Seeds are for Sharing
Seeds are for Sharing: Reclaiming Spirit
Author: Dawn Smoke
Illustrator: Jacqueline "Jackie" Traverse
Genre: Poetry / Canadian
Paperback · 5.5 x 8 · 120 pages
"Never let anything or anyone stop you from following where your Spirit says it belongs. . ."
Spirit exists in everything on Mother Earth. If we are open to it, Spirit may guide us through even the darkest of moments.
In this genre-defying blend of poetry and story, Ojibway and Mohawk Elder Dawn Smoke shares all that lives within her heart, mind, and soul. As a young girl confronted with the anger and pain of being scooped from her birth family, Dawn bravely discovers her truth and a path towards healing. She is unwavering in her honesty, a protector of Mother Earth, and a fierce advocate against the oppression of Indigenous people.
Reclaiming what was taken is not an easy feat, yet in doing so, Dawn illuminates the Spirit all around us. This striking memoir, told in spoken word, speaks to the devastating realities of colonization and radiates with the resilience found within culture and community.
Dawn Smoke is the daughter of an Anishinaabe mother (Ojibway) and Mohawk father. She has been an artist, sculptor, creator of jewelry, and occasional poet for some 50 years. A Survivor of the sixties scoop, Dawn was moved between foster homes until she was adopted at three years old. She has worked in and for the Native Community for most of her life. She was the co-founder of the Native Women's Resource Center in Toronto and she has served on many Native boards and in Native organizations, including the Toronto Warrior Society and Idle No More projects. Dawn is grateful to have spent her life traveling across many territories on Turtle Island. More recently, she has returned to her home territory in Alderville, where she lives in Seniors Housing. There, Dawn feels renewed by her Ancestors' strength.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Traverse was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is Ojibway from the Lake St. Martin First Nation. Jackie began drawing as a child and was inspired from a field trip to the Wahsa Gallery when she was 13 years old. It wasn't until she was 32 years old that she decided to submit a portfolio of her works to the University of Manitoba where she studied Fine Arts and graduated with a diploma in May of 2009. Jackie Traverse is widely known in art communities across Canada. Her paintings, drawings, documentaries, and sculptures speak to the realities of being an Indigenous woman. To Jackie, painting is truly where her heart lies.
