It’s You! Hi! You’re the Writer. It’s You!
Happy Indigenous History Month! I’m so excited to be the 12 x 12 Featured Author for June and to share with you a little bit about my culture and how my journey with my debut picture book,
MÉTIS LIKE ME, can hopefully help you find the book you were meant to write too. (By the way, it’s pronounced may-TEE.)
First, a brief history lesson: In Canada, there are three recognized groups of Indigenous peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs: First Nations, Inuit (the indigenous people of the Arctic) and Métis. (Note: historically, these groups were colonially referred to as “Indians,” “Eskimos,” and “Halfbreeds” and while Indian is still used in some Canadian terminology to refer to First Nations, Eskimo and Halfbreed are colonialisms that should be avoided.)
Métis people have a unique historical identity that began before Canada was even formed, when newly arrived European fur traders married First Nations women and began a distinct, new culture.
Growing up, I knew my family (on my mother’s side) was Métis, but I didn’t know what it meant. We weren’t taught a lot about it in school, and there were long periods of time where we didn’t see that side of the family, so it wasn’t really something we connected with.
When I got older, I wanted to learn more, but my Métis grandfather had passed away. There weren’t any books in the library, and the Métis office (the go-to place for information) was in a city hours away and was only open Wednesdays from noon to four. Not exactly convenient.
As the years went on and the internet became the amazing resource it is now, I was able to do more research and learning. And the title of what became my debut picture book, MÉTIS LIKE ME, kept popping into my head.
Was there anyone else that is Métis like me?
Longing to know more about their family and themselves?
Interested in learning but not knowing where to start?
Feeling disconnected but wanting to belong?
I kept thinking about this idea, but wasn’t confident that it was a big enough market, or that a publisher would be interested.
But then the Métis symbol (which is the infinity symbol) started showing up everywhere—including in a giant roadside billboard. The signs couldn’t get any larger!
Fast forward through the submission and publication process and MÉTIS LIKE ME was born into the world in April of 2024!
My hope when I started the book was that anyone of Métis ancestry would be able to see themselves in it. As it developed, I discovered it wasn’t just a book for Métis people, it was a book for anyone who experienced those same questions and feelings I had—wanting to learn, connect, and feel like they belong. It was universal.
Can you relate?
In 2022, musical artist Lizzo won an Emmy award for her reality series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls. In her acceptance speech she said, “When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me. Black like me. Beautiful like me. If I could go back and tell little Lizzo something, I would be like, ‘You’re going to see that person, but bitch, it’s going to have to be you.’”
Have you been searching for something? Longing for something? Wishing something existed? That’s the universe telling YOU to be the one to create it.
Glennon Doyle Melton said, “This is the lesson I keep learning over and over: No one is swooping in to save the day here. There is no Wizard behind the curtain. WE are the Wizards of Oz. History is made by ordinary people who show up in extraordinary ways. We are the leaders. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
Friend, you’ve been waiting for you. Children have been waiting for you. Teachers, parents, librarians have been waiting for you.
So what are you waiting for?
What ideas or images keep niggling you?
What memory is often resurfacing?
What book would Little You have loved?
What is a book you’ve looked for but haven’t found?
Write it!
TASHA HILDERMAN has been making stuff up her whole life. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Saskatchewan and has been a panelist and featured speaker at numerous business-industry events, including the 2019 Facebook Communities Summit at Facebook’s Menlo, California, headquarters. Her debut picture book, MÉTIS LIKE ME, received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews and was selected as a Blue Ribbon book for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Canada. She is of Métis descent through her mother’s side and a registered member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. She lives with her husband, three children, and a rotating assortment of pets in Lloydminster, Alberta.
Tasha is offering one lucky winner a copy of her picture book, MÉTIS LIKE ME, at our June 2024 check-in. Share your comments below. Tell us what book you’ve been waiting for.
