The Mellon ISCEI Writer in Residence program will bring Indigenous writers to campus to continue their creative work, share their expertise, interact with students and faculty members, and enhance knowledge of and exposure to Indigenous writing among the campus community and the public at large. The annual Writer in Residence will be co-organized with the Departments of English and French Literature, and will be involved in a variety of on-campus activities such as creative writing workshops, talks, and will be available as a resource to students, faculty, and staff.
Winter 2024 Writer-in-Residence
BILLY-RAY BELCOURT (he/him) is from the Driftpile Cree Nation. He is the author of five books, including A MINOR CHORUS and the forthcoming COEXISTENCE. He has been awarded the Griffin Poetry Prize, the City of Edmonton Book Prize, and two BC and Yukon Book Prizes. He is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.
Past Residencies
See below to learn more about past residents
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, musician, and academic. She has worked as an independent scholar for two decades and lectured at universities across Canada and the United States. In her work, she deals with ideas of Indigenous environmentalisms and land-based knowledge, resurgence and resilience, and Indigenous futurities. She holds a PhD from the University of Manitoba and currently teaches at Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. She is a member of Alderville First Nation.
Some of her notable works include Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back, Islands of Decolonial Love, and most recently, Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies and its accompanying album Noopiming Sessions.
Publications:
Non-fiction
- Rehearsals for Living Robyn Maynard & Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (forthcoming Knopf Canada/Haymarket 2022)
- A Short History of the Blockade: Giant Beavers, Diplomacy & Regeneration in Nishnaabewin (University of Alberta Press, 2021)
- Danser sur les dos de notre Tortue (Varia, 2018)
- As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance (University of Minnesota Press, 2017)
- Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence (2011)
Fiction
- Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies (House of Anansi, 2020; University of Minnesota Press, 2021)
- Noopiming, Remède pour guérir de la blancheur (Mémoire d'encrier, 2021)
- On se perd toujours par accident (Mémoire d'encrier, 2020)
- Cartographie de l'amour décolonial (Mémoire d'encrier, 2018)
- This Accident of Being Lost: Songs and Stories (House of Anansi, 2017)
- Islands of Decolonial Love (ARP Books, 2013)
- The Gift is in the Making (Portage and Main Press, 2013)
Albums
- Theory of Ice (You've Changed Records, 2021)
- Noopiming Sessions (Gizhiiwe Records, 2020)
- f(l)ight (2016)
- Islands of Decolonial Love (2013)
Films & Videos
- Viscosity (dir. Sandra Brewster, 2021)
- Solidification (dir. Sammy Chien & Chimerik Collective, 2020)
- Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) (dir. Amanda Strong, 2018)
- How to Steal A Canoe (dir. Amanda Strong, 2016)
- Under Your Always Light (dir. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, 2016)
Maya Cousineau-Mollen
Maya Cousineau Mollen, de la nation Innu-Montagnaise est adoptée de façon traditionnelle par des parents Québécois sur décision de sa mère Innu. Encouragée par ses parents, elle commence à écrire de la poésie dès l’âge de 14ans. Ce moyen d’expression la suit tout au long de son existence. Publiée modes -tement dans des anthologies, revues littéraires et également auteure d’une nouvelle dans le recueil Amun sous la direction de Michel Jean. Elle publie en Septembre 2019 son tout premier recueil de poésie avec la maison d’Éditions Hannenorak intitulé : Bréviaire du Matricule 082. Elle cumule 23 ans d’expérience dans le monde des Premières nations. Fondatrice de l’association étudiante autochtone à l’Université Laval et également cofondatrice du Conseil des jeunes des Premières nations du Québec et du Labrador devenu depuis l’actuel Réseau jeunesse des Premières Nations du Québec et du Labrador.
Maya Cousineau Mollen is an Innu-Montagnaise writer. Encouraged by her adopted parents, Maya began writing poetry at a young age and has since incorporated writing throughout her life. Maya is the cofounder of the First Nations Youth Council in Quebec and Labrador, in addition to founding the association étudiante autochtone à l’Université Laval. Published in anthologies and literary reviews, Maya published her first collection of poetry with la maison d’Éditions Hannenorak titled: Bréviaire du Matricule 082.
Publications:
Recuils
- Bréviaire du matricule 082, Wendake, Éditions Hannenorak, 2019
- Enfant du lichen, Édition Hannenorak, 2022
Revues et ouvrages collectifs
- « [Poèmes/Poems] », dans Susan Ouriou (dir.), Languages of Our Land : Indigenous Poems and Stories from Quebec / Langues de notre terre: Poèmes et récits autochtones du Québec, Banff, Banff Centre Press, 2014, p. 145-160
- « [Poèmes] », Exit, revue de poésie, no 59, juin 2010, p. 72-74
- « Mort à l'arme blanche », dans Maurizio Gatti (dir.), Mots de neige, de sable et d'océan : littératures autochtones, Wendake, Éditions du CDFM, 2008, p. 72-73
- « Jalousie masculine », dans Maurizio Gatti (dir.), Mots de neige, de sable et d'océan : littératures autochtones, Wendake, Éditions du CDFM, 2008, p. 72-73
Lettres
- « Encore une fois, l'aventure se passera entre nous, les Autochtones? », Le Devoir, 14 juillet 2018
- « À propose de Kanata, épisode 1, la controverse », Le Devoir, 15 décembre 2018
Nouvelles
- « Mitatamun (Regret) », dans Michel Jean (dir.), Amun, Montréal, Stanké, 2016, 133-154 p., p. 133-154
Greg Horn
Greg Horn is a Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawake and has been a journalist for 25 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Concordia University. He is also a graduate of the adult immersion program Kanien’kéha Ratiwennahní:rats.
Greg is the editor/publisher of Iorì:wase – a community media outlet based in Kahnawake. Iorì:wase first launched online in 2008 and has been printing a newspaper since 2013 and it also produces video content and podcasts. In 2022, Iorì:wase was named Best Overall Newspaper by the Quebec Community Newspapers Association.
Outside of journalism Greg is very involved in his community and is the Chairman of the Tewatohnhi’saktha Board of Director and is one of the founders and Chairman of the Club 24 Athletics Foundation not for profit.
You can read more about this initiative by referring to Call to Action #25 in the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education report linked here: