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An Evening with Helen Knott and Katłįà hosted by Michelle Cyca
Friday, February 23 at 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
FreeJoin award-winning authors Helen Knott and Katłįà as they discuss their latest books, Becoming a Matriarch and Firekeeper, with acclaimed journalist Michelle Cyca. The evening will begin with a Traditional Welcome offered by Chepx̱imiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).
For this in-person event:
- Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
- Registration is required.
- Seating is general admission.
Helen Knott is a Dane Zaa, Cree, Metis, and mixed settler descent woman from the Indigenous community, Prophet River First Nations. She is the author of the nationally best-selling book, In My Own Moccasins. Her second book, Becoming a Matriarch, reached #1 selling status on the Toronto Star best sellers list. Helen holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and has worked in advocacy and wellness within Indigenous communities for almost a decade. Previously, she worked at a Provincial level with families impacted by MMIWG. Currently, Helen is facilitating and creating through her own company as she works on her next creative project. She has other pieces published ranging from poetry to academic articles that focus on the connection between violence against Indigenous lands and violence against Indigenous bodies. Helen is eleven years sober and a single mom to an amazing teenager.
Katłįà is a northern Dene woman residing in Lekwungen Speaking Peoples Territory on Coast Salish homelands. She is awaiting the publication of her fourth book “Firekeeper” in April 2024 with Fernwood Publishing. She recently signed a book deal for a climate change manifesto from a northern Dene perspective with Harper One and Penguin Random House forthcoming 2025. Katłįà is a mother, grandmother, and articling lawyer with macushlaw in Vancouver, BC. Her other books include Northern Wildflower, Land-water-sky/Ndè-tı-yat’a, and This House is Not a Home. In 2022, Katłįà served as WVML’s inaugural Climate Writer in Residence.
Michelle Cyca is a nehiyaw journalist living in Vancouver on the unceded and ancestral homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ peoples. She is currently the editor of Indigenous-led conservation for The Narwhal, a contributing writer to The Walrus and contributing editor to Maclean’s. She also writes for The Guardian, Chatelaine, IndigiNews, and many other places. Her literary criticism can be found in Quill & Quire, The Globe & Mail and the Vancouver Sun. Previously, she was the co-publisher and editor-in-chief of SAD Mag, a National Magazine Award-winning magazine celebrating Vancouver arts and culture. Michelle is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6, Saskatchewan.
Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George is an hereditary chief of the Squamish Nation. She is a trained museum curator, an educator, and a master weaver. She co-founded the L’hen Awtxw Weaving House to share the teachings and practice of traditional Coast Salish wool weaving and she co-authored the book Salish Blankets: Robes of Protection and Transformation, Symbols of Wealth. Check out her recent Tedx Talk, The Spirit Moves Like a Storm.
This program is part of the Witness Blanket, on view in the Library from January 26 – March 10, thanks to funding from the Province of British Columbia and the West Vancouver Memorial Library Foundation.
Details
- Date:
- Friday, February 23
- Time:
-
7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
- Cost:
- Free
- Event Categories:
- Author Talks, Honouring Reconciliation, In the Gallery
Venue
Contact
For more information, contact us at 604.925.7400 or info@westvanlibrary.ca.
Other
- Audiences
- Teens, Adults, Newcomers