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12 x 12 may earn a commission from books purchased through the links in the post. Proceeds go to fund 12 x 12 diversity programming and scholarships.
96 Responses
Thanks for an inspiring post and congratulations!! I look forward to reading your book!
The ‘read’ I’ve been waiting for is . . . this blog post. My own identity is a bit of a pretzel-shaped, riddle with odd gaps, twists, disconnects and weird, wonderful syncopations. There are a lot of guidposts here on how to live it and treat that background as a launchpad.
I went to a French Canadian school growing up, with a lot of Metis cultural influence, so I can’t wait to read your book. Kudos.
I love that Joanna!
Wow! As a fellow Canadian, I learned about the existence of the Mètis in history class, but nothing more. So glad I can now read about them. Congratulations on this book!
I am so glad too, Anita. I’m very excited for the knowledge this next few generations will gain
Thank you for this inspiring post! Congratulations on your book. I look forward to reading it.
Fantastic post! Thank you so much for sharing your journey and inspiring words (and bringing this beautiful book into the world!!)
I really needed to hear this: “Friend, you’ve been waiting for you. Children have been waiting for you. Teachers, parents, librarians have been waiting for you.”
And I loved this post. I learned a lot.
I’m so glad it resonated with you, Marcia!
Very interesting! I learned a lot. Congratulations on your book success! Thank you for the advice.
Congratulations on your book Tasha, looking forward to reading it. And thank you for sharing your story – so genuine and heartwarming.
Congratulations on the publication of your book.
What an Inspiring post! Thanks so much for sharing.
I can’t love this book more. My sons are Métis and reading your book has helped us start a discussion in our family about their history and heritage. Brava to you and to following your dreams!
That’s awesome, this is exactly why I wrote this book! 🧡🧡🧡
Such an inspiring blog post, Tasha! I love your book and it was fascinating to hear the story behind it. Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing your story–how inspiring! We so often get in our own way and talk ourselves out of things–I know I have (and probably continue to do so). I’m so glad you went for it, and I can’t wait to read your book!
Such an inspiring post and a lovely book! Congratulations!
Congratulations, Tasha! I love your book and all the children in it who share their Metis heritage and culture. The illustrations are as beautiful as the beadwork, as tasty as those Saskatoon berries. Thanks for sharing your Metis journey in this delightful picture book.
Tasha, what a message of empowerment! I love your encouragement to pursue that recurrent idea, “That’s the universe telling YOU to be the one to create it.” Congratulations on your debut picture book! I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you Tracey!
I love these questions! Looking forward to reading your book, Thank you for this post!
Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations Tasha. Thanks for your inspirational post. I hadn’t heard of Metis before (I don’t know how to add an accent on the “e”.) The more we all learn about other cultures and other journeys, the more we find how similar we are as people. The book I needed as a girl growing up was one that helped me understand it was okay to be very tall and skinny, taller than my teachers even in third grade and living with a single mom in a college community where no one else was poor. I haven’t written that one yet, but my journey continues and I’m still hopeful.
I’ll be looking forward to this book one day! My daughter is very tall, and we always have to tell her it’s a good thing!
Thanks for sharing. Congratulations on the publication of your book.
Very inspirational. Congrats on your book and thanks for the pep talk.
Thank you for this post. I have had a story idea niggling the back of my mind for a while now. Maybe it’s time to bring it into the light.
Yes Maria! Do it! 🙂
I had not heard of the Metis people. Fascinating. Looking forward to reading the book. I think what you’re saying is: We all have stories to tell. Thanks for that reminder.
What an amazing and inspirational story! Everyone can see themselves in this book. Beautifully illustrated. Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations, Tasha! Your book is lovely!
Thank you for this post: We are our own Wizard of Oz. How true. Keep writing!
Thanks for sharing! And congrats on your book! Yay you!!
Thank you for the very inspiring and insightful post!
Your post and the book excerpt made confirmed that the small stories of ourselves are unique AND universal. Thank you.
