Cooking Up Representation: An Interview With Kohkum’s Kitchen Author Mark Thunderchild
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June is National Indigenous History Month, a time for all Canadians to reflect upon and learn about the history, culture, and strength of Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Peoples. Before we go any further, we would like to acknowledge that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples each have their own unique histories. And within each group, there are distinct histories.
“When I first connected with FriesenPress, I said, ‘this book’s got to be out by June.’”
National Indigenous History Month has been a driving force in FriesenPress author Mark Thunderchild’s life for nearly a year now, when he began his unexpected but joyous journey into the world of children’s book writing and publishing. That’s because there’s no time more relevant for sharing an uplifting family story that celebrates Indigeneity while reminding us of the universal humanity that unites us all.
In May 2023 (and ahead of schedule), Mark and his spouse/illustrator Amanda Melnychuk realized their goal and published Kohkum’s Kitchen, their debut picture book, with FriesenPress. Kohkum’s Kitchen celebrates and normalizes modern Indigenous culture and the traditional knowledge passed down across generations, all illustrated in beautiful watercolour.
We spoke with Mark on a break from his day job to learn about his amazing path to becoming a children’s author — starting with a heartstring-tugging moment with his daughter. From there, we discuss the powerful mission he’s on with this and future books, how his family has rallied around this project, and how a chance encounter in an elevator led to a surprising commission.
Thanks for speaking with us, Mark. Where did Kohkum’s Kitchen originate?
There were three key moments that drove me to pull the trigger on this project.
The first: I have three children, and they all look very different. One has blond hair, blue eyes. One has blond hair, green eyes — those are my two sons. My daughter has more of my features: dark hair, dark eyes, very dark skin. One day she just said, “Why don’t I look like [my siblings]?”, which really tugged on my heartstrings.
I went through the science of it with her — how I’m actually half English, half Cree. There was a [25%] chance that every single one of my children was going to end up looking like she does and more than three-quarters of a chance that they were going to look like the boys do. Eventually, we started looking for content to make her feel more comfortable in her own skin.
The second “lightbulb moment” would have been walking around to different bookstores looking for books with positive Indigenous content. I wanted as much of that [as I could find]. A lot of what I was finding was either really, really old content of my people in the 1800s — like Pocahontas — or stuff about residential schools. So: outdated and sad. I was a little bit tired of it. I needed real, positive Indigenous content — not so much the folklore stories. And there was a moment where I thought, “Maybe we should start thinking about creating this,” because I saw a gap in the content that was out there.
The third moment was actually being friends with Marc Brick, who works as a Publishing Consultant for [FriesenPress]. We sat around talking one day, and I really felt like, “Well, now I can [pursue this idea] because I have access to somebody who could give me the avenue for creating this content.” I didn’t know how, but my network with Marc Brick gave me that opportunity.
If I could see the path, there was no reason not to do it. One thing I believe — and there’s been various ways of saying this — but the Creator will not put something in front of you that you cannot handle. The universe will show you the way. And I felt like there was no way other than just moving forward with that idea, and here we are.
After you connected with Marc, where did things go from there? Did you start writing?
I actually rewrote Kohkum’s Kitchen about six times, because I didn’t want to make you think too much. I didn’t want it to be overly moralistic. I just wanted it to be simple, positive content and a way that we can share our culture with other people and normalize our modern Indigenous culture. And that was really, really difficult to do with some of the emotions that I had in writing it. But once I was done, I knew it was done.
Once I finished the story, my spouse Amanda volunteered to do the drawings. The first drawing was the first page when you open it up and it’s Kohkum making the food on the table with the kids running around her. I was absolutely blown away. I did not know Amanda had that in her at all, and she just had fun with it. She did it all by hand, in watercolour paint. So, she finished all of them and we were just like, “Man, this is really fun to do.”
We worked on this from August 2022 until January 14 of this year — the date I handed in the manuscript to FriesenPress. That’s how long I was tinkering with the whole story.
The illustrations in the book are fantastic. Is this Amanda’s first book as well? What was it like collaborating with your spouse on this project?
Yes, it was her first book. Honestly, she drew the first [illustration] and I didn’t give her any direction. All the creative control was hers. I know my name is on top but it’s not just me; this is a shared book that we’re both doing. We did this as a partnership and we really enjoyed it. My children did a little bit of contributing to it too. As a family we had a lot of fun creating this book, and we are already planning on doing future books as a family. We’re currently in the middle of one right now where we’ve written the story.
We’re doing translations in the next book, so I get to work on that while [Amanda] gets to do the illustrations. That’s the beauty of it: I don’t have to oversee anything. I have complete faith and trust in her and her ability that I say, “Hey, if you need my help, ask for it. But until then, this is your job. I trust you.”
It’s wonderful to hear what a huge focus family is for this book — both in its creation and in its subject matter. It’s also dedicated to your Kohkum; what have your kinfolk thought of the book?
Most of them were actually very surprised. I finally got the book to some of my First Nations friends this weekend, and they were like, “What? When did this happen?” Nobody knew. And even on social media, when I started doing promotions there, a lot of people were just flabbergasted because I kept it a secret for a really, really long time.
A lot of them are very, very proud of us. We actually got to take my spouse, Amanda, to a round dance not long ago to tell my Kohkum what was happening. We showed [Kohkum] the book and she was absolutely blown away. She just had her 92nd birthday, so it was really special.
What has been the response to the book, beyond your family?
