On Friday September 29, 2017, Canadian author Munroe Scott came to the office of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and donated 1,890 copies of books he has authored as a gift to First Nations.
- The Carving of Canada – 1,126 copies
- The Carving of Canada intertwines the story of the carvings on the Parliament Buildings and the story of Canada and its governing institutions with details of the art – and the struggles – of the sculptors and glass crafters.
- The Liberators – 616 copies
- The Liberators, set in the spring of 1838 in Upper Canada (now Ontario), is the story of a backwoods girl out to liberate her fiancé from the Redcoats at Fort Henry who finds herself involved in a boisterous “invasion” of Upper Canada.
- Always An Updraft: a writer remembers – 148 copies
- Always An Updraft is best described as a personal lifelong journey through the complicated terrain of a freelance writer in Canada. The journey is full of factual eye-opening scenes, with roadblocks and successes, all underscored with humour.
Munroe Scott said of his donation: “Past is history. Today is today. This is a year of celebration that above all is full of hope for continuing and genuine Reconciliation. And the beautiful Centre Block is to be closed for the next decade. Consequently it is with great and somewhat paradoxical pleasure that I declare The Carving of Canada to be out of print because I am handling more than a thousand remaining copies over to the AFN for Indigenous school libraries. The Centre Block may be closed for one decade but I am asking Indigenous young people to be custodians of this story about artists, working virtually unknown for their entire careers, attempting to capture in stone and glass the essence of a flawed but maturing country. I feel that this story is, at long last, in safe hands.”
The AFN thanks Mr. Scott for his generous donation and his support for First Nations.