Indigenous Literature: Welcome

Hello and welcome to this web page from VCC Library. Here you will find resources on many different Indigenous topics. Whether you are an Indigenous student at VCC, or you simply want to know more - you are have come to the right place!

My name is Mari Paz Vera, and I am a librarian here at VCC Library. I was born in Ecuador and Spanish is my first language. I come from a family of educators - both my parents and two of my three siblings are educators. I moved to Vancouver more than a decade ago to pursue a Master in Library and Information Studies. Since then, I have lived on the traditional lands of Coast Salish territories. I joined VCC in 2007. I love my work here, especially when I get to meet with students and help them find the information they need. Please contact me if you would like any assistance using the library or would just like to say hello. I look forward to meeting you!

Most libraries have been created from a colonial perspective, which means they often organize and collect knowledge in that same way. VCC Library is working to decolonize our practices, spaces, and collections, but there is still much to be done. 

This guide has been developed as a general guide to VCC's collection of Indigenous Literatures. The lists included in this guide are based on the lists compiled by librarian Diane Cruickshank of Fraser Valley University Library. She has granted us permission to use them. Thank you! 

This guide focuses on material written by First Nations, Inuit and Metis authors. We recognize however the colonial nature of that focus and have included other authors of Turtle Island. 

This guide is by no means exhaustive! For more suggestions, see CBC article of 48 books by Indigenous writers to read to understand residential schools, CBC article of 108 recommended Indigenous authors, or this one by Jónína Kirton that recommends 14 Indigenous women to read.

If you would like to become familiar with Indigenous authors and their works of fiction, poetry, or drama, you may want to start with an anthology. Anthologies can be useful sources for literature because they contain many works on one theme.