The branch supervisor of the Port Hardy Librarymade these, on her own initiative. We have givenaway more than 50 of these “crisis keychains” so far.Front and back pictured here. The Port Hardy community has been besieged with a series of untimely deaths, many of young people. This has been going
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wmtc: "the secret pocket": children’s books on residential schools, reading for reconciliation, and other library things
This post started as a standard “what i’m reading” post. But as I thought about it, I realized that it touches on several other themes that are important to me: history, Reconciliation, libraries, readers’ advisory… and maybe some others I’m not seeing yet. The Secret Pocket In September, for National
Continue readingwmtc: write for rights 2023: my fifteenth year #w4r2023
2023 marks the fifteenth year that I have participated in Amnesty Interntional’s Write for Rights. Fifteen years ago, I chose one case, one person. I wrote to officials about them, and wrote to them as well. I upped the ante a bit more every year, until the year (date unknown!)
Continue readingwmtc: national truth and reconciliation day 2023: blankets, and an apology
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Port Hardy was especially meaningful this year. Not quite as many people joined the walk as in the previous two years, but there was still a good-sized crowd of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Totem pole at Port Hardy Secondary School In Port
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: sea people: the puzzle of polynesia
If the Hōkūle’a hadn’t come to Port Hardy, this book might have languished indefinitely on my Books Universe List*. The List is very long. Often Books Universe is the place interesting-to-me titles go to die. Fortunately for me, a friend who is also excited about the Hōkūle’a asked if I had read
Continue readingwmtc: maya’xala: things i heard in the library, an occasional series # 40
In my ongoing efforts to make the Port Hardy Library a safer workplace, and a more comfortable space for customers, I was invited to a elders’ luncheon at the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations. Addressing the elders, I tried to convey how we have worked hard to make our library a welcoming space
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Homelessness among Indigenous peoples
I’m writing an open access textbook on homelessness and have just released Chapter 6, which focuses on homelessness experienced by Indigenous peoples—especially in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. A ‘top 10’ overview of the chapter can be found here: https://nickfalvo.ca/homelessness-among-indigenous-peoples/
Continue readingwmtc: visiting hōkūle’a in port hardy
Last week, I blogged about the upcoming visit of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūle’a. I was concerned that I might miss their Port Hardy stop, but as it turned out, they were due here much sooner than I realized. Hōkūle’a landed in Port Hardy on July 30, and on July
Continue readingwmtc: moananuiākea: historic voyage for earth: coming to port hardy
An astounding event is taking place, and it seems to be happening under the mainstream radar. If I didn’t live in a Pacific coastal community, and if I weren’t actively following local Indigenous news, I doubt I would be aware of it either. Indigenous people from Hawai‘i are traveling around the
Continue readingwmtc: the canoe family: reconciliation retreat
I’m in the middle of two amazing opportunities, one through my work, and one through my union. The work thing is complex — and important. Decolonizing the library: walking in two worlds Circle of Life, Trevor Hunt I am part of a small team that is creating a framework of
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: What did Canada’s recent federal budget do for housing and homelessness?
I’ve written a blog post about what Canada’s recent federal budget did for housing and homelessness (which wasn’t very much). Here’s my analysis: https://nickfalvo.ca/canadas-2023-federal-budget/
Continue readingwmtc: this leftist yellowstone fan rejects the claim that’s it a right-wing show
Season 5 of “Yellowstone” is streaming now. I love this show, and I’m waiting for the full season to post on Prime before I bingeing this latest season. I was surprised to learn that the current take on Yellowstone describes it as right-wing — that claimes the show espouses right-wing
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: gods of the upper air, outstanding nonfiction by charles king
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century by Charles King is a compelling, fascinating, impeccably researched, and thoroughly readable work of narrative nonfiction. It is one of the very best nonfiction books I’ve read. I borrowed it from
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the night watchman by louise erdrich
I read Louise Erdrich long ago, in the 1980s and ’90s, devouring several titles, including Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and my favourite, Tracks. Erdrich remained on my radar, but somehow I didn’t pick up another of her books for decades — until now. And I’m so glad I did. The Night
Continue readingwmtc: "they thought they were doing the right thing at the time": a harmful denialism that we must challenge
They thought they were doing the right thing. They thought they were helping children. Now we know better. I recently heard this from a library customer. They were referring to the residential “schools”, the accepted euphemism for the system of concentration camps that was used to destroy Indigenous families, communities,
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: killers of the flower moon: the osage murders and the birth of the fbi
I’m sure many of you have read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. It’s an award-winning bestseller that garnered a lot of attention when it was published in 2017. If you haven’t read it, get it from your library, or
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four fish: the future of the last wild food
After reading a review of Paul Greenberg’s Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food when it was published in 2010, I added the title to The List. When I read it recently, more than 10 years later, the subject matter had become so much more relevant to me, in
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #34
A customer said this. I tell my daughter I love her every day. I told my mother on her death bed, I’m not going to do what you did. I’m going to raise my daughter with love. My mother told me she hated me. She told me I ruined her
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Iskocēs Tipiskak: A Spark in the Dark – Book Review
Have you ever had one of those experiences where something comes at you out of the dark and ends up being a pleasant surprise? A time where you weren’t expecting anything but something happened anyway? Or when a complete stranger found you and you ended up kind of grokking each
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s 2022 federal budget
Canada’s 2022 federal budget had a very strong housing focus. I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the budget here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canadas-2022-federal-budget-was-a-housing-budget/
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