Written by William Dumas
Illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson
HighWater Press
978-1-77492-174-6
60 pp.
Ages 9–12
September 2026
It's the season of tākwākin, when many birds are flying south, and Ācapi Okimaw and his family are travelling with his brother's family to the heartland to learn from the teachers who live there. There they would connect with a medicine women and a midwife, they would hunt and fish, and they would learn new stories and songs from their relatives.
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| Illustration by Rhian Brynjolson from The Medicine Way, written by William Dumas |
Ācapi Okimaw has three children, Pīsim, Amō, and Mwakwa, all of whom look forward to the guidance they will receive. This is Mwakwa's story, and he wants to learn what his gifts are. As the community hunts, fishes, and harvests, Mwakwa has new opportunities to learn. He meets a singer, sees his cousin Mikisiw celebrate his First-Take ceremony after hunting, and listens to a stargazer speak of the stars and how they guide. Ultimately, Mwakwa decides to apprentice to the stargazer, and will remain behind to learn from Opimotiho about how their stories and language are linked to the stars.
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| Illustration by Rhian Brynjolson from The Medicine Way, written by William Dumas |
With our words, we give each other medicine. (pg. 13)
Even as he speaks to medicine being in every facet of life, from a puppy to the stars, in the songs and in the need to follow the sacred laws, Rocky Cree Knowledge Keeper and storyteller William Dumas explains and describes so much of the community's practices. From clothing to dwellings, fishing and hunting tools, medicinal teas, and going to the spirit world, William Dumas gives us a sense of how the Cree are connected to each other, to the natural world, and beyond. Cree vocabulary is highlighted throughout, and a comprehensive "Cree Glossary" is included, adding to the richness of the text and the connection with the people through their language and cultural practices.
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| Illustration by Rhian Brynjolson from The Medicine Way, written by William Dumas |
The Medicine Way suggests a focus on medicine but when everything is the medicine way, the book becomes a sweeping examination of people and culture. Rhian Brynjolson, who also lives in Manitoba, focuses her art on the people and how they live. Her illustrations are a blend of media, including digital, and emphasizes through shape and colour the organic nature of the interactions, of the significance of the natural world in how the Cree live with purpose and with respect. There is a reverence to William Dumas's words, supported by an extensive list of story contributors, and in Rhian Brynjolson's art that add dignity and gratitude for this culture's essence.
The Medicine Way, and all the books in the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak series, including its companion book The Gift of the Little People (2022), would be a useful teaching tool. But don't stick it on a shelf to gather dust as a reference book. It is too comprehensive to be ignored. Instead, read it as the story it is, and delve into the teachings and the learning that is presented by recognizing it as medicine in its own way.
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Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak series and companion book |
Book 1: Pīsim Finds Her Miskanaw (2020)
Book 2: Amō’s Sapotawan (2022)
Book 3: The Medicine Way (2026)
Companion Story: The Gift of the Little People (2022)
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