Written from a female and Indigenous perspective, the poems in Indianland incorporate Anishinaabemowin throughout. Lesley Belleau explores rich themes of sexuality, birth, memory, and longing, as well as touchstone issues in Indigenous politics including Elijah Harper, Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, forced sterilizations, and Kanesatake with immediacy and intimacy. This multiform collection moves from present day to first contact and back to the present, immersing us in images of blood, plants (milkweed, yarrow, cattails), and petroglyphs, and grounding the book in the beloved land of which it speaks.

Born and raised in Garden River First Nations, located outside of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Lesley is an Ojibwe writer and spoken word performer. She has an M.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. Lesley's fiction, poetry, and plays have been published in journals and anthologies in Canada and the US and she has performed her spoken word pieces at various events. An advocate for Indigenous arts, Lesley has hosted several poetry cabarets featuring Ojibwe hand-drumming and highlighting the work of local Indigenous performers. Lesley is a part-time university instructor and trustee at the Garden River Reserve Community Trust. She lives in Kingston, Ontario with her family.

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