The Secret of Your Name
 

Le Secret de ton Nom

The Secret of Your Name

David Bouchard
Illustrated by Dennis J. Weber
Music by John Arcand
• First Nation Communities Read Nominee 2010

Children's Non-Fiction / Native American / People and Places - Canada
Written in English and in Michif • CD Included
All Ages 4-8 • 32 pages • 7 1/3 x 10 1/4"
ISBN 0–88995–439–7 • cloth
CDN 24.95 • USA 23.95

Also available in French and in Michif as Le Secret de ton Nom
ISBN 0–88995–440–3 • cloth
CDN 24.95 • USA 23.95

Canada's three most well known and respected Métis artists collaborate in this heart wrenching telling of what it means to be Métis. Best selling, award winning Métis poet David Bouchard, once again makes books and culture available to all ages in The Secret of Your Name.

Bouchard's heartfelt story is illustrated by Canada's most prominent Métis artist Dennis Weber. Included on the accompanying CD, with reading in French and Michif, is the Red River Jig performed by acclaimed Master Métis Fiddler John Arcand.

Canada's Métis are the only mixed blood people in the world recognized by every level of government as being a Nation. The Métis have their own language, flag, songs and stories. They have exciting traditions and a proud history. Sadly, their journey was one of hardships, denial and often lies. In The Secret of Your Name, these three men open their hearts to all those who care to know what it means when it is said that we are Proud to be Métis!

Click here to read the Forward from the Author.

Reviews:
"In English and Michif, Bouchard, whose grandmothers were Anishnaabe, Chippewa, Menominee and Innu, honours those 'Kokums, ' of whom he is so proud. . . Dennis Weber's wonderfully textured paintings add further luminescence to an emotionally powerful book."
-- The Globe and Mail

"The paintings paired with Bouchard’s text on each page trace the history of the Métis people and their traditions. Combined with Arcand's music, The Secret of Your Name serves as a much-needed multimedia resource for middle grade to young adult readers looking to learn more about the history and future of Métis culture."
-- Canadian Bookseller

Métis author David Bouchard, one of Canada's best-selling authors, has surrounded himself with the very best musical and visual artists in the aboriginal world. Intimately, poet, painters and musicians share the beauty of their respective cultures. Champion of literacy, sought after conference speaker, successful author David Bouchard adds to his many literary awards, the honour of having been named to the Order of Canada.

The fascinating story of the Métis Nation can be told through Dennis J. Weber's ancestors. Louis Riel, his first cousin five generations removed and the father of Manitoba, was a poet, visionary and a martyr. In 1885, the year of his death, Riel stated; "Our People will sleep for a hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who bring back their culture." Dennis is one of Canada's foremost Métis artists. When he’s not painting, teaching, searching for artifact, photographing reference material or exhibiting his art, Dennis sits on the board of Kelowna’s Métis Children and Family Services.

John Arcand the undisputed "Master of the Métis Fiddle" has made fifteen recordings to date and still plays and records the Traditional Métis tunes of his Father and Grandfather as well as those he continues to research, learn and pass on. John has been honoured with numerous awards the most recent being the Order of Canada. He currently lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.