Canada: We Are the Story

Written by Richard Wagamese

Illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Swift Water Books (An imprint of Tundra Books)

978-1-77488-638-0

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

Releases March 17, 2026

 

The cover of Canada: We Are the Story announces this book as bold, beautiful, and powerful. From its flow of luminous colours and glowing shapes, this picture book, one of the first releases from Tundra's new Indigenous imprint, Swift Water Books, declares itself to be what it is: momentous.

From Canada: We Are the Story, written by Richard Wagamese, art by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Based on a poem by Richard Wagamese, Canada: We Are the Story speaks to a child tasked with a school assignment, "What makes you proud to be Canadian?" Struggling, the child is guided to listen and feel so that they might sense their ancestors and what they could impart.

Close your eyes and tell me if you can hear your Ancestors in the Spirit World exhaling all at once. They are standing beside you even now. They are talking. Listen. (pg. 7)

From Canada: We Are the Story, written by Richard Wagamese, art by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

It doesn't matter whether the ancestors speak in Dene, Cree, Inuktitut, or German, Mandarin or English, because they are the Old Ones and their souls had "fallen head over heels in love with the spell of this country." (pg. 13) More importantly, the ancestors tell us that we are all in this together, no matter whether we're on the East Coast, on the prairies, or at the Arctic Circle. (Richard Wagamese mentions more than several place names like Belle Isle, Labrador; Wynyard, Saskatchewan; Revelstoke, BC; Okotoks, Alberta; the archipelago Haida Gwaii, and Pangnirtung on Baffin Island.) The message is that the ancestors come from throughout the country, and if we just listen, they'll tell us its story.

We are the story of our time here,

they have come to say.

 

It is all we bring with us

and all we leave behind. (pg. 24)

From Canada: We Are the Story, written by Richard Wagamese, art by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Richard Wagamese's message is one of inclusivity and acknowledgement. His free verse poetry recognizes that everyone is part of the land and part of its story, whether Indigenous or immigrant. And this child, once they listen to the ancestors and hear their stories, can accept and cultivate themself as part of it. The voice of Richard Wagamese's narrator is profound and sweepingly affirming of all. They want this child to feel connected and embraced from their ancestors and from the people of the country to which they belong.

 

Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, whose illustrations I first enjoyed in Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This is How I Know (written by Brittany Luby, 2021) and Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome (written by Nancy Cooper, 2023), has acknowledged the message of Canada: We Are the Story with his simple but weighty dedication: "For all my relatives, Indinawemaaganidog." His Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin) words invite all of his people to enjoy the art of this book, just as all readers will. Every page is a delight of colour and shapes. Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley draws his main character as a unique individual, wearing a personalized jacket with badges like a thunderbird, an NDN sweater, and a plaid skirt. They are unique and fit in because they belong. Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley has made this child any child, from an Indigenous community or one of a diverse background. They are Canadian by being part of the land. And with their meaningful background of ancestors, from all cultures and traditions, Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley urges us to see ourselves as part of the story.

From Canada: We Are the Story, written by Richard Wagamese, art by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

From words to art, Canada: We Are the Story is a stunning picture book, as valuable in its message for young children as it would be as a visual art book for the adults who might purchase it. It should give us all pause to think about how we belong, perhaps in our way, perhaps like others, to this country, and our stories will become part of it, now and forever.