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  • General Recommendations
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VPL Picks: Indigiqueer and Two-Spirit Literature

Indigiqueer/Indigequeer: A term used to refer to the Indigenous queer community and as a specific individual identity. This term was coined by TJ Cuthand and popularized by Joshua Whitehead to create specific language to refer to and include those in the Indigenous queer community who do not hold Two-Spirit identities (although Two- Spirit identities are part of the wider Indigiqueer community). As ‘queer’ is a reclaimed term, care should be taken when using this term as some people still find the use of the word offensive, especially when used by those outside the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Indigiqueer is an identity embodied exclusively by Indigenous people and should never be used by non- Indigenous people. (QMUNITY) Two-Spirit (2-Spirit): A term used by many Indigenous communities on Turtle Island (also known as North America) to describe people with diverse gender identities, gender expressions, gender roles, and sexual orientations. Two-Spirit people have been and are viewed differently across Indigenous nations. Two-Spirit people were included and respected in most Indigenous communities, sometimes considered sacred and highly-revered. They often took on important roles as healers, mediators, and warriors. Not all people who are Indigenous and gender/sexually diverse will name themselves as Two-Spirit and this is their self-determination. Two-Spirit is something embodied exclusively by Indigenous people and is not to be taken on by non-Indigenous people. (QMUNITY) Get started with these titles carefully selected by the reading specialists at Vancouver Public Library. If you would like a personalized reading list, please use the Books Just For You service at https://www.vpl.ca/readnext.

User from Vancouver Public Library

36 items

  • awâsis

    Kinky and Dishevelled

    Halfe, Louise, 1953-
    A poetry collection inspired by Cree legend of awâsis, a genderbending shapeshifting trickster.
    Book, 2021Kingston, ON : Brick Books, [2021] — 821 H16a
  • In this chilling debut, Mackenzie, a young Cree woman, begins having eerie dreams and encounters strange occurrences like a severed crow’s head. As she returns to her hometown to face her past, she must uncover the truth about her sister Sabrina’s…
    Book, 2023Toronto : Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., [2023] — FIC
  • "Blood follows a Two-Spirit Indigenous person as they navigate urbanity, queerness, and a kaleidoscope of dreams, memory, and kinship." -- Publisher
    Book, 2022Kingston, ON : Brick Books, [2022] — 821 P4151bL
  • "a body more tolerable is a collection of powerful and haunting poems combining faerie tales, mythology, and a self-divinized female rage. Divided into three parts, the book examines Indigenous grief, trans identity, and frustrated desires in ways…
    Book, 2025Vancouver : Arsenal Pulp Press, [2025] — 821 S6136b
  • "Vulnerable, eloquent, compassionate, and enduring, Born Sacred is an in-time reflection honouring the shared histories of Indigenous Peoples of North America and of the people in Palestine." -- Publisher
    Book, 2025Halifax ; Winnipeg : Roseway Publishing, an imprint of Fernwood Publishing, 2025. — c821 S955b
  • In Billy-Ray Belcourt's short story collection, various characters from Indigenous backgrounds navigate themes of grief, love, freedom, and haunting, offering philosophical insights and poetic perspectives that celebrate Indigenous resilience and…
    Book, 2024[Toronto] : Hamish Hamilton, 2024. — FIC SS
  • This debut collection from Arielle Twist, an East-coast based Cree, Two-Spirit poet and educator, has garnered a lot of interest and enthusiasm. Each poem dives deep into the nature of human relationships.
    Book, 2019Vancouver, BC : Arsenal Pulp Press, [2019] — c821 T9744d
  • "Engaging the land through fiction and metaphor, the successive chapters of Empty Spaces move toward an eerie, looping, and atmospheric rendering of place that evolves despite the violent and reckless histories of North America." -- Publisher
    Book, 2023Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 2023. — FIC
  • "Fire Song" explores how a community that fears the future looks to the past for guidance and comfort. Shane must reconcile his feelings for his best friend David while he struggles with the aftermath of his sister's death by suicide.
    Book, 2018Toronto : Annick Press, [2018] — YA FIC
  • Fireweed is a collection of poetry that explores the rawness, trauma, and realities of adolescence compounded with the experience of being a young, Indigenous, and two-spirit intergenerational residential school survivor.
    Book, 2019Neyaashiinigmiing, Canada : Kegedonce Press, 2019. — 821 R3211f
  • A Generous Spirit

    Selected Work by Beth Brant

    Brant, Beth, 1941-2015
    This is a collection of selected works by Beth Brant. This book is seen as Brant's "survival and empathy at the intersection of Native American and lesbian experience."
    Book, 2019Dover, FL, USA : Sinister Wisdom ; Toronto, Canada : Inanna Publications, 2019. — FIC SS
  • Adler follows his debut horror novel (Wrist, published 2016) with an award winning short story collection, Ghost Lake. The interconnected 13 stories are set in the same world as Wrist and are inspired by traditional Ojibwe stories.
    Book, 2020Owen Sound, ON : Kegedonce Press, [2020] — FIC SS
  • "Morris quietly dazzles and disquiets in this weird horror novella … Poetic and grotesque imagery drives the novella’s horror, with fluid narration fostering a sense of disconnect and dread …" -- Publishers Weekly
    Book, 2023Hamilton, Ontario : Stelliform Press, [2023] — FIC SS
  • The final book in the action-packed romantasy series "The Halfing Saga". Start with A Broken Blade to follow Keera's life as a killer spy/assassin.
    Book, 2025New York : Union Square & Co., [2025] — FIC FAN
  • "Through lyric verse, sonnets, fieldnotes, and fragments, the poems, sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes slyly humorous, are always finely crafted, putting to use the autobiographical and philosophical style that has come to define Belcourt's body…
    Book, 2025Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 2025. — 821 B427i
  • "As the world burns and society is on the brink of collapse, Delilah starts to wonder if she's one of the monsters or is she just taking her power back from the hands of men?" -- Publisher
    Book, 2023[Place of publication not identified] : Gilded Press, [2023] — FIC
  • Mi'kmaq artist and writer, Michelle Sylliboy blends her modern poetry, photography, and Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic poetry together" in this book of poetry.
    Book, 2019Nanoose Bay, BC, Canada : Rebel Mountain Press, [2019] — c821 S984k
  • This semi-autobiographical novel follows two Northern Cree boys who are taken from their families and placed in a residential school where all aspects of their language and culture are forbidden. The brothers find salvation through music and dance.…
    Book, 1998Toronto : Doubleday Canada, c1998. — c823 H638k
  • The first in a fantasy trilogy, "The Way of Thorn and Thunder", offers up a richly detailed ‘other world’ reminiscent of Tolkien’s middle-earth while immersed in the author’s Indigenous heritage, belief systems, and mythology. When "Everland" is…
    Book, 2005Wiarton, Ont. : Kegedonce Press ; [2005] — FIC FAN
  • Love After the End

    An Anthology of Two-spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction

    This exciting and groundbreaking fiction anthology showcases a number of new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer) Indigenous writers from across Turtle Island.
    Book, 2020Vancouver : Arsenal Pulp Press, [2020] — FIC SS