Ispík kákí péyakoyak / When We Were Alone: Swampy Cree / English Edition

illust. Julie Flett
Book, 2020, 24 pp
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Hardcover

An empowering story of resistance that gently introduces children to the history of residential schools in Canada.

When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother’s garden, she begins to notice things that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully colored clothing? Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family? As she asks her grandmother about these things, she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago, where all of these things were taken away. When We Were Alone is a story about a difficult time in history, and, ultimately, one of empowerment and strength.

This edition includes the text in Swampy Cree syllabics and Roman orthography, as well as the original English.

Please note that the loan copy is an English-only edition (9781553796732).

Winner of Governor General Literary Award, 2017

"…Robertson handles a delicate task here admirably well: explaining residential schools, that shameful legacy, and making them understandable to small children. It’s a dark history, and the author doesn’t disguise that, but he wisely focuses the grandmother’s tale on how, season by season, the students use creativity, imagination, and patience to retain their sense of identity. A beautifully quiet, bold strength arises from the continued refrain “When we were alone” and in how the children insisted on being themselves. [...] Spare, poetic, and moving, this Cree heritage story makes a powerful impression." - Kirkus Reviews

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