Edmund Metatawabin

EDMUND METATAWABIN is a Cree writer, educator, poet, and activist. Metatawabin grew up as the eldest of eleven siblings. He was brought into the world by four midwives in his village: his grandmothers. The first seven years of his life, he grew up in a natural environment. At seven years old, he was registered at St. Anne’s Residential School in Fort Albany, where he was incarcerated for eight years. As a residential school survivor, he has devoted himself to righting the wrongs of the past and educating Native youth in traditional knowledge. He is the former Chief of Fort Albany First Nation. His first book, Hanaway, is a story about resistance and survival, told through myth and legend. His second work, Harvesting: Cree Hunting and Gathering Techniques, written with Peter Fergus-Moore, is a book with photos told in the form of story, highlighting some of the ways plants and animals may be harvested from Mother Earth. His memoir, Up Ghost River: A Chief’s Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History, written with Alexandra Shimo, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, the winner of the CBC Bookie Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, and was named a best book of the year by CBC, The Hill Times, and Quill & Quire. Metatawabin now lives in his self-made log house in Fort Albany, Ontario, on land he refers to as his “Grandfather’s Land.” He owns a sawmill and works as a consultant, speaker, and researcher.