Here are some great books about residential schools to read for young children.

As long as the Rivers Flow, by Larry Loyie

This book is about is about how the author as he writes about his last summer with his family before going to residential school, in Northern Alberta in 1944. He learns things like how to care for a baby owl, and how to gather medicinal plants with his Kokom. This story shows how his education at home was changed by the residential school system.

Some other Books:

  • Shi-shi-etko, by Nicola Campbell and the sequel Shin-chi’s Canoe
  • Koomkum’s Red Shoes, by Peter Eyvindson
  • Fatty Legs: A True Story, by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
  • No Time to Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of Kuper Island Residential School, by Sylvia Olsen