What Are You?

About the Book

This is a story about a young person of mixed Indigenous and settler ancestry. Growing up in a big city she meets and interacts with many different people, all of whom pose the question, “What are you?” On a hunt for the answer she has many interactions that lead her to learning new adjectives and nouns for her ever-expanding vocabulary and understanding of self. This picture book could be used in homes or classrooms as an introduction to topics on identity and is especially suited for elementary education.

About the Author

Fiona LaPorte grew up in Vancouver, B.C. with a strong sense of self and a passion for social justice. Although her grandmother was fostered off of Fishing Lake Reserve, Fiona has cultural connections in various Indigenous communities including her own and communities around the lower mainland. Fiona has always had an aptitude for drawing and studied mainstream art in various levels of schools, more recently practicing traditional art forms such as drum making and painting. As a youth she had a passion and flair for writing stories that was re-sparked through this story in her first years of teaching. She studied to be a teacher through NITEP (Native Indigenous Teaching Program) at UBC and has since completed a masters degree at UBC in Education with a focus on Indigenous education. She has taught in both district-run Indigenous focus schools as well as on-reserve schools. Her experience outside of Indigenous education, in mainstream settings, has afforded her the opportunity to teach diverse and multicultural students. In her decade of teaching she saw a need for a story about mixed heritage kids and also more books about Indigenous peoples living in cities, away from reserves or “nature”.