Oolichan Moon Wins Indigenous Voices Award
The winners for the sixth annual Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs) were announced today, and Harbour Publishing would like to congratulate Samantha Beynon and Lucy Trimble, recognized in the Published graphic novels, comics and illustrated books category for Oolichan Moon (Harbour Publishing, 2022). The IVAs are 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.
Oolichan Moon is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the passing down of knowledge from Nisga’a Elders and the sacredness of traditional foods, particularly the oolichan fish. Together, author Samantha Beynon and illustrator Lucy Trimble, have created a book rich with cultural knowledge related to their Nisga’a ancestry and surrounding the oolichan. Through playful text and vibrant illustrations, young readers can learn alongside the story’s two Nisga’a sisters as they are gifted with sacred insights from their Elders, carried for generations in the oral tradition. A gorgeous celebration of Nisga’a language, history and culture, Oolichan Moon also includes related Nisga’a vocabulary.
Samantha Beynon was born and raised in Prince Rupert, BC, and has lived on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen and WSÁNEC peoples in Victoria, BC. Beynon grew up in a close-knit family and community and comes from a rich background of hereditary chiefs, among them Arthur Wellington Clah and William Beynon. With interests similar to those of her great-grandfather William Beynon, she has a passion for being a strong role model and educator for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, helping to guide and support encouraging and positive experiences.
Lucy Trimble‘s Nisga’a name is Hlgu Maksguum ganaaw; she comes from Wilps Axdii Wil Luugooda, in the Nass Valley. She hails from the raven clan with matrilineal roots in Gingolx, BC. Paternally she has settler ancestry. Trimble works as the Wilwilaaysk (family) Wellness social worker for School District 52 at Wap Sigatgyet Indigenous Education in Prince Rupert on unceded Ts’msyen territory. She holds an MSWI from the University of Victoria, completed first year at the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art and is a lifelong learner in all of the ways.
The Indigenous Voices Awards are increasingly significant to the literary landscape. They started in 2017, with the first prizes distributed in 2018. The IVAs have championed the work of over 100 Indigenous writers, including Brian Thomas Isaac, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Tanya Tagaq, Jesse Thistle, Émilie Monnet and jaye simpson. This year, the jury consisted of: Billy-Ray Belcourt, Lisa Bird-Wilson, Warren Cariou, David Chariandy, Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek, Madeleine Reddon, June Scudeler, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Matthew Tétreault, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, and Eldon Yellowhorn.