Shin-chi's Canoe

When Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chi arrive at the Indian Residential School, Shi-shi-etko reminds her younger brother that they can only use their English names and that they are not allowed to speak to each other. For Shin-chi, life becomes an endless cycle of church mass, school and work, punctuated by skimpy meals. He finds solace at the river, clutching a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from his father, and dreaming of the day when the salmon return to the river—a sign that it’s almost time to return home. This poignant story about a devastating chapter in Native American history is told at a child’s level of understanding.