The feedback’s been amazing from both non-Indigenous and Indigenous families. Some of my really good friends joke and say, “Man, I have to read this book to my children twice a day.” [laughs] And those are honestly some of the best compliments I’m getting. One dad might actually be genuinely upset about it, but that makes me feel so good. Because it’s not for the parents — it’s for the kids so that they can identify with it.
One of the first things that we did for our “promotional tour” is we went to Amanda’s childhood school that she went to from K to 12 and did classroom readings for the younger kids. There weren’t a lot of First Nations kids in some of the classrooms, but I opened by asking “who cooks the best food in your family?” So many put their hands up and said, “Grandma!” And I replied, “Well, this is a story about that. But this is a story from the Cree perspective. If I were Ukrainian, it would be Baba’s Kitchen, but I am a Cree First Nations and this is the story about my Kohkum, who’s my grandma, and how she always made the best bannock and stew.”
That’s so great to hear. Are you planning on doing more of these readings in your area?
The school division asked if we were open to it, and I said yes. We’re at the end of the school year now, but I know at least two different schools have purchased books for their younger classrooms and a bunch of other ones were talking about how and when they’re going to get them. I’m pretty proud of that, specifically.
Has publishing a book always been on your bucket list? Is this something you’d always wanted to do?
Actually, when I was going through high school, I wasn’t the most academic kid by any means, but my mother was my principal. She was an educator for about 38 years. To this date, the only class that I’ve ever failed was my mother’s Grade 10 English class. So, when she found out that I was the one who was to become the writer of the family, the irony did not miss.
I’ve always been kind of a crash-and-bang kind of person, with sports and skilled labour work. To be writing and publishing these books, and to be able to provide these books for people to read and enjoy, it makes me really, really proud as a father and Indigenous community member. It’s almost surreal that it would be somebody like me to provide that [laughs]; even doing it to this point now, with one book published and several more rock solid stories to come, I still kind of can’t believe that we’re going down this path at all.
You’ve mentioned pride several times; is there a single thing in particular that you’re the most proud of with regards to this book or the writing journey you’re on?
Personally, I’m most proud of the success I’ve had in planning [the series] and the reason why I made it. I can see the pride that my daughter has. Not just that her dad’s an author, but that I’ve now normalized the way she looks.
One thing I’ve always dealt with in my life is the challenges with being First Nations in the world, and changing one mind at a time has always been the goal. And the thing I’m most proud of with this book is that I changed my daughter’s mind.
That’s powerful. How does it feel to know that it’s getting out there now and doing the same on a wider scale?
Once Amanda and I knew what we’d created, that’s what we wanted to do. Our goal for the book is just to try to get it in as many children’s hands as possible, because it’s not just for the First Nations people. There’s a reason we didn’t put it in Plains Cree (which is my native language), and that’s because we didn’t want to restrict it just to Indigenous children alone. We wanted to be able to provide these stories to everybody so everybody experiences that normalization of our culture.
You’ve referenced a few other book projects you have on the go at the moment; what’s next for the Thunderchild crew?
So, here’s a good story.
I was holding my first promotional copy of Kohkum’s Kitchen and I was taking it to my aunty, who’s my dentist. I was standing in an elevator holding literally the only copy that I had at the time. These two people walked in and they had these big electric bikes with these big fat tires and they popped into the elevator. I just saw gears and machines; I grabbed the book and I put it to my chest. One individual on the elevator with me read the word “Kohkum” on top. And coincidentally, “Kohkum” is the same word in Anishinaabe as it is in Cree; it means grandma in both languages. He asked, “What is that?” and I told him that it was the children’s book I’d written. I saw his eyes [light up] and he wanted to read it. He grabbed the book, started reading through it, and asked me what I was doing there that day. And I said that I was going to see Gladys, who’s my aunty, and I was showing her this book. We were from the same reserve. He said, “Our office is across the hall from Gladys. Come see us.” And we parted ways.
After my appointment, I walked over with Gladys and on the door it said “the Indigenous Dental Association of Canada.” I walked in and I met the other person who was in the elevator, because I only really had spoken to the one. She looked at the book and they asked, “How would you like to write a book for us?” I responded, “Well, what do you mean?”
It turns out that they had wanted to publish a book very much like Kohkum’s Kitchen, and the story I’m working on with them is called Our Journey to the Dentist. It’s about three different First Nations families: one Métis, one Inuit, and one which is the same Cree family from Kohkum’s Kitchen. Journeying to a dentist is not just a simple journey for an Inuit person — it involves a flight from the Arctic to get down to the city to go see someone. For the Kohkum’s Kitchen family, they go to sleep early so they can wake up early and drive to the city to go to the dentist. And then there’s a Métis child from an urban center; he just hops on the bus and walks over. And there are small cultural things weaving in and out of the story of all three of those families; they all meet up, and they converse.
A literal elevator pitch — incredible! As we wrap up here: if folks reading Kohkum’s Kitchen could take one thing away from the book, what do you hope that is?
Just that we’re all the same. As I mentioned when I was explaining the book to non-Indigenous children, it’s a story about grandma and grandpa making the best food. As I said, I want us all to realize how similar we are as people. Our differences help make the world a more beautiful place, but just seeing the positive in our culture is all we wanted to spotlight.
If anybody wants to come learn a little bit about [Indigenous] culture, there’s no better place to start than Kohkum’s Kitchen. We’re happy to educate, entertain, and share our culture with everybody.
