CONTRIBUTORS

Mary E. Hughes, who wrote “Pluck & Prowess,” was prompted to look into the life of Winifred Bambrick because of a family connection to the surname. Hughes is the author of two volumes of non-fiction and of the three novels comprising the Violet trilogy. She is grateful to Professor Emeritus William H. New of the University of British Columbia for access to his research and early work on Bambrick.

Michelle LaVallee, Anishinaabe (Ojibway) – Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, wrote “Headwaters of Their Own Stream.” She is the director of the Indigenous Art Centre at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and was previously curator at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina. She organized the nationally touring exhibition 7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. and edited and contributed to the awardwinning book contextualizing the group’s influential role in Canadian art history.

Don Cummer wrote “Barbed Wire Ballads.” Cummer grew up in Calgary and currently divides his time between Ottawa and Dublin, where he can sometimes be found strumming a guitar in his neighbourhood pub. A professional speech writer for many years, he is the author of a series of novels, published by Scholastic Canada, about the adventures of two boys — a Canadian and an American — during the War of 1812.

Susan Riley, B.A. (Hons), B.J., LL.B., wrote “Life of Riley.” She is a journalist who has written for newspapers in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Vancouver and produced for CBC Television. After completing a law degree, she performed dispute resolution for the federal Department of Justice. She has written two non-fiction books: We Watch the Waves, an exploration of her father’s unexplained suicide, and Larry’s Last Resort, an examination of a West Vancouver murder.

Wabi Benais Mistatim Equay (Cynthia Bird) is the author of “Agowigiiwinan Bezhig Minawaa Niizhin.” She is Cree from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, in Treaty One Territory, with ties to her adopted family in Red Sucker Lake, Manitoba. She is an educator and a consultant with almost forty years of experience working in a variety of sectors. She continues to be involved in initiatives that promote First Nations and Indigenous perspectives about our shared history and current realities.