Arlea Ashcroft has made the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for Good Morning Relatives. The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 14 and the winner will be announced on Sept. 21.

If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes, the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize is open for submissions.

Arlea Ashcroft is an Indigenous French multidisciplinary artist from Treaty 1 Territory and the National Home of the Red River Metis. Her work focuses on mixed blood identity, art as activism, the alchemy of mental health and female sexuality told through a punk rock aesthetic. Ashcroft's motivation to create is based on revealing personal truths, seeking connections to place and self-preservation as survivalism. She is working towards writing her first book.

"Self-discovery during a peaceful protest."

"There's a moment in life when you need to recalculate, redirect, and hit reset. Seven years ago, I was roiling in self-destructive misery, feeling lost and wasn't sure what I wanted out of life or where I even fit in anymore. Mid-life crisis? Identity crisis? Mental health crisis? Or D, all of the above.

"I decided to go for a drive, just me and my dog. A three-week solo camping road-trip, with no destination or plan. Although I'd never done anything like this before, it seemed like the right thing to do. I ended up in North Dakota in Standing Rock Sioux Nation. I learned about the peaceful protest against the Goliath of the Dakota Access pipeline. A pipeline that was to cross Native American burial grounds, under their water source, threatening the communities' cultural, spiritual, and environmental resources.

"I returned to Winnipeg, but couldn't get Standing Rock out of my mind. I felt a call to the land. A call to stand with my relatives. I went back down, twice. Once in November for a week, and again in December. Members of over 280 Tribal Nations and 10,000 allies had shown up to stand in ceremony and support the Sioux Nation. There was a feeling of unitedness, purpose and an overwhelming knowing that I was exactly where I should be. I'd never experienced this complete selfless oneness before. A spiritual connection of community based around ceremony and the simple yet all-encompassing thought, 'Mni Wiconi,' Water is Life.

"Good Morning Relatives, is part of my story towards finding my personal ground again. This portion takes place in Standing Rock. It was a defining moment in my life, an experience that changed me, and that I wanted to share with a wider audience than my Facebook profile page. My goal is to write a book and use this experience, this story as a launch pad. Thematically I want to share thoughts about hope, identity, overcoming personal challenges, and the power of community. I hope this is just the beginning."

"Gooood Mooooorning relatives!" 6:30 a.m. the PA sputters and crackles to life, sending the rich warm voice of an Elder across the camp. The heartbeat of drums reverberate around the valley, carrying traditional prayers, encouraging me out of my warm cocoon of slumber. The rumblings of 5,000 people reaching for the dawn lulls me into the ether. The PA bursts with feedback, crackle squeeee, "You didn't come here to lie down, you came here to stand up."

The winner of the 2023 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and win a two-week writing residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The 2024 CBC Short Story Prize is currently open until Nov. 1, 2023 at 4:59 p.m. ET. The 2024 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2024 and the 2024 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April 2024.