Books
For the Gallery, migration speaks of movement, the essence of the migratory process. We don’t frame migration by ethnicity or historical periods, but by its universality: migration is the eternal movement at the core of human nature.
Movement is the act of being born, of coming into the world. Movement is the creative spark that generates an idea. Each of us, therefore, carries a migration story to tell—woven from dreams, departure, acceptance, and belonging.
Without these stories, we leave behind only fragments for strangers to interpret. Ruins, census forms, a surname on a ship’s manifest. What they can’t recover is the soul of the journey—the why, the how, the cost, and the joy.
This is why we must write, speak, and read.
College Street, Little Italy: Toronto’s Renaissance Strip
$35.00 + HST & Shipping
“In this book, Toronto’s “renaissance strip” comes alive, showing us how often College Street has been reborn and reinvented. This is a history of a place influenced by immigration cycles set off by world events, but it is also the story of the individuals who are too often left out of history books.”
Joe Pantalone, Deputy Mayor of the City of Toronto 2003-2010 – Introduction
Recommended Readings & Resources
We all have stories. These stories teach us history, morality, identity, connection, empathy, understanding, and self-awareness. We hear the stories of our ancestors, and they tell us who we are. We hear the stories of our heroes, and they tell us what we can be.
Honourable Senator Murray Sinclair
In the spirit of sharing stories that matter, the Gallery highlights these readings and honours Indigenous voices, without any financial gain to us.
We invite you to explore a selection of recommended readings on Indigenous stories.What can we learn when these narratives meet, sometimes in dialogue, sometimes in tension?
This way of thinking, history as layered, plural, and relational, lies at the heart of what we present at the Gallery. Each migration story we share echoes with others: the enduring voice of Indigenous presence, the resilience of displaced communities, and the courage of newcomers. It is a list of must-read titles written by Indigenous authors, writers, illustrators, and Knowledge Keepers. These are books that inspire reflection and create space for healing.
Indigenous Toronto: Stories That Carry This Place
by Denise Bolduc
An anthology of Indigenous voices revealing Toronto’s deep, thousand-year Indigenous history, cultural continuity, and the impact of settler colonialism. Stories reconnect past and present across the city’s landscape.
Five Little Indians
by Michelle Good
Five survivors of residential schools struggle with trauma, addiction, and belonging in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside as they seek healing, connection, and safety across decades of hardship.
Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me
by Marilyn Lizee & Bailey Oster
Métis women share cultural history, traditions, and nationhood from their own perspectives, challenging misconceptions and illuminating identity, language, and community.
Wayi Wah! : Indigenous Pedagogies an Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education
by Jo Chrona
Grounded in First Peoples learning principles, this guide explores anti-racist education and how Indigenous knowledge can shape equitable, inclusive teaching practices for all learners.
REDress: Art, Action, and the Power of Presence
Edited by Jaime Black-Morsette
A powerful anthology weaving art, activism, and voices connected to the REDress Project and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & Two-Spirit people, honoring resilience and presence.
Truth and Reconciliation in Canadian Schools
by Pamela Rose Toulouse
A culturally respectful resource for educators on residential schools, treaty education, First Nations/Métis/Inuit perspectives, and how to engage in reconciliation in classrooms.
Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Metis & Inuit Issues in Canada
by Chelsea Vowel
A clear, essay-based look at key Indigenous concepts, history, and terminology in Canada, challenging misconceptions and opening space for deeper understanding and dialogue.
52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk With Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing
by David A. Robertson
Practical, accessible acts toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, offering achievable steps readers can take weekly to build understanding, respect, and community.
The Circle
by Katherena Vermette
A multi-voice novel exploring loss, justice, belonging, and community after a disappearance. Told through layered perspectives, it examines how Métis voices navigate love, pain, and connection.
Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story
by David A. Robertson
Based on true events, this story follows Elder Betty Ross’s resilience after being taken to a residential school, and the strength of family and culture in surviving trauma and finding hope.
Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People
by E. Yellowhorn and K. Lowinger
A young reader’s journey from pre-contact to modern times on Turtle Island, blending myth, archaeology, and Indigenous perspectives to share deep cultural history and resilience.
Nishga
by Jordan Abel
Nishgais a groundbreaking, deeply personal, and devastating autobiographical meditation that attempts to address the complicated legacies of Canada’s residential school system and contemporary Indigenous existence.
