The Gift of the Little People
CBC Books | | Posted: February 16, 2022 12:36 AM | Last Updated: February 16, 2022
William Dumas, illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson
I don't recall seeing books when I was a little boy. But the old people, they grew up listening to stories. And so, every night, when the old people were done their evening prayers, they would sit and they would tell us stories too.
At the time of the spring thaw, the Rocky Cree fill their canoes with furs, eager to trade with the new visitors in mistiwasahak (Hudson Bay). But not all of the new visitors are welcome.
When the canoes return home to the shores of the misinipi river, the Rocky Cree begin to collapse one by one, drenched in sweat and slowly slipping into delirium. Kakakiw struggles to help the sick as more and more people pass into the spirit world. Exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually, he seeks guidance through prayer.
Hope finally comes with a visitor in the night: one of the Little People, small beings who are just like us. If Kakakiw can journey to their home, he will be given the medicine his people need. All he has to do is paddle through a cliff of solid bedrock to get there.
To save his people from certain death, Kakakiw must overcome doubt to follow the traditional teachings of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak and trust in the gift of the Little People.
In this illustrated short story for all ages, celebrated Rocky Cree storyteller William Dumas shares a teaching about hope in the face of adversity. This book is a companion story to The Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak series (From HighWater Press)
William Dumas is an educator and Rocky Cree Storyteller who was born in Manitoba. Dumas is the author of The Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak series and uses the power of storytelling has to teach Indigenous youth about identity and belonging.
Rhian Brynjolson is a visual artist, author, book illustrator and art educator who lives and works on the edge of Treaty 3 territory in eastern Manitoba. Brynjolson is the illustrator of over 15 children's books and author of Teaching Art: A Complete Guide for the Classroom.