

A: It's an ongoing process.

Q: But you developed an app to help spread the language. Why?

A: Language is one of the fundamental characteristics of nationhood, and it's one of the fundamental characteristics that defines your identity as an Indigenous person.

Q: For a long time, your father had trouble expressing love.

A: One of the interesting things about the family reconciliation we went on is that it was parallel to the national conversation around our reconciliation.

Q: Can you explain what that means?

A: My father went on the journey toward forgiveness and reconciliation, which began with him being wronged in a very ugly way by this country, by the government, by the Catholic Church, and that led him to do wrong. But he fixed himself. At the end of his life, he moved toward forgiveness.

Q: What did you learn from that?

A: He taught me that it's never right to cede the moral high ground. You should always embrace the good, and do the right thing--very simple, but difficult lessons to walk and practise, day to day.

Q: There's a point where you realize your dad, once alien to you, had become your best friend.

A: Yeah. I can't take credit for it; we did it together. We just said: We are going to take the time. This is more important than anything else. It's family first.

Q: That meant taking time away from the CBC.

A: I took an unpaid leave. My sister came back from Harvard and our whole family made sacrifices to be there with [my father], to cook meals for him, to drive him to chemotherapy.

Q: How did it change you?

A: In becoming a parent, I learned that you have the more compassionate side, the more fully realized version of your humanity, in part revealed to you. But I also realized that you can get the other half of that equation by being there for someone, in shepherding them at the end of their life. Something happens to you. And they're both powerful.

Q: We're at a critical moment, awakening to crimes committed against Indigenous peoples. Nowhere does this appear more apparent than in Winnipeg.

A: This has always been a powerful place, going back to when it was a meeting place for Indigenous nations. It's why we call it Manitoba--"the land where spirit lives." It would be fitting, and powerfully symbolic, but it won't happen by accident. People have to stand up and say: This matters to me. Seeing Tina Fontaine pulled out of the river is not reflective of the city that I want. Seeing the racism that I experienced as a boy is not reflective of the community that I want. People have to take ownership of that.

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Please note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 St. Joseph Media
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MacDonald, Nancy. "The interview: Wab Kinew on voting, running for office, the challenges of parenting, and what his father ultimately taught him." Maclean's, vol. 128, no. 39, 5 Oct. 2015, pp. 18+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A430498483/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=337f0d89. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

The Reason You Walk: A Memoir

By Wab Kinew

Penguin Random House Canada, 2015, 262 pages (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-670-06934-7

Wab Kinew's The Reason You Walk is a monumental, perspective altering and life changing novel that addresses the many barriers faced between Kinew, a reconnecting Anishinaabe man, and his father, a disconnected Anishinaabe man who was forced away from his culture and to the bottle by residential schools, racism and intergenerational trauma. It is a touchingly beautiful story of how a son and father rekindle their own relationship by reconnecting to their culture, paving new pathways for reconciliation, and breaking intergenerational trauma cycles that plague so many Indigenous men and their male family members today.

The Reason You Walk is structured as a shared memoir that details the lives (and legacies) of Kinew and his father, that importantly addresses the many trials, tribulations, struggles and triumphs that many Anishinaabe men increasingly have to endure as the result of intergenerational trauma, abuse, addiction, apathy, etc. Kinew's story offers not only a beacon of hope for Indigenous youth as it celebrates Anishinaabe resilience and success despite the immense amount of hardship endured, but also exists as a cathartic release and retelling of his and his father's life as this is one of the main purposes of Indigenous story telling. In Anishinaabe culture, storytelling is seen as a form of ceremony as Anishinaabe people share many stories, teachings, and happenings in their lives during ceremony in order to let go parts of our spirit that no longer serve us, this is how Kinew reconnects to his father and his culture is through this exact form of storytelling and ceremony. Through Kinew's retelling, he shows the audience (especially a connected or reconnecting Indigenous audience) what it means to 'walk the red road' (living life according to Indigenous law/protocol) all while providing a necessary pathway forward for reconciliation and healing. In true Anishinaabe storytelling fashion, Kinew allows for the reader to take part in each man's paramount journey as they both come to realize the reasons why they both walk as each story completes the penultimate mosaic of healing, love, reconciliation, and the importance of fathers supporting sons and vice versa no matter the barriers; anything is possible.

The novel is sectioned into three uneven parts, with each section addressing a different stage of their lives: Part 1: Oshkaadizid (Youth); Part 2: Kiizhewaadizid (Living a Life of Love, Kindness, Sharing, and Respect), and Part three: Giiwekwaadizid (The End of Life). One of the devices that Kinew uses throughout the novel that may seem like a hinderance or barrier to some is the inclusion and use of the Anishinaabemowin language. While this is a form of reclamation for Indigenous (specifically Anishinaabe) peoples, it can be overwhelming and discouraging for some as Anishinaabemowin can have very long and complex sounding words and sentences. However, upon reading this book as a young scholar and now rereading it again, more connected now to my Anishinaabe culture than ever, the use of Anishinaabemowin made me (the reader) feel more connected than ever to not only Kinew and his father, but to the spirit and ancestors in which Kinew invokes when speaking in his ancestral tongue. Oshkaadizid gives the reader an exclusive insider scoop to what life was like for an Anishinaabe boy who was forced to attend residential school. Kinew is not shy with the gruesome details and ordeals that his father suffered, including unspeakable forms of abuse, rape and even nutritional experiments performed on him and other Indigenous boys at the school. This part of the novel gives context to the barriers Indigenous men face and the consequences that can arise from these barriers such as alcoholism, addiction, and physical violence. This part of the novel is necessary as it acknowledges the atrocities that occurred to Indigenous peoples in residential schools, but it reveals the truth to non-Indigenous readers and starts the conversation of 'How can we do better? What should reconciliation look like?".

