Before books there was the land. It taught our ancestors what they needed to know in order to survive; it challenged our ancestors to use what they had learned to edify their spirits, souls, hearts and minds. What they learned was revelation.

The Gift of the Stars is the first volume of Basil Johnston’s Anishinaubaemowin Series. It includes twenty traditional Ojibwe stories to be read to children, and is fully bilingual, with glossaries for language-learning.

“While also serving as a mantra for the study of the Ojibwe language, The Gift of the Stars advances the knowledge so necessary for Ojibwe students today. There is a critical need for academic materials to revitalize the language in a time when it does face ultimate extinction. Basil’s work goes a long way to stemming the tide.”
—Dr. Cecil King, founder of the Indian Teacher Education Program, University of Saskatchewan.