Thank you for you inspirational post. I always want to write what I couldn’t find. Your encouragement and enthusiasm have opened a lot of minds and ideas.
Thank you for this post – it has inspired and empowered me to write that book I always wanted to read/see as a child – the story that no one really knows, but I can tell.
That’s wonderful, Judy!
Thanks so much for sharing your journey. I grew up in a totally Jewish community, but felt I knew nothing about really what it meant to be Jewish. I had to search and find my own path. I can really relate to your story.
Love this! Thank you for sharing your journey and for the inspiration. Looking forward to reading Métis Like Me. 😊
This sounds absolutely wonderful! You’re so right when you say “That’s the universe telling YOU to be the one to create it.” When I was in graduate school for early childhood education, a wise professor gave similar advice. She said “Write the books that you feel your students need. The ones you don’t see out there now.” It’s always stuck with me and it’s what I remind myself whenever I write.
Congratulations on your book! I can’t wait to read it.
Yes! That’s great advice.
I can’t wait to read your book!!!
Thanks for the inspiration to write the book you are wanting to read. Can’t wait to read your book.
Wonderful and inspirational post. I’ve always been interested in researching ancestry and perhaps this book will get children interested in their own family and ask more questions. Congratulations on your book.
Thank you, Tasha, for sharing your story and enlightening me about the indigenous peoples in Canada. I look forward to reading your book.
I love your line, “We are the leaders. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” So inspiring! And I thank you for prompting me to question what I am waiting for.
Thank you for sharing. I do believe we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. How wonderful that you became that person and a great example for the rest of us. Congratulations on publishing!
Tasha, thank you for this wonderfully inspiring post. I love, “That’s the universe telling YOU to be the one to create it”! This is SO true, and is what happened for me with my upcoming debut as well. Congrats on your gorgeous and powerful book, METIS LIKE ME!
This is fascinating! I’m happy to learn the term Metis. I didn’t know enough about the Canadian indigenous people.
I can relate to the theme in this story because I also belong to a group that I don’t completely fit in with. I am half Mexican-American, but I don’t ‘look’ Mexican and I no longer speak Spanish. But I definitely identify with the group.
Thanks, Shireen
P.S. I’m writing a draft called Maya Goes to Mexico, about a girl’s first trip to Mexico. It’s inspired by my wonderful visit to Rosarito a few years ago.
This is a great post! I adore how personal it was and I learned some things! Thank you so much for sharing and showing us you. <3
Wow, such a beautiful PB about the search for meaning and identity! What a gift for children and adults. Thank you for your thought-provoking post.
Thank you for your inspirational story! I love when you said…“What book would Little You have loved?” I haven’t thought of it that way.
I love book origin stories, especially ones that show how the book was just meant to be.
Thank you, Tasha, for giving the world your book and for leaving us key questions to ponder.
Love this line ~ Friend, you’ve been waiting for you.
I learned a lot just from your blog post so thank you for sharing. I was unfamiliar with the term Métis and the group it refers to. I was also not aware that the infinity symbol in a blue circle has been used as an icon to represent the Métis people—I don’t think I’ve seen it used in that way, but maybe I have and just didn’t understand the meaning.
I love coming to 12×12 and being motivated and inspired. You have inspired me. Congratulations on your book and on your journey as a Métis, learning about your culture and history.
Thank you for the inspirational words and for introducing me to your Metis culture!
So motivating and a unique story concept! Congratulations!!
Thank you for the Canadian history lesson and the nudge to listen to that voice that wants to become a story.
Loved this post so much, Tasha–we ARE the ones we’ve been waiting for! 🙂 Loved your inspiring story and congrats on your debut!! Can’t wait to read it! 🙂
Thank you, Tasha! I can connect with your search for knowing you. After years of questions about my grandmother’s birthplace, I found it and it was like coming home to me.
I love how the idea kept coming back to you… And you wrote a book around your idea.
