We are delighted to announce Miyopin Cheechoo as the winner of the 4th annual Indigenous Art Writing Award! On behalf of all of us at C and the Indigenous Curatorial Collective/ Collectif des commissaires autochtones (ICCA), congratulations!

Cheechoo’s text, “ai tried to code being indian,” stood out for its experiments in how poetic language might introduce generative glitches and interruptions into otherwise colonial algorithms. It was a pleasure to read, and we are excited to share it with our readers in an upcoming issue of C.

We would also like to congratulate Jamesie Fournier and Petala Ironcloud on being named runners-up. We look forward to reading their future pitches!

Thank you to everyone who participated, and to Napatsi Folger and Justine “Tini” Stilborn for adjudicating this year's award alongside C Magazine’s Associate Editor Maandeeq Mohamed.

ᐙᒡᐦᐊᔾ᙮
ᒦᔮᐱᓐ ᒌᒎ ᓃᑎᔑᓈᑳᓱᐦᓐ᙮
ᒨᓱᓀ ᓂᑑᓐᒋ᙮

Wachay, my name is Miyopin Cheechoo and I am a member of Moose Cree First Nation. I grew up in Moosonee and Moose Factory, ON.

I am in my second year of my doctorate at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, where I work on conceptualizing Indigenous feminist visions of curriculum and pedagogy in an on-reserve context. In addition to being a full-time student, I am also a Research Fellow within the Indigenous Literatures Lab, where I am mentored by Dr. Jennifer Brant.

A core tenant of my lab is taking an Indigenous feminist approach, meaning we intentionally guide our research into education to be aligned with the Calls to Justice for MMIW2S. This way of seeing guides my own creative writing, where I draw upon narrative from my lived experiences to create pieces intended to spark dialogue around critical facets of Indigenous life and future. Miikwec.