In 1993, the remains of a young Cree woman who lived 350 years ago were found by two residents of South Indian Lake in northern Manitoba, Canada. The story of this ancestor inspired storyteller William Dumas to reimagine a week in her life at the age of 12 in the picture book, Pīsim Finds Her Miskanaw, published in 2013. This book is the first of six in a project to extend the reclamation of Asiniskaw Ithiniwak (Rocky Cree) language, history, and culture. One of the project objectives is to create historical-fiction picture books that reflect Asiniskaw Ithiniwak people’s movements and activities throughout the course of a year. These books are based on collaborative, community-directed research throughout the territory of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak in northern Manitoba and are grounded in oral history and archaeological and historical sources. The books in the series are accompanied by digital apps that allow users to read and listen to the stories in Rocky Cree, with the text available both in syllabics and in Roman orthography, contributing to language revitalization. The project also develops teachers’ guides to support the use of the picture books and apps in classrooms and provides training for educators in culturally competent pedagogy.
By documenting best practices in collaborative scholarship with Indigenous communities, the project aims to provide a framework for all researchers undertaking community-based collaborative research, and to advance public policy and programming for reconciliation.