Aaron Paquette is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer, artist, speaker"Artist Paquette pens his first novel; Fantasy tale not simply about 'being native'" '' Edmonton Journal'', June 27, 2014. and politician who currently serves on the Edmonton City Council, representing Ward Dene in the city's northeast. He was first elected to the Edmonton City Council on October 16, 2017. He was a winner of the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature in 2015 for his debut young adult fantasy novel ''Lightfinder'' (Kegedonce Press). As a painter, his most notable work is a

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

mural at Edmonton's

Government Centre station Government Centre station (formerly known as Grandin/Government Centre station) is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It serves both the Capital Line and the Metro Line. It is an underground station located ben ...

(formerly Grandin station.) He also created several iconic images used in the

Idle No More Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement, founded in December 2012 by four women: three First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis ...

movement. His work may also be found in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.Aaron Paquette
's page at Idle No More website. Accessed 17 Nov 2015.Is There a Future for Idle No More?
" by Aaron Paquette. November 30th, 2013. Accessed 17 Nov 2015 His murals are also present the walls of many Edmonton schools and public locations. He is featured in the documentary program, "From the Spirit." Paquette is Métis of Cree (Nehiyaw), Cayuse and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

descent.

Consulting Work

Paquette is the president of Cree8 Success, a consulting firm."Aaron Paquette, a high profile candidate running for the NDP in Edmonton"
. ''

APTN Investigates APTN may stand for: * Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Canadian broadcast and cable television network * Asia-Pacific Telecentre Network, collaborative initiative of the United Nations * Associated Press Television News {{About, the global v ...

'', August 18, 2015. In 2012, Cree8 Success ran an Education Conference that hosted the following facilitators and presenters: David Bouchard,

Richard Wagamese Richard Wagamese (October 14, 1955 – March 10, 2017) was an Ojibwe Canadian author and journalist from the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario."Indian Horse is a dark ride". '' Calgary Herald'', February 28, 2012. He was be ...

, Ryan McMahon, ASANI (musical trio made up of Debbie Houle, Sarah Pocklington, and Sherryl Sewepagaham), K.A.S.P. (a.k.a. Paul Sawan),Dawn Marie Marchand, Amanda Woodward (traditional dancer), and

Richard Van Camp Richard Van Camp (born September 8, 1971) is a Dogrib Tłı̨chǫ writer of the Dene nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada.

, in addition to Aaron Paquette. Paquette has recorded a podcast for Cree8 Success, which can be accessed through SoundCloud.

Politics

He ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in the riding of

Edmonton Manning Edmonton Manning is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Edmonton Manning was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally ...

in the 2015 federal election, defeated by candidate

Ziad Aboultaif Ziad Aboultaif (Arabic: زياد أبو لطيف; born 10 September 1966) is a Canadian politician first elected to represent the riding of Edmonton Manning in the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election. Before politics On first comin ...

of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, Paquette ran for Edmonton City Council in Ward 4, which includes the neighbourhoods of Northeast Edmonton, Manning, and Clareview. Paquette defeated 11 other candidates for the seat with 23.79% of the vote. Paquette announced in March 2021 that he will seek re-election to the Edmonton City Council in October 2021. He emphasized that as a City Councilor he has focused on improving services for Edmonton residents and ending what are known as "ward wars," wherein municipalities fight with each other for budgets and support services. The 2021 municipal election saw changes to the ward names and boundaries, and Paquette was re-elected in Ward Dene, which includes his former Ward 4.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paquette, Aaron 21st-century Canadian painters 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian muralists New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Alberta candidates for Member of Parliament Métis writers Métis painters Métis politicians Living people Canadian fantasy writers Canadian writers of young adult literature Canadian people of Norwegian descent Artists from Edmonton Edmonton city councillors Writers from Edmonton 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century First Nations writers First Nations novelists 1974 births Canadian male painters