I Am Not a Number
by Jenny Kay Dupuis, Kathy Kacer, & Gillian Newland
Description:
Publisher's description (Second Story Press, 2016):
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her. When she goes home for summer holidays, Irene's parents decide never to send her and her brothers away again. But where will they hide? And what will happen when her parents disobey the law? Based on the life of co-author Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, I Am Not a Number is a hugely necessary book that brings a terrible part of Canada’s history to light in a way that children can learn from and relate to.
Creator Biographies (Second Story Press):
Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis is of Anishinaabe/Ojibway ancestry and a proud member of Nipissing First Nation. She is an educator, researcher, artist, and speaker who works full-time supporting the advancement of Indigenous education. Jenny’s interest in her family’s past and her commitment to teaching about Indigenous issues through literature drew her to co-write I am Not a Number, her first children’s book. She lives in Toronto.
Kathy Kacer is well known for her children’s books about the Holocaust, including The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser and The Magician of Auschwitz. Her books have won many awards, including the Silver Birch, the Red Maple, the Hackmatack, and the Jewish Book Award. A former psychologist, Kathy now travels the globe speaking to children and adults about her books. Kathy lives in Toronto with her family.
Gillian Newland is an artist who works mostly in watercolor, ink and pencils. She finds most of her inspiration to draw outside of her studio, and can sometimes be found sketching her fellow customers at a coffee shop. She is the illustrator of The Magician of Auschwitz and many other books. Gillian lives in Toronto.
Resource format: Picturebook
Age recommendation: Grade 4 - 9
Keywords: residential school, identity, name, residential schools, reconciliation, TRC, Nipissin, Family, Parent, mother, kinship, belonging, orange shirt day, reserve, children, indian agent, long hair, neglect, government, home, traditional ways, language, pride, abuse, colonizatioin, religion, home, reunited, Okibway, post traumatic, community, true story, Anishinaabe, Northern Ontario, Chief, land
Year of publication: 2016
Publisher information: Second Story Press
Teaching and Learning Ideas
Our team collaborated with new teachers, alumni of the Werklund School of Education’s Bachelor of Education program, to create teaching and learning plans for texts in this website. With audiences ranging from Pre-Kindergarten to Post-Secondary, lesson plans across this resource address a wide range of school subject areas, inclusive approaches, and Indigenous education topics, such as the revitalization of Indigenous languages. As this website was designed with Undergraduate Programs in Education instructors, as well as teachers in mind, connections to UPE courses have been flagged on each lesson plan. These lessons are intended as a starting place for educators, to help you envision ways in which you might bring Indigenous literatures, as well as ways of knowing, being, and doing, into your teaching contexts. Please adapt, use, and share these lessons in ways that are generative for your teaching practice. We offer our sincere thanks to the dozens of new teachers who gifted us with these creative ideas!