Enjoyed your post so much, and can’t wait to read your book! Thank you for framing this idea in this way: “what book would Little You have loved?”
What a beautiful and inspiring story.
Congratulations! It is a beautiful book!
Congrats!
Writing can be a cathartic experience. Thank you for sharing your journey to discovering a part of yourself.
The books “little” us-es wanted/would have loved had we dreamed…such a powerful motivator and one we need to remember to re-connect with. Congrats on your book and for sharing your voice.
Thank you for the inspiration. I am going to write that book I’m hoping to read.
Thank you for your insightful post, Tasha. You’ve asked so many thought-provoking questions. I am grateful for your encouragement to reconnect with our own history and to tell the story that keeps niggling and squiggling inside us. Congratulations on your new book, so full of heart and joy!
Wow, Tasha, what a beautiful post. I love MÉTIS LIKE ME. I hope it connects with many readers. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks for the fun history lesson, Best of luck with book sales.
Thank you for this inspiring post, Tasha! I’m excited to read your book. Congrats!
What an empowering and inspiring post! Thank you.
Thanks for the inspiring post. Lots to think about! Congratulations on your lovely book, too!
This is so inspiring and so true! Be the change. Thanks for writing this beautiful book and sharing it with us!
I so enjoyed your engaging and informative post. Your wise perspective and encouraging words are uplifting and a solid reminder that the books we write can be just what a child needs at a particular time in their life. The universe was certainly signaling that the time was right for this book! Congratulations!
Congratulations on your amazing book! I’m really looking forward to reading it. Thank you for sharing such inspiration and lovely words for all of us to take with us.
Your post certainly resonates!! Our unique perspectives on the world isn’t something to hide, but to embrace. Thank you for sharing your story and inspiring me to continue my quest to write the stories I’m meant to share with the world. Congratulations on the contest win, too!!
This was a very inspiring post, thank you. “So what are you waiting for?” – thanks for this reminder, as well. There’s no one to tell the stories I want to tell in the way I’d like them told but me.
I can’t wait to read this! Thank you for sharing!
Oh my gosh, what an inspiring post! Thank you for sharing. I’m so happy you saw the “signs!” Such powerful motivation to keep at it for the rest of 2024 and to believe in our stories. Thank you!
I love your message, Tasha! Your post is very inspiring. Congratulations on Metis Like Me! I look forward to reading it!
I loved this post for so many reasons! It opened my eyes to a new culture unfamiliar to me. My first teaching position was at a public school on the edge of the Navajo reservation. That was the first time I’d been out of New England…TOTALLY different culture! So much for me to learn! So I appreciated hearing of your journey of discovery. I also especially loved when you said, “Have you been searching for something? Longing for something? Wishing something existed? That’s the universe telling YOU to be the one to create it.” I certainly have felt that. It really hit home as I read it in your post. Thank You!
Hi, Tasha — Thanks for informing AND inspiring! Awesome idea…no wonder you have already received fabulous reviews. Risa Hugo’s artwork is spectacular. May you both have continued success with your book!
Thanks for this informative post and for inspiring us to write about something meaningful in our lives.
This is such a fascinating story! Congrats on your book and starting your journey of self-discovery.
Wow, what a wonderful way to approach this! LOVE your idea and can’t wait to read your book! Congratulations!
Thank you so much for sharing your story and delighted MÉTIS LIKE ME is in the world!
I so appreciate your challenge to listen to those nudges in the universe — we have to write what we want to see! Thank you!
What an incredible journey on many levels. Thank you for sharing and congratulations! Look forward to reading your book.
Thank you for such an inspiring post and congratulations on your book! I can’t wait to read it.
Hi. It’s me. The one who writes stories that I think kids might relate to. Thank you for the inspiration to follow my heart. And, for educating us about the histories and culture of Indigenous Peoples and tapping into everyone’s innate longing to belong.