One good book away from becoming a reader: First Nations literature in a northern classroom

• Published in: Language and Literacy
• Main Author: Catlin, Susan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada 2011
• Subjects: Literacy; First Nations literature; identity; anthro-se; hisphilso; Big River; Northwest Territories; First Nations
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.20360/G2NP4S; https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/langandlit/index.php/langandlit/article/view/9771

I arrived in the isolated, northern community of Big River, Northwest Territories on August 17, 1987. I wanted my students to discover the rich world that waited for them in books. It is a curious paradox that one loses oneself in a text, only to find oneself. I wanted my students to find ideas and images for themselves, to extend and challenge their thinking and feeling, and I also hoped that books might provide some comfort on the journey that was negotiating their identities in school.