Hummingbird / Aamo-binashee

Remember the hummingbird's teachings. Remember you are loved.

Kokum warned us to watch out for one another. If we weren't careful, Windigo would eat us. But one night, alone in the darkness, I felt its breath on my neck. Windigo's lies crept into my heart, and I believed them. When we lose connection with others, we lose ourselves, and Windigo's darkness grows and spreads.

In this deeply emotional and beautifully illustrated picture book, the ancestors send a hummingbird to a child lost in Windigo’s darkness. Its teachings of resilience, love and connection bring the child home and remind us that our ancestors are always watching and can help us find our way if we only ask.

This bilingual book includes full text in both English and Anishinaabemowin.

Dr. Jennifer Leason is an off-reserve member of Minegoziibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek First Nation) in Manitoba, and the proud mother of Lucas and Lucy. Dr. Leason is the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Maternal Child Wellness and an associate professor at the University of Calgary. She is the author and illustrator of Meennunyakaa / Blueberry Patch. She lives in Treaty 6 Territory.

Norman Chartrand is Anishinaabe and an off-reserve member of Minegoziibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek First Nation), Manitoba. He is Jennifer Leason's great-uncle and the son of Elise Beauchamp and Arthur Jacque (Jimmy) Chartrand. Elise Beauchamp was the daughter of Philoméne Klyne and Jean Beauchamp (son of Nancy Chartrand and Joseph Beauchamp). Arthur Jacque Chartrand was the son of Julia Brass (daughter of Julia McLeod of Pelly and George Brass) and William Gédeon Chartrand (son of Sophie Genaille and William Chartrand).