The second section of the novel, is titled ": Kiizhewaadizid" which roughly translates to "living a life of love, kindness, sharing, and respect". Kinew addresses how his father chose to live his life after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. Kinew eloquently retells the journey that his father took in order to become a better father, brother, husband, friend and spiritual person. Kinew's father reconciled his spirit with his experience at residential school. To do this, Kinew's father went to the Vatican to give an offering of peace and reconciliation to the Pope. During his visit he became close with an archbishop who he later ended up adopting into his tribe and clan as a brother. This beautiful relationship is a perfect example of the ultimate form of reconciliation, to live a life full of love, kindness, sharing and respect. Whether that's sharing of cultures, faith or good medicine, love and kindness are always at the forefront.

The third section is titled "Giiwekwaadizid" which translates to "the end of life". Kinew discusses his father's end of life journey and his legacy, thereafter, addressing the question asked at the beginning of the novel, "What is the reason you walk?" This is an amalgamation of both Kinew's and his father's journeys intersecting and coming full circle when addressing their identities, responsibilities as Indigenous men, resiliency, and reconciliation. Finally, Kinew discusses his children and how they will remember their grandfather's legacy and create legacies of their own that will uplift and strengthen their Indigenous community, especially the males in it.

The Reason You Walk offers a compelling exploration of resilience, reconnecting to identity, the importance of maintaining and strengthening male relationships and the need for change in how we educate our Indigenous peoples and how we get non- Indigenous peoples on the same page. Through his use of Indigenous storytelling, Wab Kinew challenges readers to rethink traditional notions of reconciliation, identity and hegemonic masculinity and encourages readers to create more inclusive learning and healing environments for all, and most importantly for Indigenous youth and men. While the focus on two personal and specific stories limits the book's scope, its insights into the intergenerational barriers, trauma, and guidance towards successful reconciliation makes it an extremely valuable resource for all educators, scholars, and leaders, who are seeking to promote meaningful reconciliation, resiliency in Indigenous boys and men, and to provide hope for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike as we recognize and value each other's experiences.

Reviewed by: Alyssa Beach, Graduate Student, Nipissing University

Reference

Kinew, W. (2015). The reason you walk. Random House.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Canadian Society for the Study of Education
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Beach, Alyssa. "The Reason You Walk: A Memoir." Canadian Journal of Education, vol. 47, no. 3, autumn 2024, pp. xiv+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A815289629/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7a513194. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

KINEW, Wab. Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes, illus. by Joe Morse. 40p. Tundra. Sept. 2018. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780735262928.

Gr 1-3-With sweeping portrait-style illustrations, this picture book poem introduces a wide range of historical and contemporary Indigenous figures. Kinew, a Canadian Ojibwa songwriter and politician, explains in an author's note that he wanted to write a book to let Native children know their worth and potential. The text has the feel of a song, with a repeated refrain of "You're a person who matters/Yes, it's true./Now go show the world what a person who matters can do." Kinew profiles his subjects briefly, and Morse's watercolor, digital, and collage illustrations provide contextual support, each realistic portrait depicting the subject in action within a specific setting. Many of the individuals highlighted will be more familiar to Canadian than to U.S. audiences, and most readers will need to refer to the appendix for more substantial biographical information. Morse's paintings are striking and full of movement. However, he depicts a wide range of historical periods, geographic locations, and Indigenous cultures tiiat are not described; Morse doesn't provide sources for the traditional dress, symbols, and ceremonial objects seen in many of his paintings, nor are the tribes explicitly named. VERDICT A stirring, if uneven, lyric tribute to Indigenous heroes past and present. Medium to large collections may want to consider.--Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Couillard-Smith, Chelsea. "KINEW, Wab. Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes." School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 93+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A556838515/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1cf00950. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

"Kinew, Wab: AN ANISHINAABE CHRISTMAS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A806452786/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fcc19efc. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. Underwood, Katie. "CONVERSATIONS WITH THE NATION'S NEWSMAKERS." Maclean's, vol. 136, no. 11, Jan. 2024, p. 17. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779055104/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bf8a272d. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. "Kinew, Wab: THE EVERLASTING ROAD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729727503/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=40906be5. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. "Kinew, Wab: WALKING IN TWO WORLDS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A668237835/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=81806677. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. Bittner, Rob. "Walking in Two Worlds." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2021, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A696452050/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cc46275f. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. Hansen, Erin. "KINEW, Wab: Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes." Resource Links, vol. 24, no. 1, Oct. 2018, p. 20. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A561344225/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1f025aa5. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. "Kinew, Wab: GO SHOW THE WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A549923657/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cea4a21f. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. MacDonald, Nancy. "The interview: Wab Kinew on voting, running for office, the challenges of parenting, and what his father ultimately taught him." Maclean's, vol. 128, no. 39, 5 Oct. 2015, pp. 18+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A430498483/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=337f0d89. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. Beach, Alyssa. "The Reason You Walk: A Memoir." Canadian Journal of Education, vol. 47, no. 3, autumn 2024, pp. xiv+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A815289629/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7a513194. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025. Couillard-Smith, Chelsea. "KINEW, Wab. Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes." School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 93+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A556838515/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1cf00950. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

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