Julie Flett
| Julie Flett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Toronto, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | illustration, children's literature |
| Notable work | Pakwa Che Menisu / Wild Berries, Little You, Lii Yuboo Nayaapiwak Swer / Owls See Clearly at Night, Zoe and Fawn, The Moccasins |
| Awards | American Indian Youth Literature Award 2016 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award 2010 Aboriginal Literature Award 2014 Canadian Native Arts Foundation Visual Arts Acquisition Program 1993 |
Julie Flett is an award winning Cree- Metis Canadian author and illustrator. She is also a strong advocate for women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
She was born in Toronto and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied textiles at Alberta College of Art and Design attended Concordia University in Montreal and Emily Carr University of Art + Design where she studied fine arts. She incorporates photography, drawing, and painting into her work and has an interest in indigenous textiles. Flett also has a son.
Flett’s writing focuses on Canadian First Nations children’s literature, while her illustrations differ depending on the source. In her books, Flett’s illustrations are aimed for children, while in her freelance work aims for a wider audience. Flett cites her style as influenced by Cree and Inuit artists such as Meelia Kelly, Pitseolak Ashoona, Annie Pootoogook, and Christi Belcourt, as well as her own artistically-inclined parents. Flett also states that she explores her heritage through her art, allowing her Cree-Metis roots to influence her work as well. She illustrates for works that are culturally relevant and present a unique worldview.
For her illustrations, Flett uses mixed mediums, often incorporating texture and collage techniques into her illustrations. Flett says that her illustrations are influenced by "the warm, muted colours and tones and the simplicity"of children's books from other generations.
Flett’s work has been received well among Canadian populations. Flett’s illustrative work has been called “gorgeous” and her work towards preserving the Cree language has been praised as de-colonizing and re-Indigenizing perceptions of language within Cree culture. Her books Wild Berries/Pakwa Che Menisu, Lii Yuboo Nayaapiwak Swer (L’Alfabet De Michif)/Owls See Clearly at Night (A Michif Alphabet), and We All Count make specific advances towards preserving language through teaching young children the language with captivating illustrations and bilingual text. These books are reindigenizing the way that literacy is taught in schools that have First Nations populations; allowing First Nations students to learn basic literacy skills in both English and a language of a First Nations group.
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