Finalist, First Nations Communities READ

Christi Belcourt is a Métis visual artist whose ancestry originates from the historic Métis community of Mânitou Sâkhigan (Lac Ste. Anne) in Alberta. She has a deep respect for Mother Earth and the traditions and knowledge of her people. She is also known for her work as a community-based artist, environmentalist, and advocate for the lands, waters, and rights of Indigenous peoples.

Christi Belcourt is the first book devoted exclusively to Belcourt’s life and work: her early paintings showcasing the natural world’s beauty and interconnectedness, her monumental "flower beadwork" paintings, and her recent collaborations with Isaac Murdoch, an Anishinaabe knowledge keeper. Drawn from a national touring exhibition, these works of art inspire reflection, provoke conversation, and call for action.

The book, with text in English and Anishinaabemowin, features a powerful artist’s statement by Christi Belcourt, and illuminating essays written by scholars Sherry Farrell Racette, Dylan Miner, and exhibition curator Nadia Kurd.

Sherry Farrell Racette is an artist and educator. She has been painting, drawing and making things since she was little. Sherry received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Certificate in Secondary Education from the University of Maitoba and later, a Masters in Education from the University of Regina.A member of the Timiskaming Band of Algonquins in Quebec, Sherry was born in Manitoba and has been involved in Indian and Metis education for many years. She is currently an assistant professor with the Faculty of Education, University of Regina.Sherry wrote and illustrated The Flower Beadwork People for the Gabriel Dumont Institute and recently illustrated Maria Campbell’s Stories of the Road Allowance People (Theytus Press).

Sherry Farrell Racette's profile page

Dr. Nadia Kurd is an art historian who has worked at diverse arts organizations. She is the former Curator of the Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2010-18) and is currently the Curator of the University of Alberta Museums Art Collection in Edmonton.

Nadia Kurd's profile page

Dr. Dylan Miner is an artist, activist and scholar, and is currently the Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies and Professor at Michigan State University. He descends from the Historic Georgian Bay Métis Community and is a registered citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario.

Dylan Miner's profile page

Christi Belcourt is a Michif (Métis) visual artist with a deep respect for Mother Earth, the traditions and the knowledge of her people. In addition to her paintings she is also known as a community based artist, environmentalist and advocate for the lands, waters and Indigenous peoples. She is currently a lead organizer for the Onaman Collective which focuses on resurgence of language and land based practices. She is also the lead coordinator for Walking With Our Sisters, a community-driven project that honours murdered or missing Indigenous women. Her work Giniigaaniimenaaning (Looking Ahead) commemorates residential school survivors, their families and communities to mark the Prime Minister's historic Apology in 2008 and is installed at Centre Block on Parliament Hill commissioned by the Government of Canada. She was named the Aboriginal Arts Laureate by the Ontario Arts Council in 2015. In 2016 she won a Governor General's Innovation Award and was named the winner of the 2016 Premier's Awards in the Arts. Author of Medicines To Help Us (Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2007) and Beadwork (Ningwakwe Learning Press, 2010). Christi's work is found within the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Gabriel Dumont Institute, the Indian and Inuit Art Collection, Parliament Hill, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Canadian Museum of Civilization, First People's Hall.

Christi Belcourt's profile page

• Short-listed, First Nations Communities READ

“Staggeringly, this is the very first book devoted to her life and work and this collection ... is utterly essential.”

<i>[EDIT]ION</i>

“One of this year's most beautiful books.”

<i>Galleries West</i>