Creative Voices

Celebrating the winners of the Indigenous Arts & Stories competition.

Canadians are becoming increasingly conscious of the importance of hearing and respecting Indigenous voices, and young people offer unique perspectives on interpreting their heritage and contemporary Indigenous identity. Historica Canada’s Indigenous Arts & Stories program aims to provide youth with a platform to share their stories, visions, and ideas.

Indigenous Arts & Stories encourages First Nations, Métis, and Inuit youth from across the country to submit creative writing or art exploring a moment or a theme in their history, culture, or identity.

In the fifteen years since the program began, Indigenous Arts & Stories has evolved into the largest and most recognized art and creative writing competition for Indigenous youth in Canada, with more than 4,200 young people, between the ages of six and twenty-nine, sharing their creativity.

A jury of notable Indigenous artists, writers, and community leaders selects the winners.

In giving Indigenous youth a platform to celebrate their heritage and to realize their creative potential, we are reminded of the ability of art and writing both to empower Indigenous youth and to educate all Canadians.

Supporting youth as they explore their voices through art and writing is vital to the continued survival and revival of Indigenous cultural heritage.

It is also an integral part of our country’s shared reconciliation journey.

Indigenous Arts & Stories aims to inspire the next generation of Indigenous artists and writers to share their voices and stories with the nation.

This year’s winners come from across the country and reflect the diverse experiences of our participants.

In the writing competition, the winners were: senior category, Shelby Lisk, Belleville, Ontario (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory); junior category, Leah Baptiste, Brooks, Alberta (Deline, Northwest Territories); and in the emerging category, Megan Tiessen, Summerland, British Columbia (Ojibway), and Bryan Bruno, Edmonton (Maskwacis, Alberta).

In the arts competition, the winners were: senior category, Jared Boechler, Saskatoon (Métis); junior category Tehatsistahawi Kennedy, London, Ontario (Beausoleil First Nation); emerging category, Jaelie Young, Calgary (Tahltan), and Tyson Moxam-Gosselin and Tristan Medwid, Winnipeg.

To read the winners’ full writing pieces and to learn more about the artists, visit Our-Story.ca, where you can also explore work by past winners and finalists.