Truth and Reconciliation Week 2026

Divided by a beautiful valley and 150 years of racism, the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo Indian reserve have been neighbours nearly as long as Canada has been a country. The story of these communities reflects much of what has gone wrong in relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. It also offers, in the end, an uncommon measure of hope. Valley of the Birdtail follows generations of two families, one Indigenous and one white, weaving their lives into the larger story of Canada. This book is about how two communities became separate and unequal – and what it means for the rest of us.

In just four days, young Shi-shi-etko will have to leave her family and all that she knows to attend residential school. She spends her last days at home treasuring the beauty of her worlds – the dancing sunlight, the tall grass, each shiny rock, the tadpoles in the creeks, her grandfather’s paddle song. Her mother, father and grandmother, each in turn, share valuable teachings that they want her to remember. And so Shi-shi-etko carefully gathers her memories for safekeeping. Richly hued illustrations complement this gently moving and poetic account of a child who finds solace all around her, even though she is on the verge of great loss – a loss that Indigenous Peoples have endured for generations because of the residential schools system.