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2023 ÂNSKOHK INDIGENOUS LITERATURE FESTIVAL

The Ânskohk Indigenous Literature Festival was created to showcase the diversity of writing by Indigenous authors, to educate the general population about the richness of Indigenous literature, and to promote further understanding of Indigenous peoples. The Ânskohk Festival is designed to appeal to a broad audience.

2023 ÂNSKOHK INDIGENOUS LITERATURE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

	Marjorie Beaucage Marjorie Beaucage is a Two-Spirit Métis Auntie, filmmaker, art-ivist and educator, a land protector and a water walker. Born in Vassar, Manitoba, to a large Métis family, Marjorie’s life’s work has been about creating social change, working to give people the tools for creating possibilities and right relations. She has been a Grandmother for Walking With Our Sisters; the Elder for OUT Saskatoon; and the Elder-In-Residence for the University of Saskatchewan Student Union. As a current Board Member of Chokecherry Studios, she is giving back to future art-ivists as they stand up for themselves and their community through creating art, music, writing. She just finished six short harm-reduction videos for creating possibilities of wellness with story medicine. Marjorie’s book, Leave Some for the Birds, reflects on seven decades of living and seeking justice as a Two Spirit Michif woman.
	Elena Bentley Elena Bentley (she/her) is a disabled, bi, and Métis/settler emerging poet, editor, book reviewer, and children’s book author who currently resides in Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis Nation. In 2018, she completed an MA in English from the University of Toronto (SSHRC funded); in 2016, she completed a BA (Hons) in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing from the University of Regina. Elena’s first children’s book, The Pickle in Grandma’s Fridge, was released in May 2022, with art by Tonia Laird. Her upcoming chapbook taliped will be released in fall 2023 from 845 Press
	Rita Bouvier Rita Bouvier is a Métis writer and educator from Saskatchewan. Her third book of poetry, nakamowin’sa for the seasons (Thistledown Press, 2015) was the 2016 Saskatchewan Book Awards winner of the Rasmussen, Rasmussen & Charowsky Aboriginal Peoples’ Writing Award. Rita’s poetry has appeared in literary anthologies, print and online journals, musicals, and television productions, and has been translated into Spanish, German and the Cree-Michif of her home community of sakitawak, Île-à-la-Crosse, situated on the historic trading and meeting grounds of Cree and Dene people. Her latest work, a beautiful rebellion, was released in 2023
	Arnolda Dufour Bowes A dynamic Métis woman originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Arnolda studied creative writing with Guy Vanderhaeghe at the University of Saskatchewan. Her first book, 20.12m, is a compelling and acclaimed coming-of-age collection of stories based on her father’s childhood among the marginalized Métis Road Allowance community at Punnichy, Saskatchewan, during the late 1940s. The book received several major awards in 2022: Danuta Gleed Literary Award from The Writers Union of Canada and the international High Plains Award for Best Indigenous Writer. It was among SaskBooks’ best-selling titles of 2021 and won the Saskatchewan Books Indigenous Publishing Award. Her latest work is a children’s book, Maggie Lou, Firefox, which was published in fall 2023, illustrated by Karlene Harvey
	Norma Dunning Dr. Norma Dunning is an Inuk writer as well as a scholar, researcher, professor and grandmother. Her short story collection Tainna: The Unseen Ones won the 2021 Governor General’s Award for literature, and her previous short story collection, Annie Muktuk and Other Stories (University of Alberta Press, 2017), received the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Howard O’Hagan Award for short stories and the Bronze Foreword INDIES Award for short stories. Her latest book, Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name? The Eskimo Disc System and a Daughter’s Search for her Grandmother, explores an obscured piece of Canadian history: what was then called the Eskimo Identification Tag System.
	Tara Gereaux From the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan, Tara spent her childhood years in Fort Qu’Appelle, her teen years in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and much of her adult life in Vancouver, B.C., before returning to her home on the prairie. A descendent of the Red River Métis and a citizen of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, she currently lives in Regina on Treaty 4 territory and homeland of the Métis. Tara’s debut novel, Saltus (Nightwood Editions), was shortlisted for the 2022 ReLit Novel Award and three Saskatchewan Book Awards. Her first book, Size of a Fist (Thistledown Press), a teen novella, was also shortlisted for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. (Photo Credit Chris Graham)
	Michelle Good Michelle Good is a Cree writer and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Her poems, short stories, and essays have been published in magazines and anthologies across Canada, and her poetry was included on two lists of the best Canadian poetry in 2016 and 2017. Five Little Indians, her first novel, won the HarperCollins/UBC Best New Fiction Prize, the Amazon First Novel Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Award, the Evergreen Award, the City of Vancouver Book of the Year Award, and Canada Reads 2022. On October 7, 2022 Simon Fraser University granted her an Honorary Doctor of Letters. Her new work, Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous life in Canada was released May 30, 2023.
	Danis Goulet Danis Goulet is an award-winning writer and director. Her films have screened at festivals around the world including Sundance, the Berlin International Film Festival, MoMA and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). In 2018, she joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and in 2021, she joined the TIFF Board. Her debut feature NIGHT RAIDERS premiered at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival. It was also selected as a Gala Presentation at the 2021 TIFF where Danis was recognized with a TIFF Tribute Award. In 2021, the film was nominated for eleven Canadian Screen Awards, winning five including best screenplay. In 2022, Danis directed an episode for the ABC show ALASKA DAILY starring Hilary Swank and has also directed three episodes of the acclaimed FX series RESERVATION DOGS. She is Cree/Metis, originally from La Ronge, Saskatchewan.
	Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer was raised on Saddle Lake Reserve in Alberta and attended the Blue Quills Residential School. She served as Saskatchewan’s Poet Laureate for two years and has travelled extensively. She has served as keynote speaker at numerous conferences. Her books, Bear Bones and Feathers, Blue Marrow, The Crooked Good, and Burning In This Midnight Dream, all published by Coteau Publishers, have all received numerous accolades and awards. Louise was awarded an honorary degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Saskatchewan. Louise served as Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate from 2021 to 2022. Her latest work awâsis – kinky and dishevelled was released in the spring of 2021.
	Teedly Linklater Teedly Teresa Mariea Linklater, is from Thunderchild First Nation. Teedly is a mother and is active in the community, spending a lot of time volunteering that include sewing at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge, helping out with the Indigenous Radio Show at CFCR, singing, drumming at community events and being apart at the Indigenous School Council at Mount Royal Collegiate. She lives a traditional life, free of drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Teedly wears a ribbon skirt every day, which she has done for the past 19 years to honour her commitment to her womanhood as well as her creator. She learns the language through song and elders in the community.
	Francine Merasty Francine Merasty is a Nehithaw Iskwew, Opawikoschikanek ochi, a reserve in Northern Saskatchewan. She is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and a fluent Cree speaker. She began writing poetry in the winter of 2017 while working for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls as both a Statement Taker and Legal Counsel. She currently works for the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan. She is a winner of the 2019 Indigenous Voices Awards. She lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
	Garry Thomas Morse Garry Thomas Morse has published several collections of poetry, notably Discovery Passages, about the history of his Kwakwaka’wakw Indigenous ancestors, shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award. Prairie Harbour, a poetic epic set in Regina, was also shortlisted for a Governor General’s Award. Morse’s novels have gained critical attention for pushing the aesthetic envelope. He is the author of a speculative fiction series called The Chaos! Quincunx, and two of its three books have been nominated for the ReLit Award. He is also the author of two well-storied novels, Death in Vancouver and Yams Do Not Exist. His latest novel, Tulpa Mea Culpa, was published in fall 2023.
	Joan Pelletier Joan Pelletier, a proud Métis, was raised on the road allowance adjacent to her kohkoom’s property and on the Métis Farm at Lebret, Saskatchewan. In 1964, she moved with her family to Regina, where she still resides. Joan married and had two children. When her son began kindergarten, she completed a Bachelor of Education degree through the Gabriel Dumont Institute’s Saskatchewan Urban Native Education Program. She taught in community schools with large enrolments of First Nations and Métis students in the Regina Public School Division. After teaching for many years, she retired and began helping her daughter raise her grandchildren. Her grandchildren are now teenagers, so she spends her time reading, writing, and has become involved with the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan’s Western Region III and the Regina Local, serving as an Elder.
	Waubgeshig Rice Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation. He’s written four books, most notably the bestselling novel Moon of the Crusted Snow, published in 2018. He graduated from the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2002, and spent most of his journalism career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist and radio host. In addition to his writing endeavours, Waubgeshig is an eclectic public speaker, delivering keynote addresses and workshops, engaging in interviews, and contributing to various panels at literary festivals and conferences. He speaks on creative writing and oral storytelling, contemporary Anishinaabe culture and matters, Indigenous representation in arts and media, and more. His latest work, Moon of the Turning Leaves, was published in October 2023. He lives in Sudbury, Ontario with his wife and three sons.
	Prestin Thōtin-awāsis Prestin Thōtin-awāsis is a proud Nēhiyaw/Metis Two-Spirit. Born in Yellowknife and grew up in Amachewespimawinihk (Stanley Mission) in Northern Saskatchewan on Treaty 6 Territory. Prestin uses his platforms and voice to uplift Indigenous youth, Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and LGBTQQIA+ perspectives. He promotes wellness and advocates for mental health, 2SLGBTQQIA+ equity and rights. Prestin shares poetry, think pieces, and discusses sobriety & healing on all of his social media platforms with intergenerational wisdom as a primary focus/theme.
	Richard Van Camp Richard Van Camp is a proud Tłı̨chǫ Dene from Fort Smith, NWT. He is the author of 27 books in 27 years. He is a Dogrib Tłı̨chǫ writer of the Dene nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. He is best known for his 1996 novel The Lesser Blessed, which was adapted into a film by director Anita Doron in 2012. In the past several years, Richard has been the Storyteller in Residence for Calgary Public Library and the Writer in Residence at the Metro Federation of Edmonton Libraries. He has also been the Writer in Residence at the University of Alberta, Yellowhead Tribal College and MacEwan University. He is also a Mentor for the Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle. (Photo Credit William Au)
	Katherena Vermette Katherena Vermette (she/her/hers) is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, her Michif roots on her paternal side run deep in St. Boniface, St. Norbert and beyond. Her maternal side is Mennonite from the Altona and Rosenfeld area (Treaty 1). In 2013, her first book, North End Love Songs (Muses’ Company) won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Since then, her work has garnered awards and critical accolades across genres. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi) and The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton) were both national best sellers and won multiple literary awards. Her third novel, The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), and a new and revised omnibus edition of her graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo (Highwater) were released in Fall 2023. (Photo Credit Vanda Fleury)