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Surrey Libraries Hosting
Indigenous Authors &
Storytellers for Children
Surrey, BC – Surrey Libraries is
excited to invite the community to
meet and hear from Indigenous Au-
thors & Storytellers share their stories
at several events around Surrey in
April. Inspiring and passionate story-
tellers, Nicola Campbell, Wanda John-
Kehewin, Richard Van Camp, and Mi-
chael Kusugak each have a unique
voice and have written books for all
audiences, from babies to adults.
On Sunday April 28 at 2 pm, Mi-
chael Kusugak will read on the grand
staircase of Surrey Libraries City Cen-
tre Branch. Participants will see and
touch artifacts of seal skin, caribou,
kamiks, a qulliq, and listen to his
grandmother’s stories come alive. To
register, call 604-598-7427.
On Thursday April 25 at 6 pm
Richard Van Camp will share his sto-
ries at the Surrey Nature Centre. There
will also be a special story dance per-
formance by Shyama-Priya. To regis-
ter, email [email protected].
At each event, there will be an
opening blessing, light refreshments,
and a keepsake book by the author
available to each family to take home,
to share the stories and spread litera-
cy throughout the community.
“It has been a privilege to work
with the local Indigenous community
to select authors and storytellers that
they most want to meet,” says Sara
Grant, Surrey Libraries’ Manager of
Youth Services. “This project would not
have been possible without the gener-
ous support of the Telus Vancouver
Community Board’s grant funding, as
well as the many community partners
who made themselves available for
consultation and support. We want to
extend our thanks to the Fraser Re-
gion Aboriginal Friendship Centre As-
sociation, Surrey Urban Indigenous
Leadership Council, Surrey Schools,
and other community members.”
The Indigenous Author and Sto-
ryteller for Children Series brings stu-
dents from Surrey Schools together
to meet these Indigenous authors
and learn about the art of writing at
ten weekday events hosted at various
branches of Surrey Libraries. Limited
spaces have been reserved for home-
learners and community members in-
terested in attending these events. For
event times and registration details,
visit surreylibraries.ca/events.
“It is our hope that many Sur-
rey children will be able to experience
the authentic voices of First Nations,
Métis and Inuit authors and storytell-
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY April 1 - 15, 2019
ers, and support their learning more
about Indigenous culture through this
project,” says Michelle Meech, Surrey
Libraries’ Coordinator Youth Services.
Surrey Libraries provides safe
gathering spaces where our patrons
can learn and discover the realities,
history, and cultures of these First
Nations, Metis, and Inuit storytellers
in the spirit of openness and mutual
understanding in support of reconcili-
ation.
More information about the au-
thors:
• Nicola Campbell is Nłeʔkepmx,
Syilx and Métis from the Nicola Valley,
British Columbia. She is the award -
winning author of many children’s
picture books including Shi-shi-etko,
Grandpa’s Girls and her most recent
release A Day With Yayah.
• Wanda John-Kehewin is a lo-
cal Cree poet with two beautifully il-
lustrated children’s readers coming
out this Fall. Wanda has two books for
adults: In the Dog House and Seven
Sacred Truths.
• Richard Van Camp is a proud
member of the Tłı̨chǫ Dene from
Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. He
is a prolific author for all ages and his
latest novella on Reconciliation When
We Play Our Drums, They Sing!
which is also a flip book with Monique
Gray-Smith’s Lucy and Lola has been
shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Chil-
dren’s Literature Prize.
• Michael Kusugak grew up in
Repulse Bay, NWT (now Nunavut) liv-
ing a traditional Inuit lifestyle. He is
the well-recognized popular author
of twelve children’s books, including
A Promise is A Promise, The Littlest
Sled Dog, and T is for Territories.
***********
About Surrey Libraries
• Surrey Libraries is a valued
community institution and one of the
most-used community services in Sur-
rey. The library welcomes around 2.7
million visits to our 9 branches each
year, with an additional 2 million plus
visits to our online resources. Surrey
Libraries runs hundreds of programs
and services for children, youth, and
adults to support their diverse learn-
ing needs. Serving the community
since 1983, Surrey Libraries strives
to be a leader in supporting creativ-
ity, connectivity, literacy, and lifelong
learning. Find out more about Surrey
Libraries and our diverse program-
ming at surreylibraries.ca. (scgrant@
surrey.ca)
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
“BASURA NYO,
HAHAKUTIN KO”