A brilliant exploration embodied wholeness as a pathway to our collective liberation
Through reflections on childbirth, parenting, creative practice, and expansive responsibility, Anishinaabe visual artist Quill Christie-Peters explores how reconnecting with the body can be an act of resistance and healing. She shows that wholeness—despite pain and displacement—is not just possible but essential for liberation, not only for Indigenous people but for all of us.
In poetic and raw storytelling, Quill shares her own experiences of gendered violence and her father’s survival of residential school, revealing how colonialism disconnects us from ourselves. Yet, through an Anishinaabe lens, the body is more than just flesh—it extends to ancestors, homelands, spirit relations, and animal kin.
This fierce and enlightening book reimagines the way we understand settler colonialism—through the body itself. On Wholeness takes us on a journey that begins before birth, in a realm where ancestors and spirits swirl like smoke in the great beyond.
A brilliant exploration embodied wholeness as a pathway to our collective liberation
Through reflections on childbirth, parenting, creative practice, and expansive responsibility, Anishinaabe visual artist Quill Christie-Peters explores how reconnecting with the body can be an act of resistance and healing. She shows that wholeness—despite pain and displacement—is not just possible but essential for liberation, not only for Indigenous people but for all of us.
In poetic and raw storytelling, Quill shares her own experiences of gendered violence and her father’s survival of residential school, revealing how colonialism disconnects us from ourselves. Yet, through an Anishinaabe lens, the body is more than just flesh—it extends to ancestors, homelands, spirit relations, and animal kin.
This fierce and enlightening book reimagines the way we understand settler colonialism—through the body itself. On Wholeness takes us on a journey that begins before birth, in a realm where ancestors and spirits swirl like smoke in the great beyond.
| Published By | House of Anansi Press Inc — Oct 28, 2025 |
| Specifications | 264 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in |
| Keywords | Self Help; Self-Healing; Spirituality; Braiding Sweetgrass; Alternative Therapy; Beautiful Books; New Year New You; Books By Artists; Books for Her; Books for Mom; Decolonize Your Mind; First Nation; Seven Fallen Feathers; Tanya Talaga; The Knowing; Kent Monkman; Miss Chief Eagle Testickle; CanLit; Canadian; Soft as Bones; Social Justice; Indian Boarding School; Indian Act; Indigenous Lit; Anti-Racism; Palestine; Pro-Palestinian Books; Pro-Palestinian Authors; Gift Books; Gifts for Her; Jordan Abel; Trillium Book Award; |
|
Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Excerpt |
| Written By |
QUILL CHRISTIE-PETERS is an Anishinaabe educator and self-taught visual artist from Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation located in Treaty 3 territory. She is the creator and director of the Indigenous Youth Residency Program, an artist residency for Indigenous youth that engages land-based creative practices through Anishinaabe artistic methodologies. She holds a master’s degree in Indigenous governance on Anishinaabe art-making as a process of falling in love. She has spoken at Stanford University, the University of Toronto, and California College of the Arts, and her written work can be found in GUTS magazine and Canadian Art. She is also a mother, beadwork artist, and traditional tattoo practitioner following the protocols of her community. All of her work can be found at @raunchykwe. |
| Written By |
|
QUILL CHRISTIE-PETERS is an Anishinaabe educator and self-taught visual artist from Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation located in Treaty 3 territory. She is the creator and director of the Indigenous Youth Residency Program, an artist residency for Indigenous youth that engages land-based creative practices through Anishinaabe artistic methodologies. She holds a master’s degree in Indigenous governance on Anishinaabe art-making as a process of falling in love. She has spoken at Stanford University, the University of Toronto, and California College of the Arts, and her written work can be found in GUTS magazine and Canadian Art. She is also a mother, beadwork artist, and traditional tattoo practitioner following the protocols of her community. All of her work can be found at @raunchykwe. |
“Quill Christie-Peters demonstrates with wisdom and love that we can imagine and enact a world beyond the depravities of the colonial present.” —Billy-Ray Belcourt, author of Coexistence and A Minor Chorus
”“An emotional and spiritual journey of liberatory embodiment.” —Wanda Nanibush, Anishinaabe writer/curator
”“Quill Christie-Peters’ voice is vital, and the messages that spill out of this book are timely reminders of what it means to be whole, to be connected to land and others, and to be alive.” —Helen Knott, author of Becoming a Matriarch
”“An embodied voyage through Anishinaabe culture, wisdom, and storytelling … A must-read.” —Céline Semaan, Slow Factory
”