Louis Riel Day: The Fur Trade Project

When a young boy is assigned a project about the fur trade by his teacher, he doesn’t know who to turn to because his mom works all day. With help from his grandfather and the internet, they travel back in time and discover how the fur trade began, a new people emerged, the Métis’ role in the fur trade, Louis Riel and the Red River Resistance, and the reason behind a holiday named Louis Riel Day.

Deborah L. Delaronde is Métis and lives in central Manitoba on a cattle ranch along the western shores of Lake Winnipegosis. She honours her Métis heritage by writing and publishing under her maiden name. Deborah’s twelve published stories (with the exception of Friendship Bay and The Rabbit’s Race) focus around Métis protagonists with story situations that she hopes will convey the way of life of the Métis people in both a historical and contemporary context. Louis Riel Day: The Fur Trade Project is Deborah’s twelfth book. Deborah was the first recipient of the Beatrice Mosionier Aboriginal Writer of the Year Award in 2015.

Sheldon Dawson is an illustrator who specializes in children’s books and educational material. He works in acrylic and mixed-media paintings, and his culturally sensitive illustrations help teach positive, healthy and traditional lifestyles and provide First Nations students with classroom materials that honor their own identity and culture. Sheldon has been nominated three times for the Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award in Manitoba and his paintings have been exhibited in galleries across Canada. Sheldon lives in Winnipeg.