Indigenous Voices Awards Finalists Announced

The 17 finalists for the second annual Indigenous Voices Awards, administered by Canada's Indigenous Literary Studies Association, have been announced. The awards were established in 2017 to support and nurture the work of Indigenous writers in lands claimed by Canada, and to "honor the sovereignty of Indigenous creative voices and reject cultural appropriation." The finalists represent emerging Indigenous voices, both published and unpublished, and a total of C$14,000 will be given out to the winners on June 4 at a gala at the First Nations House of Learning in Vancouver, BC, Canada, also known as Unceded Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Territory. Gala tickets are free but must be reserved here. 

The finalists are recognized in seven categories:

PUBLISHED PROSE IN ENGLISH

• Lindsay Nixon nîtisânak (Metonymy Press)
• Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth(Viking Canada/Penguin Random House Canada)
• Joshua Whitehead, Jonny Appleseed (Arsenal Pulp Press)

PUBLISHED POETRY IN ENGLISH

• Wanda John-Kehewin, Seven Sacred Truths (Talon)
• Jules Koostachin, Unearthing of Secrets, Gathering of Truths (Kegedonce)
• Smokii Sumac, You are Enough: Love Poems for the End of the World (Kegedonce)

PUBLISHED WORKS IN FRENCH  

• Joséphine Bacon, Uiesh, Quelque Part (Mémoire d’encrier)
• Pierrot Ross-Tremblay, Nipimanitu (Prise de parole)

WORK IN AN INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE

• Francine Merasty, Iskotew Iskwew

UNPUBLISHED PROSE IN ENGLISH

• Francine Cunningham, selection from “Teenage Asylums”
• Brittany Johnson, “Transit”
• Blair Yoxall, “Little Bull”

UNPUBLISHED POETRY IN ENGLISH

• Craig Commanda, “My Ghosts Roam this Land” and other poems 
• Elaine McArthur, “Brush of a Bustle” 
• Autumn Schnell, “FemmNDN Commandments” 

WORKS IN AN ALTERNATIVE FORMAT

• Mich Cota, “Wàsakozi” 
• Tasha Spillett (with Natasha Donovan), “Surviving the City” (HighWater Press)