First Nation Communities Read is pleased to announce that Indian Horse is its 10th anniversary community reading selection. Written by Richard Wagamese and published by Douglas & McIntyre (Vancouver), Indian Horse is a novel that is uniquely Aboriginal in voice, spirit, and substance.
Indian Horse is the story of Saul Indian Horse. Readers meet Saul as an adult and travel with him back through his childhood, youth, and early adulthood as he seeks to come to terms with a past that threatens his present and future.
Saul's story is riveting as it unspools through life on the land, family displacement, residential school isolation, affirmation/ self-preservation in sport (hockey), betrayal, abasement, and a wandering that leads, ultimately, to the beginnings of a restoration of spirit and self.
A jury of librarians from First Nation public libraries in Ontario, with coordination support from Southern Ontario Library Service, selected Indian Horse from more than 35 titles submitted by Canadian publishers. An announcement of five strong shortlist contenders preceded the selection decision.
In arriving at its decision, the jury stated, “We are delighted to add First Nation Communities Read endorsement to the significant recognition Indian Horse has already received. The book is strong, humane, and engaging. It is written with immense skill, grace, and power.”
The First Nation Communities Read program, launched in 2003, is the contribution of the First Nation public library community in Ontario to the community reading movement. Through the titles it promotes, First Nation Communities Read increases awareness of Aboriginal authors and illustrators, and encourages family literacy, intergenerational storytelling, and the publication, sharing, and understanding of Aboriginal voices and experiences. For its 2013-2014 year, the program focuses on adult and young adult literature.
First Nation Communities Read times its title selection announcement to support National Aboriginal History Month (June) and National Aboriginal Day (June 21) programming and awareness initiatives.
Supported by a provincial and territorial governments' partnership initiative, public libraries in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories will promote First Nation Communities Read during 2013-2014 with a poster featuring Indian Horse and 21 other adult and young adult titles endorsed by the jury.
First Nation Communities Read encourages bookstores and libraries of all types across Canada to participate in its 10th anniversary celebrations by stocking and promoting Indian Horse and other 2013-2014 jury-endorsed titles.
