A new children’s book was launched at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax over the weekend.
The Creator’s Plan is by author Richard Pellissier-Lush of Lennox Island First Nation with the goal of helping young Indigenous readers embrace who they are.
The book’s illustrator, Mi’kmaw graphic designer Jessica Jerome, attended Sunday’s event and said she initially felt connected to The Creator’s Plan because of her young son.
“He would often ask me, ‘Why mom, why do I have fair eyes, why do I have fairer hair?’ So it resonated with me so much that it was an honour to be able to do this story,” she said.
“We don’t all have brown eyes, we don’t all have dark, dark, dark skin. We don’t always have black hair.”
Jerome hopes the book sheds a light on the different kinds of Mi’kmaq people.
“We’re all different, and my son and I are different. Where I come from, we’re all different colours… that doesn’t make us any less Mi’kmaq,” she said.
“For me, it’s to represent those people too and to realize there’s a lot of young Aboriginal children and Mi’kmaq that see themselves in this book.”
Jerome says it’s also important for adults to see themselves in The Creator’s Plan.
“When they’re talking to their kids about culture and they’re talking to their kids about how the world perceives them, it’s good to have that,” she said.
The Creator’s Plan is available online and in stores now.
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