Mi'kmaq is a First Nations language spoken in Atlantic Canada and the north-eastern United States--and like most surviving indigenous languages in North America, it is at risk. The small community of Wagmatcook, Cape Breton, determined to see Mi'kmaq return from the brink of extinction, has implemented 2 initiatives that are changing the fate of their language. In the first initiative teachers, day care workers and community members completed a Certificate in Aboriginal Literacy Education. The participants in this program upgraded their skills in reading, writing and speaking Mi'kmaq. As a follow-up initiative, many of these same participants completed a series of workshops to develop books written in Mi'kmaq targeted for pre-K to grade 3. Because Mi'kmaq is an oral culture and language, there are not many texts available for teachers to use in the "Mi'kmaq as the language of instruction" classrooms. To help overcome this shortage, a group of graduates from the literacy program worked with a language consultant to write a series of children's books. These books are age and reading level specific and thematic.