5 Red River Métis authors to read for I Love to Read Month

February 6, 2023

"My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back." - Louis Riel

The Red River Métis have always created art as a way to share and preserve knowledge throughout generations. This storytelling tradition helps us stay connected to our history, our culture, and our Nation, as well as bringing our stories to all Manitobans and Canadians. From poetry, to graphic novels, to children's picture books, and more, our Citizens have created a range of ways to celebrate the history of our Nation, the beauty of our culture, and the strength and resilience of our people.

Here are five Red River Métis authors to check out during I Love to Read Month:

1. Katherena Vermette 

_{Acclaimed Winnipeg author Katherena Vermette won the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for her second novel, The Strangers.}

Acclaimed Winnipeg author Katherena Vermette's first poetry collection, North End Love Songs, won the 2013 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry, and her first novel, The Break, won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2017, among other awards. In 2021, Vermette released her second novel, The Strangers, which is set in the world of The Break, and took home the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

Vermette has also written a second poetry collection, river woman, the picture book, The Girl and The Wolf, and the graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo. While varying in form and audience, her stories are set on the Homeland of the Métis Nation, from the Saskatchewan prairie to Winnipeg's North End.

_{Each volume in A Girl Called Echo follows the title character as she travels back in time to significant eras in Métis history.}

Vermette's graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo, follows the title character as she travels back in time to significant eras in Métis history - Pemmican Wars, Red River Resistance, Northwest Resistance, and Road Allowance Era.

She also co-wrote and co-directed this river, a Canadian Screen Award-winning short documentary with an Indigenous perspective on the experience of searching for a missing loved one. 

2. Grant Anderson  

_{Red River Métis writer Grant Anderson has written children's picture books, including the Illustrated Métis History Series under the pen name of Jean LaPrairie.}

Born in Selkirk in 1955, Red River Métis writer Grant Anderson has written children's picture books such as Santa's Helper, and Do Unto Otters and Other Bedtime Rhymes, a book of hilarious limericks. He has also written the Illustrated Métis History Series under the pen name of Jean LaPrairie. He has held various roles at the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) and is currently heading up the development of the Red River Métis Heritage Centre. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, playing guitar, and writing children's literature. Anderson currently resides in Winnipeg.  

3. Desirée Gillespie

_{Red River Métis author Desirée Gillespie has worked at the MMF for over 20 years.}

An employee of the MMF for over 20 years, Desirée Gillespie started as a Youth at Risk Officer, and now works as a Chief Quality Officer for the Métis Child and Family Services Authority, responsible for about 13 staff.

She had a wonderful experience publishing her children's book, A Journey Through the Circle of Life, which almost materialized as a fluke. It started with hand-drawn illustrations on paper bookended by cardboard and tied together with string as an assignment for the Métis Child and Family Community Diploma program. The book assignment centred on helping children through trauma. Gillespie's mother, Métis Child and Family Services Minister Mona Buors, a teacher at the time, brought the book to read to her class. At the time, Minister Buors sat on the board for Pemmican Publications, an MMF affiliate dedicated to publishing Métis authors and illustrators. Minister Buors recommended the book to the board, and Gillespie was on her way to becoming a published author.

_{Gillespie's book, A Journey Through the Circle of Life, tackles themes of protecting the environment, dealing with grief, and passing on family teachings.}

In A Journey Through the Circle of Life, young Cheyenne's grandfather teaches her to plant a tree every year to honour Mother Nature and respect the circle of life. After her grandfather passes away, she starts to understand the rhythm of nature, and the impact of his wisdom. Gillespie's debut tackles themes of protecting the environment, dealing with grief, and passing on traditional teachings.

First published in 2007, A Journey Through the Circle of Life was well received. It was chosen for the province's cultural curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 12, and Gillespie took part in book signings at Chapters.

4. Elizabeth Denny 

_{Elizabeth Denny wrote the children's book Jenneli's Dance about a young girl who gains confidence in herself when she learns about the Red River Jig from her grandmother.}

Elizabeth Denny is a Métis Citizen from St. Laurent, now living in Winnipeg. Her poetry and short stories have been published in various journals, and she has written scripts for the APTN children's series Wapos Bay and Tipi Tales. In 2008, she wrote the children's book Jenneli's Dance about a young girl who gains confidence in herself when she learns about the Red River Jig from her grandmother. Denny is currently working on numerous projects, including another children's book, a novel, a work of creative non-fiction, a play, and the development of a limited series.

5. Deborah L. Delaronde 

_{In her writing, Red River Métis author Deborah L. Delaronde has often drawn on her own background and experiences, including her Métis culture and heritage as well as her childhood in Duck Bay.}

Deborah L. Delaronde was inspired to become an author while working as a children's librarian in Duck Bay. She was awarded the Beatrice Mosionier Aboriginal Writer of the Year Award in 2015 for her children's book Emma's Gift, and the 2001 McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award (Picture Book Category) for her children's book Flour Sack Flora.

In her writing, Delaronde has often drawn on her own background and experiences, including her Red River Métis culture and heritage as well as her childhood in Duck Bay. This is exemplified in her children's books, including Little Metis and the Metis Sash, A Name for a Metis, and Flour Sack Friends. She also wrote the young adult novel, The Stone Gift, about children placed in foster care based on her own experience being raised as a foster child, and the short story collection Metis Spirits.

_{Delaronde's latest children's book, Louis Riel Day: The Fur Trade Project, is about a young boy who, with help from his grandfather, learns about the history of the Fur Trade, Métis people, Louis Riel, the Red River Resistance, and why we have a holiday named Louis Riel Day.}

Her latest children's book, Louis Riel Day: The Fur Trade Project, was released in February 2021, in time for the Manitoba holiday. The book is about a young boy who, with help from his grandfather, learns about the history of the Fur Trade, Métis people, Louis Riel, the Red River Resistance, and why we have a holiday named Louis Riel Day.

Last year, Delaronde released a fictionalized memoir titled My Journey to Becoming Metis. She is working on another young adult novel and a few picture storybooks.

 

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