"With the passing of many of our Elders, the telling of these stories
becomes more valuable than ever." -- Raymond Yakeleya The Tree by the
Woodpile is a story about a
First Nations boy who is told an enchanting
tale by his grandmother about how an old tree by the woodpile provides
food and shelter for the birds and animals of the North. Other stories
in the book are "The Wolf," and "The Mountain, the Wind, and the
Wildflowers." The stories are suffused with Newet'sine, the Creator and
Spirit of Nature, who brings a message of how we must to cherish our
land. The book, written in English and Dene for middle-grade children,
ages 7 to 12, supports the "First Peoples Principles of Learning,"
particularly recognizing the role of Indigenous knowledge and learning
embedded in memory, history, and story.