​The Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is the first day of winter and the shortest day/longest night of the year. The winter solstice…“It is a time for rest for a lot of the animals and for the plants," says Wilfred Buck, an Elder from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. “It is time for the people to replenish their spirit. It is time for them to dream." [Reference]

Links

Ask an Elder: What the winter solstice means in the Cree tradition

Glooskap & the Winter Giant – An Abenaki Legend, shared by Dallas Guss, NVSD Indigenous Education team (NVSD log in required)

Iroquois Winter Stone Game, shared by Dallas Guss, NVSD Indigenous Education team (NVSD log in required)

Ojibwe tales that can only be told when there's snow on the ground

Recommended Reading

A Coyote Solstice Tale, by Thomas King

Baseball Bats for Christmas, by Michael Kusugak

Chi-Jean and the Long Winter

Coyote Christmas: A Lakota Story, by S. D. Nelson

Fox on the Ice, by Tomson Highway

Métis Christmas Mittens, by Leah Marie Dorion

Mouse Celebrates the Winter Solstice, by Terri Mack

Wild Eggs: A Tale of Arctic Egg Collecting, by Suzie Napayok-Short

Wintertime, by Terri Mack