YA Review – Ours to Tell – young adult non fiction
Yellowhorn, Eldon and Kathy Lowinger. Ours to Tell: Reclaiming Indigenous Stories. NP: Annick Press, 2025.
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Summary
A wide-ranging anthology that shines a light on untold Indigenous stories as chronicled by Indigenous creators, compiled by the acclaimed team behind Turtle Island and Sky Wolf’s Call.
For too long, stories and artistic expressions from Indigenous people have been written and recorded by others, not by the individuals who have experienced the events.
In Ours to Tell, sixteen Indigenous creators relate traditions, accounts of historical events, and their own lived experiences. Novelists, poets, graphic artists, historians, craftspeople, and mapmakers chronicle stories on the struggles and triumphs lived by Indigenous people, and the impact these stories have had on their culture and history. Some of the profiles included are:
- Indigenous poet E. Pauline Johnson
- acclaimed novelist Tommy Orange
- brave warrior Standing Bear
- poet and activist Rita Joe
With each profile accompanied by rich visuals, from archival photos to contemporary art, Ours to Tell brilliantly spotlights Indigenous life, past and present, through an Indigenous lens. Because each profile gives an historical and cultural context, what emerges is a history of Indigenous people.
Purchase Ours to Tell on Amazon – https://amzn.to/4o7FbSH
My YA Review
If you have ever read or listened to eye-witness accounts, each eye-witness has a story that is a little different from the others. In many respects, that is what Ours to Tell does, it re-tells stories from the perspective of the Native Americans who lived the stories, rather than the Europeans who have told the stories up to this point.
Some of the stories come from the time Europeans explored North America. Other stories are more recent. Some of the stories were told in pictures. Some are told in clothing. Others are told in written word.
I found the stories to be very interesting.
Most of the stories are appropriate for a K-12 Christian school audience. Some of the storytellers live alternate lifestyles so I encourage K-12 Christian school librarians to read the book before making a decision about adding it to their collection.
I received a complimentary copy of Ours to Tell. This is my honest review.
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