Abstract:
nihtâwasinakikew, pronounced (nee-ta-wa-sin-ah-key-kay-o) highlights female, First Nations and Métis authors whose traditional homelands span the province of Saskatchewan, Canada from north to south. This small but curated list seeks to showcase authentic, powerful, Indigenous female voices through a variety of mediums including poetry, fiction, and autobiography. Settlers and sexuality, Residential Schools and Reserves, humour and history are all explored through a cultural lens that values community, family and relationships, exposes racist experience, but most importantly, demonstrates the powerful journeys of self-acceptance and strength as experienced by all of these talented storytellers: Mika Lafond, Leah Dorion, Cecile Blanke, Tenille Campbell, Carol Rose GoldenEagle, and Louise (Trottier) Moine.
Lydia Moss:
Lydia Moss is a proud Métis woman with homeland ties to a traditional Road Allowance community in the Qu’appelle Valley (Saskatchewan, Canada). She graduated in 2001 from the University of Saskatchewan—SUNTEP with a Bachelor of Education degree. Lydia currently works for the Saskatoon Public Library and is pursuing her Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) through the University of Alberta. Lydia hopes to use her personal and professional experiences to advance public library policy and practices that create barriers to service for Indigenous Peoples and to advocate for collaboration with Indigenous Communities to foster positive, authentic, and representative voices as part of all public library services.