Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Himiona Grace)

More books by Indigenous authors have been pledged toward Ontario public schools by Anishinabek Nation, Portage & Main Press, and HarperCollins. Sessions on revising how Indigenous issues are taught in public schools were cancelled by the Ontario Ministry of Education on Friday, July 6 at 4 p.m. They had been scheduled to begin on Monday, July 9.

In response to the cancelled sessions, which had been recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, writers Cherie Dimaline, Monique Gray Smith, and Tracey Lindberg announced they would donate copies of their books to Ontario public school classrooms (notably, Gray Smith and Lindberg both live in B.C.). Inspired, writer and poet Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm asked her publisher, Portage & Main Press, for help.

The result: Portage & Main is donating 40 copies of Chelsea Vowel’s historical essay collection Indigenous Writes and 20 copies of Akiwenzie-Damm’s book of short stories The Stone Collection. The Winnipeg press is also offering free shipping on copies of Indigenous Writes to public schools. Akiwenzie-Damm has offered a reading to three classrooms.

Happy to announce that not only has @PortageMainPres donated 40 copies of “Indigenous Writes” to Ontario educators, they are also donating 20 copies of my book of short stories “The Stone Collection” @quillandquire

— KateriAkiwenzie-Damm (@KateriAkiwenzie) July 17, 2018

Meanwhile, the advocacy group Anishinabek Nation is donating 10 copies of Joanne Robertson’s The Water Walker and 10 copies of Maurice Switzer’s We Are All Treaty People to Ontario schools. Lindberg’s publisher HarperCollins is supporting her commitment by donating 100 copies of her novel Birdie.

We’re so happy to support this initiative with a donation of 100 copies of #Birdie. Thank you to you and @cherie_dimaline for leading the charge.

— HarperCollinsCa (@HarperCollinsCa) July 13, 2018

#Inspired by this story via @quillandquire https://t.co/aOb1epnQJI #Ontario #Teachers: We have 2 books for 10 schools or teachers to give away – DM your school address, attention to…and will ship to you #TRCcurriculum #ONeducation pic.twitter.com/3AbYa3lLv3

— Anishinabek Nation (@AnishNation) July 13, 2018

Of the response, Dimaline tweeted, “So proud to be among such powerful women and allies. Also, f@ck you Ford nation.”