Men of Courage from Our First Nations.

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Disappointment awaits any young readers who have assumed, based on Men of Courage’s title and the photographic images on its cover, that this collective biography will contain true stories of First Nations heroes who have engaged in acts of personal bravery. Schilling has instead used the word “courage” more in the sense of these men being trailblazers whose personal achievements can now serve as exemplars for subsequent generations of First Nations youth.

The subjects of the book’s 10 chapters, which range in length from nine to 17 pages, represent a wide variety of tribal groups and occupations. The opening chapter actually deals with a corporate entity, the Golden Eagles Hotshots, a 22-man crew that fights wildfires. Almost half of the crew are Native American, and within the chapter, five of its members are highlighted. Of the nine remaining chapters, just three have a clear Canadian connection: Patrick Brazeau, an Algonquin, who, at the time of the book’s production, was the National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples but has since been appointed to the Canadian Senate; Chief Frank Abraham, an Ojibwe and a leader of the Little River First Nation in Manitoba; and Stanley Vollant, a Montagnais Innu who became both his band’s first doctor and a medical educator focusing on attracting more Aboriginal youth into medicine.

Despite Schilling’s having interviewed the book’s subjects, most of the text lacks strong reader engagement. Only two or three small photos interrupt each entry’s text. Not a first-choice purchase.