Author Event – Ishkode: A Story of Fire

Author Evan Larson weaves decades of research and millennia of Indigenous knowledge in a story of fire that inspired this children’s book.
About this Event

The children’s book Ishkode: A Story of Fire, by Evan Larson and Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano, shares a multi-generational story of people, fire, and pine in the Great Lakes Region. Join Larson, chair of UW–Platteville’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Society, for a talk that weaves decades of research and millennia of Indigenous knowledge to tell a story of fire that inspired this book. Free, register by November 22. Meet at the Visitor Center.

Ishkode brings readers into a stand of ancient red pines where Aanikoobijigan, a grandmother red pine, guides a young woman toward healing and renewal through fire. Featuring a foreword by Robin Wall Kimmerer and mixed-media illustrations by Native artist Miri Villiard, the book offers an accessible narrative for readers aged 6–10 (and beyond).

The book brings the story of cultural burning directly to the Great Lakes region, expanding an ecological narrative often focused only on the western U.S. It also a combines the study of tree rings with Anishinaabe teachings to show how fire suppression, climate change, and land management shape today's landscape, and includes an Ojibwe pronunciation guide and glossary to support family and classroom learning.