You Were Made for This World: Celebrated Indigenous Voices Speak to Young People

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

A joyful, proud and groundbreaking collection of letters and art for young people, You Were Made for This World brings together celebrated Indigenous voices from across Turtle Island.

Every young person deserves the chance to feel like they belong, that they are recognized, that they matter. In the spirit of A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, You Were Made for This World brings together forty Indigenous writers, artists, activists, athletes, scholars and thinkers with a joint purpose: to celebrate the potential of young people, to share a sense of joy and pride in language, traditional and personal stories and teachings, and shared experiences, and to honor young people for who they are and what they dream of.

Including contributions from activist Autumn Peltier, singer/songwriter Tanya Tagaq, hockey player Ethan Bear, Governor General's Award–winning author David A. Robertson, artists Chief Lady Bird and Christi Belcourt, illustrator Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, and dozens of others, this beautifully collaborative collection urges readers to think about who they are, where they come from and where they're going, with a warm familiarity that will inspire you to see yourself and your community with proud eyes.

Also includes a ribbon bookmark.

About the Author

STEPHANIE SINCLAIR is Publisher of McClelland & Stewart, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada. She is a Cree, Ojibwe, and German/Jewish settler. She is a fierce advocate and activist, serving as a mentor and curator, and organizing publishing events to challenge colonial practices in publishing and to advance the work of reconciliation. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with her two children.

SARA SINCLAIR is an oral historian of Cree-Ojibwa, German/Jewish, and British descent. Sara teaches in the Oral History Masters Program at Columbia University. She is the editor of How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America and gave a TEDx talk on "Why We Need to Amplify Indigenous Voices" in 2021. She lives in New York, New York.

Author Residence: Hamilton, Ontario / New York, New York