Coexistence: Stories
by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Intersecting stories of love, loneliness, resilience, and belonging across Canadian Indigenous life, capturing intimate, emotional moments and the complexity of human relationships.
The Knowing
by Tanya Talaga
A deeply personal, meticulously researched retelling of Canadian history through an Indigenous lens, exploring generational loss, systemic erasure, and resilience rooted in Talaga’s own family story and wider Indigenous experience.
Elements
by Jamesie Fournier
A complex, evocative bilingual poetry collection by Inuk author Jamesie Fournier, probing inner turmoil, colonial pressures, resilience, erasure, and resistance through vivid, imagistic verse.
First Nations 101 - 2nd edition
by Linda Gray
A comprehensive overview of Indigenous communities, colonial history, assimilation efforts, and modern movements for wellness and rematriation, essential for understanding context and change.
21 Things You Need To Know About Indigenous Self-Government
by Bob Joseph
A clear discussion about dismantling the Indian Act and the realities of Indigenous self-government today, offering insight into law, governance, and community empowerment.
O da gaho de:s : Reflecting on Our Journeys
by Gae Ho Whako & Norma Jacobs
Guided by Elder teachings and sharing circles, this reflective book reconnects readers to Indigenous values, original treaty principles like the Two Row, and invites personal reflection on truth, reconciliation, and community relationships.
Okanagan Women's Voices: Syilx and Settler Writing and Relations, 1870s to 1960s
by Jeannette Armstrong
A historical account of writing and relationships between Syilx (Okanagan) women and settler women in British Columbia’s interior from the 1870s–1960s, showing cultural exchange, relations, and storytelling.
Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation
by the Honourable Murray Sinclair
Senator Murray Sinclair’s oral history blends personal life, Indigenous identity, history, resistance, and reconciliation, asking foundational questions that shape self-understanding and a shared national future.
How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America
by Sara Sinclair
Stories of loss, injustice, resilience, and Indigenous resistance from across North America, including Water Protectors at Standing Rock and advocates confronting colonial legacies while seeking connection and a way “home.”
What We Learned: Two Generations Reflect on Tsimshian Education and the Day Schools
by Helen Raptis
Two generations of Tsimshian people recall their experiences in day schools in northwest British Columbia, offering insight into Indigenous education, colonial legacies, and lifelong learning traditions.
Atiqput: Inuit Oral History and Project Naming
by Carol Payne, Beth Greenhorn, Deborah Kigjugalik Webster, Christina Williamson
A photo-rich celebration of Inuit culture, naming traditions, and history, restoring names and identities to previously anonymous figures and reclaiming heritage through stories and archival research.
In the spirit of sharing stories that matter, the Gallery highlights these readings and honours Indigenous voices, without any financial gain to us.
We invite you to explore a selection of recommended readings on migration, belonging, and community.These are books that inspire reflection and create space for learning, whether in the classroom, at home, or in your own reading life.Together, they expand the conversation, offering both knowledge and inspiration for those who wish to better understand migration in all its dimensions.
The West End: A Magical Place Created by Giants
by Dr. Frank S. Sarlo
A heartfelt, illustrated tribute to the West End community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, capturing its immigrant-built history, notable residents, and spirit through personal stories and cultural reflection.
Home: A Sense of Belonging
by Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad and Natalie Royer
An interactive, heartfelt exploration of what “home” means beyond place — as feeling, memory, and connection — fostering empathy, self-reflection, and appreciation of diverse experiences of belonging.
The Nail That Sticks Out
by Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann
The Nail That Sticks Out invokes the familiar proverb that warns against visibility. Hartmann turns it into a question: what happens when those who were once forced into silence choose to be seen? What responsibilities come with that choice? Her answer is not to elevate herself above the collective.
The Broken Map Home: Escaping Korea, 1945
by Konosuke Masuda, translated by Keiko Honda
A granddaughter’s tribute to her grandfather, The Broken Map Home is a gripping memoir of a Japanese man’s journey back home against all odds during the Second World War.
Konosuke Masuda bridges past and present as he recounts his desperate journey, brought to life in translation by his granddaughter, Keiko Honda.
The Broken Map Home is a powerful account of suffering and resilience that transcends boundaries and borders, offering a humanizing counter-narrative to global conflict and fostering compassionate understanding in a fractured world.