Book review: Kekwan Etakwak Mîkisîhk – What’s in a Bead?

By Alex Hebert

Kekwan Etakwak Mîkisîhk – What’s in a Bead? is a beautifully written book for readers ages 6-8 by Kelsey Borgford, illustrated by Tessa Pizzale, and translated into the Cree language by Angela Shisheesh and Duane Linklater.

It is about a young girl named Tessa who has questions for her mom and Kohkom about beading. To get these answers, she offers tobacco to her Kohkom, and Kohkom of course has stories and teachings. She explains to Tessa that there are stories in the beads themselves. They tell us who Anishinaabe are as a people. She tells Tessa that we must listen to the stories they tell us.

Only until Tessa hears these stories is she ready to start beading. It’s a very thoughtful way to explain that beading is not just beading. There are stories in the beadwork, and they are pieces of art telling a unique story.

I love that Tessa loves how her grandmother always smells of campfire stories because she beads onto smoked hides. Grandmothers are very special teachers, and it is important to learn all we can from them while they are still with us.

Readers will learn that different First Nations have different beadwork techniques, and that this traditional art is still alive and well today. It is a very simple story and doesn’t go too in-depth about beading. It’s a very sweet story about children learning from Elders and keeping families together. I have even tried beading and while it is challenging, it is very rewarding. It is a good way for tactile learners to absorb information. Students absorb information while keeping busy with their hands, just like building the LEGO wampum belt.

There is even an explanation that beading was still done after ceremony and gatherings were banned in the past due to federal policies. It is good that these traditions survived policies that were drenched in systemic racism. It’s hard to believe that this was the case, even in my grandmother’s lifetime.

The author is from Nipissing First Nation and draws her inspiration to succeed from her culture and family. The illustrator grew up in North Bay and learned how to bead from her Kohkum. The colours are very vibrant and the eye-catching illustrations of the beadwork is fantastic.

Kekwan Etakwak Mîkisîhk – What’s in a Bead? (Ininîmowin (N-dialect) Cree/English Edition, Kelsey Borgford. Second Story Press: Toronto, 2024.

ISBN: 978-1-77260367-5