Best of
Cultural-Heritage

2021

Those We Throw Away Are Diamonds: A Refugee's Search for Home


Mondiant Dogon - 2021
    Mondiant's family fled into the forest, beginning a long and dangerous journey into Rwanda. They made their way to the first of several UN tent cities in which they would spend decades. But their search for a safe haven had only just begun.Hideous violence stalked them in the camps. Even though Rwanda famously has a former refugee for a president in Paul Kagame, refugees in that country face enormous prejudice and acute want. For much of his life, Mondiant and his family ate barely enough to keep themselves from starving. He fled back to Congo in search of the better life that had been lost, but there he was imprisoned and then forced to work as a child soldier.For most refugees, the camp starts as an oasis but soon becomes quicksand, impossible to leave. Yet Mondiant managed to be one of the few refugees he knew to go to college. Though he hid his status from his fellow students out of shame, eventually he would emerge as an advocate for his people.Rarely do refugees get to tell their own stories. We see them only for a moment, if at all, in flight: Syrians winding through the desert; children searching a Greek shore for their parents; families gathered at the southern border of the United States. But through his writing, Mondiant took control of his own story and spoke up for forever refugees everywhere.As Mondiant once wrote in a poem, "Those we throw away are diamonds."

Safe Harbour: The Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series Book 10


Mike Martin - 2021
    Sergeant Windflower #10

Buried Secrets (Sgt. Windflower Mysteries #11)


Mike Martin - 2021
    Just as the pandemic ends, the little oceanside communities are rocked by the murders of prominent figures, an RCMP Staff Sergeant in St. John’s and a minister in Grand Bank, and it’s implied that there are national security implications to at least one crime. There’s also a sinister new character hanging around doing the parish’s dirty work. Windflower finds himself a primary investigator, balancing work, potential major changes, and life with a young family while seeking guidance from his ancestral teachings and dreams. Are the crimes connected, and can Windflower and his team find the killer before they strike again? Even as the police work becomes more complicated and even dangerous, Sgt. Windflower finds time to enjoy his family, his friends and always some great food. Come back to Grand Bank for another great adventure in Sgt. Windflower Mysteries.

The Tormenting Beauty of Empathy


Richard Robbins - 2021
    Soon after arriving, she discovers she's pregnant, and is banished from her new home and sent to live in a Mayan community in Indiantown, Florida.There, she settles into a peaceful life of embroidery and raising her child, a daughter who turns out to be... different... and special—the kind of special that soon draws worldwide attention, for the better and worse.

The Clovis Dig


Teri Fink - 2021
    When strange and ancient artifacts are discovered beneath her land, Claire wonders whether the ensuing archaeological dig will save her, or be the final blow in her struggle to hang onto her home and livelihood. To make matters worse, conflict between the archaeologists on the dig—Joe Running from the West, and Spencer Grant from the East—threatens the entire project.When a shocking discovery is found among ancient artifacts, an investigation of a different kind begins. Orchardist Claire Courtney must decide who to trust as she desperately tries to salvage what’s left of her livelihood and her life.This multicultural novel brings to Claire’s orchard Native Americans, Latinos, and migrant workers from the American South to grapple over ownership of what lies beneath the earth.

True Tracks


Terri Janke - 2021
    True Tracks is a ground-breaking work that paves the way for the respectful and ethical engagement with Indigenous cultures. Using real-world cases and personal stories, award-winning Meriam/Wuthathi lawyer Dr Terri Janke draws on twenty years of professional experience and personal stories to inform and inspire leaders across many industries - from art and architecture, to film and publishing, dance, science and tourism. How will your project affect and involve Indigenous communities? What Indigenous materials and knowledge are you using? Who owns Indigenous languages? True Tracks helps answer these questions and many more, and provides invaluable guidelines that enable Indigenous peoples to actively practise, manage and strengthen their cultural life, keeping tracks into the future to empower the next generations. If we keep our tracks true, Indigenous culture and knowledge can benefit everyone.