Victoria-based publishing house for Indigenous creators/authors wins prestigious award

Originally published on Victoria Buzz (a local news outlet I work for), this article highlights a Victoria-based publishing company, Medicine Wheel Publishing.

Victoria Buzz original publishing date: November 28th, 2024

A Victoria-based publishing house for Indigenous creators and authors has just won a prestigious award for their contributions to the publishing world and beyond.

Medicine Wheel Publishing, known for prioritizing cultural authenticity, won The Jim Douglas Publisher of the Year Award, presented by Books BC, for their “outstanding contributions to the province’s publishing industry.”

Their award-winning books contain resources and tools specialized for moral and cultural education, as well as a positive message designed to invite everyone to engage and participate in culture with respect to Indigenous stories and history.

(Medicine Wheel Publishing logo)

Since their establishment around a decade ago, they’ve published over 40 books, including the famed Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad, ambassador with the Orange Shirt Society. 

In all of Medicine Wheel Publishing’s books, every word and image has the explicit approval of the Indigenous storytellers and Elders connected to the story.

Victoria Buzz had the honour of speaking with Medicine Wheel Publishing’s founder, Teddy Anderson, who shared the details of the publishing house’s origins and hopeful legacy.

“It’s pretty neat, because we’re one of the newest publishers in British Columbia,” Anderson shared.

“We started this organization…to offer space for Indigenous creators, authors, storytellers, [and] truthtellers to tell their truth or their story without compromising authenticity.”

He added that it was important to give authors full creative control over their piece to ensure the end-product matched what the creator envisioned. Their main principle is to provide full autonomy, and to leave the author feeling supported.

Anderson said that this goes hand-in-hand with the importance of truth and reconciliation, and how these developed relationships and trust building work towards this harmony.

“We’ll share our expertise…but ultimately if a book or product comes out, it’s completely approved by the author,” he said.

“Our purpose is not to tell Indigenous people what to do, it’s to support [and] guide them through the publishing space.”

Which is especially valuable, given that many of the authors Anderson works with had reported experiencing inappropriate treatment, improper handling of the material, and even bullying from many other publishing houses.

Four Fallen Eagles by Karen Whetung (Medicine Wheel Publishing)

When asked where the concept of Medicine Wheel Publishing began, Anderson said it was an educational undertaking, as he realized there was a gap in public education surrounding Indigenous history.

“I was doing workshops for teachers, and I realized…that a lot of people were scared to even touch or teach anything Indigenous,” he said.

“I was also finding out that Elders were so uncomfortable with signing contracts because they didn’t know where their stories were going to end up. We put those two things together.”

Anderson mentioned that it took them a while to gain traction, which was expected, as smaller Canadian publishers in general are less known. In fact, he said that only 5% of books we see in stores come from Canadian publishers. 

Educators knew of them right away, and from there they filtered into the book world through word-of-mouth, as more and more authors were praising their relationship-based approach, as well as helpful distributors.

Before the publishing house’s inauguration, Anderson’s unique upbringing and background had already well-acquainted him with the ideas of unity, which eventually sparked the inspiration for Medicine Wheel. 

Anderson (Yeíl S’aghi) has grown up around the world, and is a third-generation adopted member of the Carcross Tagish First Nations of the Tlingit Community, as well as Persian, English, Scottish and Norwegian. 

Additionally, he’s a talented, internationally recognized hoop dancer, having been given permission from Lakota Elder Kevin Locke to learn this art form.

“He taught me that [people are] all part of one circle; one family; one people, and the hoop is so similar to the medicine wheel, which is why we call ourselves Medicine Wheel Publishing, because we’re trying to bring everyone into that sacred circle where we all have a place,” he said.

“With that attitude, even though I don’t claim to be Indigenous, I claim to be adopted and given permission for what I’m doing, it’s like standing on a fence of two different worlds and trying to help people build a bridge.”

So his way of giving back to the Elders and community that taught him these lessons was to offer a space where they could tell those stories without fear.

“We’re trying to decolonize…and I think it’s working. What we’re doing feels like it’s working in how we approach and work in this space.”

The Truth in Truth and Reconciliation Educational Board Game (Medicine Wheel Publishing)

In response to asking what Anderson envisions for the publishing house’s future, he said that it really begins with an important question directed at the community.

“What does the Indigenous community want and need to help us move forward?”

He said that they’ll always publish books, but they’re also starting to expand into other spaces. 

For example, they published an educational Indigenous board game by James Corbiere (Waabi Makoohns) earlier this year. Plus, they’re currently developing an online training program for Orange Shirt Day with Webstad, where anyone can log in and explore Webstad’s story in a meaningful way.

If you have a story you’ve been wanting to tell and think Medicine Wheel Publishing is right for you, you can submit through a portal on their website or go through an agent.

When someone submits, Anderson said they reach out to a council comprised of Elders and teachers council who help with the vetting process. If it fits with what Medicine Wheel publishes, then they’ll get in touch with the author and begin the publishing process.

To take a look at the books and other educational tools that they’ve published, you can view them on their website.

If you wish to take a look at the article on the Victoria Buzz website, you can do so here.