Winners of National Indigenous Arts & Stories Contest announced

“Seventh Fire Leadership” by Tehatsistahawi Kennedy

Historica Canada’s annual Indigenous Arts & Stories contest has revealed this year’s winners.

In the Arts Junior category (ages 14 to 18) the winner is Tehatsistahawi Kennedy, age 16, of London, Ont. for his work “Seventh Fire Leadership”.  In the Arts Senior category (ages 19 to 29) the winner is Jared Boechler, 23, of Saskatoon for his work “Do Never.”

In the Writing categories the Junior winner is

Leah Baptiste, age 17, of Brooks, Alta. for her story entitled “Crucible”. In the Senior category the winner is Shelby Lisk, 25, from Belleville, Ont. for the story “Invisible Indian”.

The four will receive a $2,000 cash prize each. A jury of renowned Indigenous artists, writers and community leaders, including John Kim Bell, Ryan Rice, Drew Hayden Taylor, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Shirley Moorhouse, Brian Maracle and Maxine Noel chose the winners from the 670 submissions received.

 The contest, now in its 14th year, is the largest art and writing contest for Indigenous youth in Canada, and it continues to provide a forum for Indigenous youth to explore their heritage, identity, and culture, reads a press statement.

“The powerful stories told by Indigenous youth through their art and writing deserve a broad audience,” said Anthony Wilson-Smith, President and CEO of Historica Canada. “We’re proud to be able to offer them that and hope Canadians of all backgrounds will explore these perspectives.”

To read the winners’ stories and those of the runners up go to http://www.our-story.ca

You can also find the top five arts submissions in each category at that website.

Emerging artist and writer categories (ages 9 to 13) will be announced later this month.

Supporting sponsors include Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, TD Bank, Canada’s History, and Indigenous Link.