Jo-Ann Episkenew (19 August 1952 – 18 February 2016) was a

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

writer originally from

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, though she lived in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

for much of her life. She held a Masters of Business Administration and a Honours Certificate M.A. from the University of Regina. In 2006, she completed a Ph.D. at Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University in Greifswald, Germany, the first Indigenous Canadian to receive a Ph.D. from a German university.

Career

Episkenew worked as a professor of English literature in the Department of English at the First Nations University of Canada. She also served as the director of the Indigenous People's Health Research Centre at the University of Regina. She was a member of the Chotro International Consultative Group, a group that organizes bi-annual conferences on international Indigenous issues. She was on the Judicial Advisory Committee for Federal Judicial appointments for the Province of Saskatchewan. Her research included national and international projects in the area of Indigenous literature, Indigenous health and wellbeing relating to the lives of Aboriginal and First Nations people of Canada.

Publications

Her book, ''Taking Back Our Spirits; Indigenous Literature, Public Policy, and Healing'' was published by the University of Manitoba in 2009. It won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Scholarly Writing in 2009; and the Saskatchewan Book Award for First People's Writing in 2010. The book was reviewed by Cheryl Suzack in

University of Toronto Quarterly The ''University of Toronto Quarterly'' is an interdisciplinary academic journal of the humanities published by the University of Toronto Press. It was established in 1931 under the editorship of the philosopher George Sidney Brett. The current ...

, who stated that it "analyzes the capacities of Indigenous literatures to "de-educate" both settler-colonial and Indigenous communities from the trappings of colonialism". In a forum in the journal ''Canadian Literature'', the book was celebrated as "the second monograph of literary criticism on Indigenous writing by an Indigenous critic in Canada." Five critics published their commentary in the forum, Kristina Fagan Bidwell, Susan Gingell, Alison Hargreaves, Daniel Heath Justice, and Deanna Reder, followed by Episkenew's response.

Awards

Episkenew was awarded the YMCA Regina Women of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. She received the Indspire Award for service to education, one of fourteen Indigenous Canadians selected in 2016.

References

1953 births 2016 deaths Indspire Awards Writers from Winnipeg University of Greifswald alumni University of Regina alumni Métis writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women non-fiction writers First Nations academics Canadian Métis people First Nations women writers {{Canada-writer-stub