Recipients announced for the Eighth Annual Indigenous Voices Awards
Press Release
The Indigenous Voices Awards, the only major Canadian literary prize to celebrate creativity and excellence in published and unpublished work by emerging Indigenous writers, today announced Rosanna Deerchild (Cree) as this year’s recipient for published poetry in English ($5,000) and Wayne K. Spear (Kanien’kehá:ka) and Georges Erasmus (Dene) as this year’s recipients for published prose in English ($5,000).
The IVAs French prizes (PVA) were awarded on June 15 during the Kwe! festival: Catégorie littérature générale en français ($5,000) went to Cyndy Wylde (anicinapek8e / atikamekw iskwew) for Émergence insoumise (Éditions Hannenorak); and catégorie littérature jeunesse en français ($5,000) went to Océane Kitura Bohémier-Tootoo (inuk) for Trouver la maison (Éditions Hannenorak).
The IVAs launched in 2017 with a crowd-funded purse of just over $115,000, and to date the IVAs have now awarded a total of $247,000 to Indigenous authors. Visit IndigenousVoicesAwards.org to learn more.
The 2025 IVAs Prose in English Award goes to Wayne K. Spear (Kanien’kehá:ka) and Georges Erasmus (Dene) for Hòt’a! Enough!: Georges Erasmus’s Fifty-Year Battle for Indigenous Rights (Dundurn Press)
Jury Citation:
“Hòt’a! Enough! takes us through the incredible journey of Georges Erasmus and the impact that he has made on this country through his constant dedication to bettering the lives of all Indigenous Peoples and in doing so all people in Canada. For Indigenous peoples this book is an inspiration. A vivid look into the sacrifices and sheer determination of a person and his community in the continual struggle for recognition of our rights. For non-Indigenous peoples this book is an eye opener into what has and continues to go into the constant struggle for recognition and respect and the role that Georges has played in that.”
Nominees in this category also included: Hummingbird/Aamo-binashee (Orca Books), written and illustrated by Jennifer Leason (Minegoziibe Anishinabe – Pine Creek First Nation); Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival (Orca Books), by Trina Rathgeber (Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation); Niizh (Playwrights Canada Press), by Joelle Peters (Anishinaabe); and The Knowing (HarperCollins Canada) by Tanya Talaga (Anishinaabe – Fort William First Nation) (Doubleday Canada).
The 2025 IVAs Poetry in English Award goes to Rosanna Deerchild (Cree / O-pipon-na-piwin Cree Nation)
for She Falls Again (Coach House Press)
Jury Citation:
“With precision, humor, and love, Deerchild invites us into trickster conversations, cultural and familial memory, the beauty and resistance of Indigenous life, and the revolutionary power of Sky Woman’s return. Deerchild instructs that “these stories are scars i turn to stars/set free in the sky of telling,” where the rhythm of Cree “carries/[her] back to bone memory,” and assures us that “it’s the lovers who will save us all.”
Nominees in this category also included: Cloud Missives (Tin House), by Kenzie Allen (Haudenosaunee); Once the Smudge is Lit (Kegedonce Press), by Kelsey Borgford (Nbisiing Nishnaabe, Nipissing Nation) and Cole Forrest (Ojibwe Nipissing Nation); KINAUVUNGA?/ᑭᓇᐅᕗᖓ (Publication Studio Guelph), by Aedan Corey (Inuit); and What Fills Your House Like Smoke (Thistledown Press), by E. McGregor (Métis).
Last month, the IVAs announced recipients in categories of unpublished poetry and prose in English, with all eight finalists receiving awards of $500 each: Henry Heavyshield (Kainai), Jesset Karlen (Métis), aleria mckay (Onondaga & Teme Augama Anishnabai), Kieran Rice (Snuneymuxw First Nation), Chantal Rondeau (Northern Tutchone), Nolan Schmerk (Ojibway), Dawn Amber Tonks (Secwepemc – St’uxwtéws), Kevin Wesaquate (Cree – Piapot First Nation), and Jennifer B.S. Williams (Gitksan/Sekani).
“The IVAs are a really important example of community rooted advocacy for the best literature in the country—and in the world, frankly. The IVAs open real doors and provide real support, encouragement, and resources for writers who are changing the landscape of literature in this country and beyond.”
—Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee), professor, author and IVAs champion
In 2025 the Indigenous Voices Awards English prizes were administered by SFU professors and literary scholars Deanna Reder (Cree-Métis) and Sophie McCall (settler), and poet and UBC professor Billy-Ray Belcourt (Cree). This year’s jurors for the English prizes were Cody Caetano, Camille Georgeson-Usher, Liz Howard, Jessica Johns, Conor Kerr, Jónína Kirton, Cecily Nicholson, and Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek.
Previous IVAs finalists in unpublished categories who went on to publish their work include Kelsey Borgford, Francine Cunningham, Marie-Andrée Gill, Elaine McArthur, Smokii Sumac, Francine Merasty, Amanda Peters, Cody Caetano, and Brandi Bird. Over 50 works from IVAs writers can also be found in Carving Space: The Indigenous Voices Awards Anthology published by McClelland & Stewart (2023), co-edited by Jordan Abel, Carleigh Baker, and Madeleine Reddon.
The Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs) is a literary contest that aims to honour the sovereignty of Indigenous creative voices, and support and nurture the work of Indigenous writers in lands claimed by Canada. The IVAs are increasingly significant to the literary landscape, having elevated and championed the work of 145 Indigenous writers, introducing audiences around the world to compelling new literary voices.
Support for the Indigenous Voice Awards is welcome through the Ontario Arts Foundation: https://oafdn.ca/make-a-donation/.
The Indigenous Voices Awards acknowledge generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Pamela Dillon & Family Gift Fund, Penguin Random House Canada, and Scholastic Canada. In addition, the IVAs co-chairs gratefully acknowledge support from Douglas & McIntyre for its donation of a portion of its sales of Richard Wagamese’s What Comes From Spirit and royalties from the republished Days of Augusta, by Mary Augusta Tappage Evans. The co-chairs also thank the countless supporters who have donated to the IVAs crowd-sourced fund over the years. Further donations are always welcome and deeply appreciated: please visit IndigenousVoicesAwards.org for more information.
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The IVAs logo is designed by Lou-ann Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw).
For images, interviews or more information please contact:
Katie Saunoris | KSPR
katiesaunoris@gmail.com
Media Gallery – IVAs 2025
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