Kā-āciwīkicik / The Move

Finalist for The 2022 Governor General’s Literary Awards
A magical children’s picture book, written in Cree and English,
depicting the transformation of a barren landscape into a rich natural
world where an elderly couple can spend their remaining days.Rooted in the historical displacement and relocation of members of the Chemawawin First Nation from their ancestral homeland, The Move
is a bilingual story of two Cree Elders adjusting to life in their new
environment. The story presents two contrasting landscapes of the old
community—the homeland of the Chemawawin People—and the new community of
Easterville, which at first appears barren and lifeless. Gradually, the
couple begins to incorporate their old customs and traditions into
their current surroundings. Family members begin to visit, and
eventually nature begins to bloom all around them. Through traditional
Cree storytelling techniques and vivid imagery, the new landscape
springs to life and becomes a true community, filled with life and
happiness.