Settlers’ Book Club meets every fourth Monday
Currently on Zoom, 7 – 8:30 pm! Please contact me for the link at sbccalgary@gmail.com.
It is open to everyone (not only ‘settlers’!) and if you cannot attend, you can still participate through our comments page. You are still welcome to attend the discussion if you have not read or finished reading the texts too.
Please email if you have any questions or to confirm attendance at sbccalgary@gmail.com.
We acknowledge and are grateful to be on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region: the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations), the Tsuu T’ina Nation, and the Nakoda (Wesley, Chiniki and Bearspaw Nations). We recognize the Blackfeet Nation south of the colonial border as well. We acknowledge the status and non status First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people and all the beings who live here on Turtle Island, including the land, the water, the air, the trees, the animals and so on.
We also acknowledge all the residential school survivors, victims, and their families from schools in this area. Treaty 7 was a broken promise from the beginning and as Settlers, we must recognize this and work towards building relationships and acting like treaty people. I am a Settler of British and German descent whose paternal ancestors profited from land annexation from a Treaty 4 nation in Saskatchewan and work towards repairing the harm colonization has done. I recognize the privilege that being a white settler has afforded me and that I am not an expert on being an Indigenous accomplice.
Land acknowledgement video from the Calgary Foundation: https://calgaryfoundation.org/vital-priorities/strengthening-relationships-with-indigenous-communities/land-acknowledgement/
Reading List 2023
(is flexible and subject to change) (* means available at Calgary Public Library in book and ~ audio book or ebook/iBook format)
January 23rd – Sanaaq: An Inuit Novel by Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk *~
February 27th – Shame On Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging by Tessa McWatt *~
March 27th – Scars & Stars by Jesse Thistle *~
April 24th (4th anniversary) – Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau *~ – co-hosted by disability activist Shelley Nearing
May 29th – Laughing with the Trickster: On Sex, Death and Accordions by Tomson Highway. Massey lecture link here: https://www.cbc.ca/radiointeractives/ideas/cbc-massey-lectures-tomson-highway
June 26th – Making Love With the Land by Joshua Whitehead *~
July 24th – Living in Indigenous Sovereignty by Elizabeth Carlson-Manathara with Gladys Rowe *~
August 28th – A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby *~
September 25th – Deep Diversity: A Compassionate, Scientific Approach to Achieving Racial Justice by Shakil Choudhury *~
October 23rd – Rose’s Run by Dawn Dumont *~
November 27th – Moccasin Square Gardens, Short Stories by Richard Van Camp *
Reading List 2022
(is flexible and subject to change) (* means available at Calgary Public Library in book and ~ audio book or ebook format)
January 24 – Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun by Paul Seesequasis*~
February 28 – Until We are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada edited by Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson, and Syrus Marcus Ware*~
March 28 – One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet by Richard Wagamese*~
April 25 (third anniversary!) – Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead*~
May 30 – Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me, edited by Bailey Oster and Marilynn Lizee*~
June 27 – A Short History of the Blockade: Giant Beavers, Diplomacy, and Regeneration in Nishnaabewin by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson * (ebook on Kobo or Kindle)
July 25th – Stampede: Misogyny, White Supremacy, and Settler Colonialism by Kimberly A. Williams* (ebook available on Kindle)
*Special Date* August 8th – Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente*~ We are parnering with Michelle Robinson’s Chapters and Chat Book Club on this date, and the author will be in attendance!
September 26th – Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer*~
October 24 – Five Little Indians by Michelle Good*~
November 28th – Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future, complied and edited by Drew Hayden Taylor* (ebook available on Kindle)
December 26th – no meeting
Past Reading List 2021
January 25 – Week 4 of Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad*
February 22 – Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West by Cheryl Foggo*
March 22 – The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier*
April 26 (2nd anniversary!) – How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi*
May 24 – A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliot*
June 28 – In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation by Danielle Metcalf-Chenail*
July 26 – Blackfoot Ways of Knowing Intro and part 1 (Context) by Betty Bastien*
August 23 – Blackfoot Ways of Knowing part 2 (Tribal Protocol and Affirmative Inquiry) by Betty Bastien*
September 27 – Blackfoot Ways of Knowing part 3 (Affirmation of Indigenous Knowledge) by Betty Bastien*
October 25 – Blackfoot Ways of Knowing: Conclusion by Betty Bastien*
November 22 – Me Funny by Drew Hayden Taylor*~
December 27 – Tilly and the Crazy Eights by Monique Gray Smith*~
Past Reading List – 2020
January 27 – The Reconciliation Manifesto by Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson*
February 24 – My Conversations with Canadians by Lee Maracle*
March 23 – postponed due to lockdown
April 27 – A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul* – meeting online
May 25 – A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul* part 2 – meeting online
June 22 – Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips & Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality by Bob Joseph with Cynthia F. Joseph*
July 27 – White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo*
August 24 – The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole*
September 28 – Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Issues in Canada by Chelsea Vowel*
October 26 – Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad*
November 23 – Week 2 of Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad*
December 28 – Week 3 of Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad*
Past Reading List 2019
First meeting on April 22 – Intro to book club with these short texts: Indigenous Allyship: An Overview from Wilfred Laurier University (pdf); From Ally to Accomplice by Johnathan Osler ; White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh (pdf); We Built a Life from Nothing: White Settler Colonialism and the Myth of Meritocracy by Sheelagh McLean – see below for links
May 27 – Settler, Identity and Colonialism in 21st Century Canada by Emma Battell Lowman and Adam J. Barker*; Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2
June 24 – Settler, Chapters 3 and 4
July 22 – Settler, Chapters 5 and 6
August 26 – United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (pdf); Myth and Misrepresentations about UNDRIP and Bill C-262 by the Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples (pdf)
September 23 – A Summary of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action (pdf); White Goose Flying Report – City of Calgary’s Calls to Action (pdf)
October 28 – The Story of the Blackfoot People Niitsitapiisinni by the Blackfoot Gallery Committee, Glenbow Museum* and the Piikani Blackfoot Teaching pdf by Dr. Reg Crowshoe and Geoff Crow Eagle
November 25 – The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7 by the Treaty 7 Elders and Tribal Council*
December 23 – no meeting
*books available at the Calgary Public Library ** location subject to change based on room availability
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Settlers' Book Club 