Stolen Words
Written by Melanie Florence
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
On September 30th we take the time to honour the Indigenous people of Canada, a day we call National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As a settler in Canada I understand my role in Canada’s tragic past and know I must strive to honour our Indigenous peoples now and in the future. I am also aware that I have much to learn and cannot, as a settler speak to the history in the same way as an Indigenous person, however I can learn from Indigenous stories and wisdom.
Stolen Words is the story of a young girl and her grandfather. This beautiful young girl is depicted as having flowing black hair dancing happily home from school with a dream catcher she has made from various odds and ends. On a walk with her grandfather she asks how to say grandfather in Cree. With sadness he admits that he does not know, that he lost his words a long time ago, The little girl doesn’t understand, how can you lose your words? Her grandfather bravely admits that in fact his words were taken away. Grandfather goes on to explain how he was taken from his home, away from laughter and soft words, taken from his mother. He was taken by people wearing black, talking in words he didn’t know, taken to a school which was cold and lonely. There were angry white faces and raised voices and children were punished when they used their own words, punished until they sounded like the people who had stolen their words and the children from their families.
Trying to soothe grandfather, the little girl offers her dream catcher, she hopes it will help him find his words again. The grandfather is touched by the gesture and grateful that she has innocence, has never known harsh words or raised hands. The next day at school the little girl finds her grandfathers words in a well worn paperback named “Introduction to Cree”, she had found it in her school’s library. Together, grandfather and grandchild learn the words of their heritage, the words that no one should have taken from them, the words they had the right to know.
How do we teach children who do not know the struggles of others, who are only just learning to think about anyone other than themselves? How do we teach compassion, thoughtfulness and empathy? How do we teach our children about the wrongs of our history and how to rise up in their lives and in their communities to ensure we do not repeat our horrific past? We can start with a book like this, a book which is truthful and accurate but is also familiar and relevant. Only when we start with the young will we truly honour and learn from our past.
Jayne is an Early Childhood Educator, lover and curator of children’s books and is proud to be a longtime Kinder Books supporter and New Westminster community member
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