I Am My Name

An evocative autobiographical picture book about Cree activist Na’kuset’s life as a young girl taken from her home along with thousands of other indigenous children during the 1960s, and the journey of discovery that leads her to reclaim her life and culture.

I have come from somewhere else, where
I am Cree and I have a big sister
and another name.

One night, a very young girl was removed from her home during Canada’s Sixties Scoop, which tore children from their Indigenous communities. She woke in a new home, with a new family and a new name—her former life fading to a ghost of a memory. The only place she ever felt like she fit in was with her grandmother—her Bubbe—who listened to her and made her chicken soup and wrapped her in her loving arms. Until one day…the girl discovered the truth. And her beloved Bubbe helped her on her journey to claim her identity, her voice—and her name.
Together, Na’kuset and Judith Henderson tell the powerful story of the Indigenous experience for a child during the Sixities Scoop. Cree illustrator Onedove shared how inspired they are by Na’kuset’s story and activism, and that is made evident in the tender and vivid illustrations that bring Na’kuset’s story to life.