Flett inspired by family stories
By Christine Smith McFarlane
TORONTO – When he was a boy, Julie Flett’s father Clarence liked picking blueberries with his grandmother… and eating the sour ones.
The Vancouver-based Metis-Cree writer-illustrator used her father’s story as the basis for her picture book, “Wild Berries” – and a Cree version “Pakwa che Menisu” – which received the first Aboriginal Literature Award of the Periodical Marketers of Canada.
“My dad and I spoke a lot while I was writing and illustrating this book,” said Flett, following presentation of her award June 9 during the 40th annual All-Ontario Chiefs’ Conference. “I think it was as inspiring an experience for him as it was for me. We talked about his childhood and about blueberry picking and that he really does like the sour ones.
“I envisioned him as a little one with his grandmother. It is, as First Nations Community READ writes, a story about the importance of intergenerational relationships and teachings, respect for Mother Earth and all her creatures and creations, and the acknowledgement, preservation, and use of Aboriginal languages and dialects.
“In Cree, the word for gratitude is NUH HASS CO MOO WUK (Nanaskomowin). It is taught to be grateful every day. This is what Wild Berries is about.”
A jury of First Nations librarians in Ontario – with coordination support from the Southern Ontario Library Service – selected “Wild Berries” from more than 40 titles submitted by Canadian publishers as the 2014-2015 selection for year-long community reading. The First Nations Community READ call was for children;’s books that encourage family literacy, intergenerational storytelling, and inter-generational information-sharing.
“Writing is the easiest part, but illustrating takes a lot longer,” said Flett. “I started illustrating in 2004 and writing in 2010. My advice to those who want to write and illustrate is to look at other people’s work, discover what you like, what inspires you, because we all have stories to share.”
The Aboriginal Literature Award, funded by the Periodical Marketers of Canada through its Foundation, is a four-year commitment of $5,000 a year. Rob Smith, the presenter of the award said: “ All of us at Periodical Marketers feel privileged to fund this award which recognizes the creators of outstanding Aboriginal Literature.”
Flett says her family is “very mixed”.
“My grandmother is Metis from St. Boniface and my grandfather is from Cross Lake, Manitoba. I came into writing and illustrating when my sister was leaving her position at Theytus Books, a First Nations-owned and operated publisher of Indigenous voices. She came across a manuscript for a children’s book story called “The Moccasins”, which is written by Earl Einarson, a member if the Tuh NUH ha (Ktunaxa) First Nation. Even though I’d never illustrated a children’s book, my sister thought because I had a background in fine arts, that I might like to give this a try. I submitted sketches to the board of directors and the illustrations were approved, so we went ahead with the project.”
She says her writing was inspired by her grandparents’ love of language.
“My grandparents were multilingual; between them they spoke five languages. The languages were not passed down but just before my grandfather passed away, I asked him if he would speak to me in his language. He did, he spoke to me in Cree. He was struggling with Alzheimer’s at the time but he had no problem remembering Cree.
“I won’t ever forget that moment with him. It’s inspired me to do the work that I do. I’m so grateful for those who held onto the teachings, to our languages and culture; and to have had this opportunity, with my arts practice to contribute to the preservation of our languages.”