Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
| Leanne Simpson | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Betasamosake |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | Alderville First Nation |
| Ethnicity | Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Education | PhD |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba |
| Genres | poetry, nonfiction, fiction |
| Notable awards | RBC Charles Taylor Emerging writer |
| Website | |
| leannesimpson.ca | |
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is an Indigenous (Mississauga Nishnaabeg) poet and academic. She is notable as the author of the several books and papers on Indigenous issues in Canada, and for her work with the 2012 Idle No More protests.[1]
Career
Simpson earned her PhD from the University of Manitoba and is currently the Visiting Scholar in Indigenous Studies at McGill University.
Activism
Simpson is active in Aboriginal social issues, including reform of Canada's Indian Act and the protection of indigenous homelands.[1] She was an active participant in the Idle No More protest movement.[2]
Her philosophy is described as an opposition to what she describes as "extractivism."[1] This term encompasses the extraction of natural resources from the Earth, the colonial "extraction" ("assimilation") of Native Americans, and the "cognitive extraction" of Native American ideas, i.e., cultural appropriation.[1] She suggests an alternative ideology focused on local engagement with land and community.[1]
Books
Simpson was inspired to write while collecting stories told by Nishnaabeg elders for her first collection, Dancing on Our Turtle's Back.[3] In 2013, Simpson published The Gift is in the Making, which reimagined traditional stories from the Nishnaabeg. She published Islands of Decolonial Love the same year, a collection of short stories.[4] She was the 2014 RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award-winner.[3]
She has worked as an editor for several collections, including: Lighting the Eighth Fire, This Is An Honour Song, and The Winter We Danced: Voice from the Past, the Future and the Idle No More Movement.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Klein, Naomi. "Dancing the World into Being: A Conversation with Idle No More’s Leanne Simpson". YES! Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ↑ McCue, Duncan. "The cultural importance of Idle No More". www.cbc.ca. CBC. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- 1 2 "RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award Leanne Simpson on the significance of storytelling". www.cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ↑ Rogers, Shelagh; James Sinclair, Niigaanwewidiam. "Globe Books 2013: A new chapter in aboriginal literature". The Globe and Mail. Globe and Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ↑ Simpson, Leanne. "Leanne Simpson". leannesimpson.ca. Retrieved 22 January 2016.