Reading and book signing with children’s book author and illustrator Honni David

Honoring Indigenous Ways of Being and Knowing:
Five Akwesasne Mohawk Artists-in-Residence

Arihhoni (Honni) David is an author and illustrator from Akwesasne, Ontario. David’s vibrant visuals take the form of logos, comics, and children’s books. His storytelling and imagery honor the heritage and culture of the Haudenosaunee people. In 2023, he released the acclaimed children’s book Who Will Win? which celebrates Indigenous ways of knowing. In 2024, he published his second children’s book, The Good Game, which recounts the origin story of lacrosse.

“I’ve been telling stories since I was 14. I can confidently say that’s when I started telling our stories. I’ve got a long backlog of what’s worked, what hasn’t worked. I can picture a lot of these characters in my head because I’ve lived with them so long, telling the stories.”

“Each storyteller is different, each interpreter is different, each version between nations is a little bit different. The core of the legend, the core of the idea, the core of the teaching is still there. But every time you hear it, it’s a little bit different. There’s a fingerprint that’s left from whoever you have speaking, or even the audience, or the message they’re trying to convey to those kids or to those people that are in the audience. I’m really excited whenever I do my versions of stories because it’s not the definitive version; it’s the Honni David version.” — from an interview by Catherine Wheeler of NCPR

Presented with funding provided by St. Lawrence University’s Arts Collaborative.

Author and illustrator Honni Davis