Michaela Goade, an award-winning illustrator who lives in Sitka, Alaska, is a member of the Tlingit tribe and her work is a celebration of her culture as well as her love of nature. Her beautiful illustrations in We Are Water Protectors, a children’s book by Carole Lindstrom, led to her being the first woman of color and the first Indigenous person to win the Caldecott medal- one of the most prestigious awards for illustrations in children’s literature. The story is about an Ojibwe girl fighting against an oil pipeline and was inspired by the Standing Rock Sioux.
Water Protectors was 2020’s New York Times best selling children’s book, and Goade hopes that its success will create more opportunities for indigenous artists and writers. In keeping with her deep appreciation of nature, her next book, Berry Song, is about learning to be in touch with the land.
For this week’s Moment of Bliss, we just want to remind our readers to seek out diverse voices, and to find inspiration in nature, as Michaela Goade has done.
