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Book

Calling down the sky = î-nîhci-tîpwâtamân kîsik

Call Number

  • 811 D312 (CEN)

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Edition

Tenth anniversary edition ; Bilingual edition.

Languages

Text in Cree (nîhithawîwin) translation and original English.

Publication Information

Toronto : Coach House Books, [2025]

Physical Description

173 pages ; 22 cm

Summary

"A tenth anniversary bilingual edition in English and Cree of Rosanna Deerchild's stunning collection about the intergenerational impacts of the Canadian residential school system. you want me to share my story ok then here it is here in the unwritten here in the broken lines of my body that can never forget In Calling Down the Sky, poet Rosanna Deerchild viscerally evokes her mother's experience within the residential school system, the Canadian government's system of violently removing Indigenous children from their homes, families, and languages in an explicit attempt to destroy Indigenous cultures and identities. With precise and intricate poetry, Deerchild weaves together the story of her mother's childhood and Deerchild's memories of her mother: her love of country music, her attempts to talk about what happened to her, how tightly she braided her daughter's hair on the first day of school. In doing so, Deerchild illustrates the disruptive and devastating impacts of the residential school system on generations of families while also celebrating the life and culture of her mother and other survivors. Published for the first time in a bilingual edition of Cree and English, in time for the tenth anniversary of the original publication, Calling Down the Sky is an intimate and gorgeously evoked reckoning with a horrifying part of North American history."--

Notes

"Originally published by BookLand Press in English in 2015 and in Cree in 2017."--Title page verso.

Contents

  • mâmâ otâcimowin: tâpwîwin ikwa wâkôwicihiwiwin = mama's testament: truth and reconciliation
  • nîso sikipatwâna = two braids
  • mâmâ mithohtam country = mama loves country
  • âcimisowin = confession
  • kikwaya ohci kâ-kiskithimak nikâwiy ispi kâ-kî-awâsisiwiyân = things i know about my mother as a child
  • mâmâ sipwitiw = mama leaves
  • nikamowinihcikan = jukebox
  • nistam kâ-ispathik = the first time
  • akohp = blanket
  • ikwa mina kihtwâm = the second time
  • nihtiy i-minihkwiyâhk = over tea
  • mâmâ okitowin = mama's voice
  • kikway kâ-pimowatit = what is carried
  • nistam kisikâw = on the first day
  • akihtâsowin 105 = number 105-- omisimâw rose = sister rose
  • wihkohtowin = feast
  • ohpihkasikan piwahcikana = bread crumbs
  • otapasiw = runaway
  • wâsînamâna = windows
  • okâmwâtisiwak = the silent
  • âcimisowinihk = in confession-- i-nihci-tipwâtamân kisik = calling down the sky
  • ninthithowân
  • ayamihiwi-tâpisimin = rosary
  • iskwâyc otâkwani-mîcisowin = the last supper
  • i-kâtâniwiki wanihikana = hidden traps
  • wanihikan-askiy = trapland
  • anima kâ-kisipathik = what is passed
  • îkâ kâ-mihkwâkanit iskwîw = the faceless woman
  • guy hill: ohpahowi-pisim 4, 2012 = guy hill: august 4, 2012
  • guy hill: kâwi kâ-pi-itohticik ahcahkwak = guy hill: the returning of souls
  • kiskisowinâcihowina = memorials
  • kîkwaya ohci kâ-kiskîthimak nikâwiy i-kisi-ohpikiyân = things i know about my mother as an adult
  • ispi kâ-mâmitonîthimak mâmâ ohpimi-kiskinwahamâtowi-kamikohk kâ-kî- ayât = when i think of mama in residential school
  • mîkiwina kiskisiwina = a gift of memories
  • ithiniwihkâtowin isihcikiwin = naming ceremony
  • mâmâ owîhthowin = mama's name.

Subjects

Genres

Poetry.

Added Authors

Solomon Ratt