29 Indigenous writers honoured with $10K Indigenous Art Awards
The Hnatyshyn Foundation has revealed the 150 Indigenous artists who will each receive $10,000 as winners of the REVEAL Indigenous Arts Awards.
The one-time prize was created to honour Indigenous artists, writers, dancers, musicians, craftspeople and actors. Twenty-nine writers, poets and playwrights are on the list, including Katherena Vermette, whose debut novel The Break was a Canada Reads 2017 finalist, Eden Robinson, Tomson Highway, Drew Hayden Taylor, Richard Van Camp and Louise Bernice Halfe.
Check out all the names of the Indigenous writers below, with some of their work:
- Nathan Adler, author of Wrist
- Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, author of The Stone Collection
- Joanne Arnott, author of Halfling Spring
- Tara Beagan, playwright of Miss Julie: Sheh'mah
- Francine Cunningham, author of A place to call home
- Cherie Dimaline, author of The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy
- Jason Eaglespeaker, author of UNeducation Vol. 1&2
- Tara Gereaux, author of Size of a Fist
- Tomson Highway, author of Kiss of the Fur Queen
- Alanis King, playwright of If Jesus Met Nanabush
- Helen Knott, spoken-word poet
- Frances Koncan, playwright of zahgidiwin/love
- Michael Kusugak, author of Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails
- Ernie Louttit, author of Indian Ernie
- Lindsay Nixon, Indigenous editor-at-large at Canadian Art
- Eden Robinson, author of Monkey Beach and Son of a Trickster
- Troy Sebastian, writer and poet
- Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed
- Katherena Vermette, author of The Break and North End Love Songs
- Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, spoken-word artist
- Karen Lee White, author of Seahawk and Red Drum
- Drew Hayden Taylor, author of Motorcycles and Sweetgrass
- Louise Bernice Halfe, author of Burning in this Midnight Dream
- Rita Bouvier, author of nakamowin'sa
- Monique Mojica, playwright of Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots
- Armand Garnet Ruffo, author of Norval Morrisseau
- Cliff Cardinal, poet and playwright of Huff
- Louis-Karl Picard-Soui, poet and author of Au pied de mon orgueil
- Yves Sioui Durand, playwright of Le porteur des peines du monde
All 150 artists will be invited to gather at a ceremony on May 22 in Winnipeg.
CORRECTION: This article originally stated that 26 Indigenous writers were honoured. However, three writers were omitted: poet Cliff Cardinal, author Louis-Karl Picard-Soui and playwright Yves Sioui Durand.