Lauréat du prix du Gouverneur Général pour l’illustration

Un livre magnifique et visionnaire, Tonnerre ancien, rend hommage aux chevaux sauvages et à la nature des Prairies. Grâce à une technique extraordinaire, Leo Yerxa, un artiste d’origine ojibwée, faisait ressembler le papier au cuir, de sorte que ses illustrations semblaient être peintes sur des chemises et des robes en cuir. L’oeuvre est accompagnée d’un chant riche, sauvage et libre en éloge aux chevaux qui ont joué un rôle si important dans la vie des Peuples autochtones. Yerxa a consacré des années à la création d’un livre et d’une oeuvre d’art qui reflètent son sens de la nature et la place des Peuples autochtones dans celle-ci.

Leo Yerxa was an award-winning writer, illustrator and artist. His first book, Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall, was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Illustration and Ancient Thunder won the Governor General's Award and many other accolades. Leo was born on the Little Eagle Reserve in northern Ontario. He studied graphic arts at Algonquin College in Ottawa, fine arts at the University of Waterloo, and worked with Tom Hill, a respected figure in Indigenous art in Canada. Leo was the first Indigenous person in Canada to design coins for the Royal Canadian Mint incorporating Indigenous design elements and First Nations athletes (Series IV 1975 Olympic Coins, Montreal Olympics 1976). A set of his murals can be seen at the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre on the Rainy River First Nations National Historic Site in Ontario. Leo provided illustrations for Halfling Spring by Joanne Arnott. He passed away in 2017.

Leo Yerxa's profile page

Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau is an internationally recognized painter and writer of Cree and Algonquin origin. She has published three novels and a poetry collection in French. She lives in Abitibi, in northwest Quebec.

Susan Ouriou and Christelle Morelli have co-translated 14 fiction, non-fiction, and children's books. Ouriou was awarded the Governor General's Award for Literary Translation in 2009. Ouriou and Morelli both live in Calgary.

Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau's profile page

• Winner, First Nation Communities Read
• Winner, Governor General's Literary Awards: Illustration