Katherena Vermette (Red River Métis)

Scott B. Henderson and Donovan Yaciuk

This is a collection of all four volumes in A Girl Called Echo, a graphic novel series that follows thirteen-year-old Echo Desjardins, a Métis girl who is separated from her mother and struggles to adjust to a new home and school. During a class lecture, her time-traveling power is unlocked and she’s transported to a different time and place.

Throughout the four volumes, Echo experiences Métis history. In the Pemmican Wars, she is transported to the prairies of 1814 and witnesses the events leading to the Battle of Seven Oaks, while the Red River Resistance volume addresses the summer of 1869 when Canadian surveyors took hold of Métis land and displaced families. Northwest Resistance brings Echo to 1885 when Métis people, facing starvation, find hope in the rising political leader Louis Riel. In the series finale Road Allowance Era, Louis Riel stands trial and the government doesn’t fulfill their promise of land for the Métis people. Despite this outcome, Echo witnesses the perseverance of her ancestors.

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Moa Backe Åstot (Sámi), translated by Eva Apelqvist

With a life deeply rooted in Sámi tradition, Ante is an only child whose future will consist of working with the family’s reindeer. But the future begins to change as Ante develops feelings for his best friend, Erik. Although Ante is uncertain about Erik’s feelings toward him, Ante longs for a deeper relationship with Erik, even if it means facing the societal and cultural judgment of his community.

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Wanda John-Kehewin (Cree)

Fourteen-year-old Eva Brown is a Cree teen living in a small town called Hope. Not only does Eva have to deal with being the target of the popular mean girl, she has to deal with her mother’s drinking and yelling. Luckily, she can always rely on her cat, Toofie, her nohkum (grandmother), and her secret passion for writing. But following the unexpected hospitalization of Nohkum, Eva’s mother struggles to maintain a safe environment at home, which leads to Eva being sent to a group home while her little brother is placed with a foster family. Eva is furious at her mother for separating the family, but then Nohkum gives Eva her mother’s diary, leaving Eva to wonder if reading it will help with understanding her mother’s point-of-view.

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Cherie Dimaline (Metis Nation of Ontario)

In this queer retelling of The Secret Garden, fifteen-year-old Mary Lennox is orphaned after the death of her parents and sent to live with an unknown uncle out in the wilderness of the Georgian Bay. Mary initially expects a cold and isolating manor, devoid of any familial sense of belonging, but her perception changes as she forms bonds with the many Indigenous staff members. Then, one night, Mary discovers and befriends Olive, her ill cousin who has been hidden away due to a “nervous condition.” Suspecting sinister motives behind Olive’s treatment, Mary and her Métis friend Sophie delve into family secrets and uncover an abandoned garden that may hold the answers to their suspicions.

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Jen Storm (Ojibwe)

Ryan Howe, Nickolej Villiger, and Alice RL (Ojibwe)

A lot has changed in the year since thirteen-year-old Reanna lost her older sister, Chelsea, who went missing on her way home from school. Each family member is struggling with the lack of closure of Chelsea’s unsolved disappearance in different ways, and Reanna’s mother moves to the city. Left behind on the reserve, Reanna and her little brother must move in with their dad. Reanna feels abandoned and alone … until lights begin flickering in empty rooms, leading her to wonder: Can she find comfort—or answers—in her family’s Ojibwe traditions?

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Byron Graves (Ojibwe)

Tre Brun is an Ojibwe sophomore living in Minnesota, who dreams of playing in the NBA one day. As a determined athlete for the Red Lake Reservation’s high school basketball team, Tre finds solace in the game, especially after his older brother, Jaxon, dies in an accident. When his brother’s former team members offer him mentorship, Tre sees this as his chance to lead his Ojibwe rez to their first state championship. Following his brother’s legacy as a star player demands perfection on the court—and in the classroom. Tre accepts this challenge in the hopes of fulfilling his dreams, in addition to the dreams of his brother and their rez team.

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Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache)

Rovina Cai

In this prequel to the award-winning Elatsoe, readers delve into the childhood of Elatsoe’s grandmother, Shane, as she deals with the loss of her father and her grandparents. Shane buries her grief by helping others. Despite her family’s financial struggle following the destruction of their home in a catastrophic flood, Shane and her mother use their ghost dogs to locate missing persons. But then Shane’s mother and a local boy vanish. It’s probably related to their strange interaction with a fairy ring, which means they might’ve been transported to a different world—or a different time. Determined to find them, Shane teams up with her brother, her friends, and her not-so-trustworthy grandparent.

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Jen Ferguson (Michif/Métis)

In a small snowy town, three teens have a transformative encounter at their local restaurant, Pink Mountain Pizza. Jessie, labeled as a flirt and a wealthy girl, hopes her new pizza-making job will be a fulfilling outlet where she can prove that she’s more than her labels. Her co-worker, Berlin, is excelling at school and her part-time gig, which means she doesn’t have time for friends. Cameron, following the disappearance of his cousin, drops out of high school as he grapples with the town’s apathy over another missing Native girl. When Jessie, Berlin, and Cameron are all forced to confront their painful pasts, they learn the power and strength that comes from friendship.

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