The Aboriginal Alphabet for Children

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

While nicely presented, the content of this work is not strong. Each
letter of the alphabet is illustrated by a single word. In this book
“B” is for “beaded,” but not “bannock,” “berries,” or
“beaver,” which have all been significant to Canadian Native
populations. While costs may have constrained the number of
illustrations that could be used, simply adding lists of words related
to Aboriginal life would have been beneficial.

The author and illustrators, members of the Opaskawayak Cree Nation,
have attempted to make the content pan-Aboriginal by including igloos,
kamiik, and lacrosse. They have also used generic featureless human
shapes to avoid any reference to any particular group. The content,
however, is primarily Plains culture; there is nothing in the book
representing most of the West Coast Native groups, and very little
representing any of those in the East.

It is also difficult to understand why the author would have chosen to
illustrate “Q” with a “quiver” and stereotypical bow and arrows,
rather than beautiful “quill” work, which is still practiced. The
images are traditional and there is little here to address the reality
of today’s urban Aboriginal populations.

There are few Canadian Aboriginal alphabet books for small children, so
while libraries will get limited content for their dollars with this
book, it is perhaps better than nothing. Recommended with reservations.