poetry

Regarding the Disposability of Native Women and Girls in Canada, A Love Poem

TrashDumpLandfillTrashDumpLandfill             my best friend tells me I need to “aim lower”when I tell him about my new crush. Garbagegarbage I couldn't help myselfGarbagetrashlandfill I was just so excited to share the newsGarbage landfillTrash In 2014, CBC published an article with a poll asking everyday Canadians if they wouldGarbageGarbage garbage trashGarbage ever be OK or comfortable… Continue reading Regarding the Disposability of Native Women and Girls in Canada, A Love Poem

elsewhere · stories

Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia 2.0

Congratulations to the Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia (second gen), based in Saskatoon, on today’s hometown launch of Kîyânaw Ocêpihk. This is a gorgeous collection of stories from the smartest and bravest people I know. Here’s my foreword to the Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia collection, Kîyânaw Ocêpihk. Toronto & MTL launch info coming soon! If you're… Continue reading Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia 2.0

Uncategorized

The Guardian: Native children didn’t ‘lose’ their lives at residential schools. Their lives were stolen

Originally posted on The Guardian. We’d all heard the stories, long before they started to receive this summer’s 24/7 coverage by every news station in Canada. Long before ground-penetrating radars confirmed the presence of unmarked graves, we knew that our missing family members did not simply “disappear” nor attempt and fail to run away from residential… Continue reading The Guardian: Native children didn’t ‘lose’ their lives at residential schools. Their lives were stolen

elsewhere

Reflections on Quill Christie-Peters’ “spilling out, spilling over”

Reflections on Quill Christie-Peters' spilling out, spilling over (2021)Displayed at the University of Saskatchewan College Art Galleries January 14 - April 22, 2022 Quill Violet Christie-Peters, Desire spilling over body and time, N.D., acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. At first glance, the style of Quill Christie-Peters' paintings appears steeped in the traditions of… Continue reading Reflections on Quill Christie-Peters’ “spilling out, spilling over”

elsewhere

CBC Music #CanadaListens 2022: Crown Lands n Me

I'm excited to be representing the gorgeous, decolonial rock band Crown Lands for CBC Music's 2022 edition of CBC Music's Canada Listens. I get to chat with four other brilliant panellists about why Crown Lands are truly great and why rock and roll still matters. (In other words, it's my dream job.) A mystical trip… Continue reading CBC Music #CanadaListens 2022: Crown Lands n Me

stories

In memory of Colten Boushie, toward Indigenous liberation in our lifetime

Today - February 9, 2022 - marks four years since the colonial court acquittal of Gerald Stanley for the killing of Colten Boushie. Still, few of my days pass without Colten and his family coming to my mind, and I know the same is true for many of our relatives on the prairies and beyond.… Continue reading In memory of Colten Boushie, toward Indigenous liberation in our lifetime

poetry · stories

Red Dress Special: An Indigenous Love Poem for Valentine’s Day and Every Day

Bring me flowers whiles I’m livin’ /Then don’t bring them when I am dead - Peetie Wheatstraw, “Bring Me Flowers While I’m Living” (1941) "They didn't have one, but I wanted a red dress for tonight," Olivia added. "I wanted fire. I wanted blood." "You need a man," Elsie said. "Correct," Olivia said, tilting forward… Continue reading Red Dress Special: An Indigenous Love Poem for Valentine’s Day and Every Day

elsewhere

The Guardian: Native children didn’t ‘lose’ their lives at residential schools. Their lives were stolen | Erica Violet Lee

I wrote an essay for The Guardian on Native resistance, colonialism's theft of childhood joy, and reckoning with the unearthing of graves at canada’s residential schooling institutions. “Some of the stories we are told about residential schooling prisons involve Native children digging graves for other children. Rarely did our ancestors receive proper burials or grave… Continue reading The Guardian: Native children didn’t ‘lose’ their lives at residential schools. Their lives were stolen | Erica Violet Lee