Behind Closed Doors features written testimonials from thirty-two individuals who attended the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The school was one of many infamous residential schools that operated from 1893 to 1979. These storytellers give voice to the thousands as they remember and share with us their stolen time at the school; many stories are told through courageous tears.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Fred Sasakamoose played in the NHL before First Nations people had the right to vote in Canada. This page turner will have you cheering for 'Fast Freddy' as he faces off against huge challenges both on and off the ice--a great gift to every proud hockey fan, Canadian, and Indigenous person." --Wab Kinew, Leader of the Manitoba NDP and author of The Reason You Walk Trailblazer. Residential school Survivor. First Treaty Indigenous player in the NHL. All of these descriptions are true--but none of them tell the whole story. Fred Sasakamoose, torn from his home at the age of seven, endured the horrors of residential school for a decade before becoming one of 120 players in the most elite hockey league in the world. He has been heralded as the first Indigenous player with Treaty status in the NHL, making his official debut as a 1954 Chicago Black Hawks player on Hockey Night in Canada and teaching Foster Hewitt how to pronounce his name. Sasakamoose played against such legends as Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, and Maurice Richard. After twelve games, he returned home. When people tell Sasakamoose's story, this is usually where they end it. They say he left the NHL to return to the family and culture that the Canadian government had ripped away from him. That returning to his family and home was more important to him than an NHL career. But there was much more to his decision than that. Understanding Sasakamoose's choice means acknowledging the dislocation and treatment of generations of Indigenous peoples. It means considering how a man who spent his childhood as a ward of the government would hear those supposedly golden words: "You are Black Hawks property." Sasakamoose's story was far from over once his NHL days concluded. He continued to play for another decade in leagues around Western Canada. He became a band councillor, served as Chief, and established athletic programs for kids. He paved a way for youth to find solace and meaning in sports for generations to come. Yet, threaded through these impressive accomplishments were periods of heartbreak and unimaginable tragedy--as well moments of passion and great joy. This isn't just a hockey story; Sasakamoose's groundbreaking memoir sheds piercing light on Canadian history and Indigenous politics, and follows this extraordinary man's journey to reclaim pride in an identity and a heritage that had previously been used against him.

When seven-year-old Muinji'j comes home from school one day, her Nana and Papa can tell right away that she's upset. Her teacher has been speaking about the residential schools. Unlike most of her fellow students, Muinji'j has always known about the residential schools. But what she doesn't understand is why the schools existed and why children would have died there. Nana and Papa take Muinji'j aside and tell her the whole story, from the beginning. They help her understand all of the decisions that were made for the Mi'kmaq, not with the Mi'kmaq, and how those decisions hurt her people. They tell her the story of her people before their traditional ways were made illegal, before they were separated and sent to reservations, before their words, their beliefs, and eventually, their children, were taken from them. A poignant, honest, and necessary book featuring brilliant artwork from Mi'kmaw artist Zeta Paul and words inspired by Muinji'j MacEachern's true story, Muinji'j Asks Why will inspire conversation, understanding, and allyship for readers of all ages.

Brian, a 20-something reporter on the Niagara Cascade's City Desk, is navigating life as the only Indigenous writer in the newsroom, being lumped into reporting on stereotypical stories that homogenize his community, the nearby Tuscarora reservation. But when a mysterious roadside assault lands Tim, the brother of Brian's mother's late boyfriend in the hospital, Brian must pick up the threads of a life that he's abandoned.

An honest look at life in an Indian residential school in the 1950s, and how one indomitable young spirit survived it -- 30th anniversary edition. Seepeetza loves living on Joyaska Ranch with her family. But when she is six years old, she is driven to the town of Kalamak, in the interior of British Columbia. Seepeetza will spend the next several years of her life at an Indian residential school. The nuns call her Martha and cut her hair. Worst of all, she is forbidden to "talk Indian," even with her sisters and cousins. Still, Seepeetza looks for bright spots -- the cookie she receives at Halloween, the dance practices. Most of all, there are her memories of holidays back at the ranch -- camping trips, horseback riding, picking berries and cleaning fish with her mother, aunt and grandmother. Always, thoughts of home make school life bearable.

This novel tells the story of Red Wolf, a young First Nations boy forced to move into a residential school and assume a new identity. Paralleling his story is that of Crooked Ear, an orphaned wolf pup he has befriended. Both must learn to survive in the white man's world.

The true story of how Indigenous girls at a residential school sewed secret pockets into their dresses to hide food and survive. Mary was four years old when she was first taken away to the Lejac Indian Residential School. It was far away from her home and family. Always hungry and cold, there was little comfort for young Mary. Speaking Dakelh was forbidden and the nuns and priest were always watching, ready to punish. Mary and the other girls had a genius idea: drawing on the knowledge from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers who were all master sewers, the girls would sew hidden pockets in their clothes to hide food. They secretly gathered materials and sewed at nighttime, then used their pockets to hide apples, carrots and pieces of bread to share with the younger girls. Based on the author's mother's experience at residential school, The Secret Pocket is a story of survival and resilience in the face of genocide and cruelty.

Willow wants to go back to the city, but one thing keeps her on the rez. Aunt Pauline promises Willow that moving back to the rez and living with her grandmother is only temporary. As days and weeks pass, however, the twelve-year-old girl realizes that her aunt is not coming back and that her grandmother's house is now home. What is Willow supposed to do? Her elderly grandmother barely speaks; all her friends are back in the city, and Thomas, the boy next door, is hostile to her and cruel to his animals. But there is one thing that makes life bearable: Mistatim, Thomas's horse, with whom Willow established a connection as soon as she arrived. Finding herself more and more drawn to her new home, Willow explores the land around her seeking clues to her family's past--including the mysterious disappearance of her mother, years before. Meanwhile, her determination to protect Mistatim from the brutal treatment meted out by Thomas and his father grows, leading her to an unexpected friendship.

Willow wants to go back to the city, but one thing keeps her on the rez. Aunt Pauline promises Willow that moving back to the rez and living with her grandmother is only temporary. As days and weeks pass, however, the twelve-year-old girl realizes that her aunt is not coming back and that her grandmother's house is now home. What is Willow supposed to do? Her elderly grandmother barely speaks; all her friends are back in the city, and Thomas, the boy next door, is hostile to her and cruel to his animals. But there is one thing that makes life bearable: Mistatim, Thomas's horse, with whom Willow established a connection as soon as she arrived. Finding herself more and more drawn to her new home, Willow explores the land around her seeking clues to her family's past--including the mysterious disappearance of her mother, years before. Meanwhile, her determination to protect Mistatim from the brutal treatment meted out by Thomas and his father grows, leading her to an unexpected friendship.