WRITER IN RESIDENCE
April 16 – 23, 2022
Cecelia LaPointe
Nigig-enz Baapi nindizhinikaaz. Ajijaak doodem. Kchiwiikwedong miinawaa Mashkiziibi nindonjibaa. Naaminitigong nindaa.
My name is Little Laughing Otter. I am crane clan. I come from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibway. I live in the Land Beneath the Trees (Manistee, MI).
Cecelia is Ojibway/Métis and is Mashkiziibi (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibway or LaPointe Band of Ojibway) and Kchiwiikwedong (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community).
They are enrolled in Mashkiziibi and maintain a strong community affiliation to Kchiwiikwedong. Cecelia is the Founder and Executive Director of the Native Justice Coalition. They are also the Founder and Owner of Red Circle Consulting and Waub Ajijaak Press. They identify as Two-Spirit based in their Ojibway culture from an old school and decolonial framework. Their poetry and writing is featured in 25 anthologies, booklets, chapbooks, dissertations, exhibits, journals, magazines, and online Indigenous-Native publications.
They have a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a Master of Arts in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Other cool facts include (1) quintessential traditional Anishinaabe runner (2) sobriety 12 years strong and (3) they are proud to be Generation X.
Artist Statement
Poetry as infinity is the best way I can describe my connection to it in the most expansive form. It is comfort in countering oppression, racism, discrimination, and marginalization. The words and formation of a poem can bring healing. It is connected to my identities, family, relations, cultures, community, land, water, and homelands.
The comfort of expression to describe the world and how I see it. Never denying a feeling or expression. A poem may change or coalesce with another idea. The work is ongoing. Always in progress. This is the beauty of my art.
You can learn more about Cecelia and their work at the following websites:
www.anishinaabekwe.com – www.nativejustice.org – www.waubajijaak.org
Community Event
Good Hart Artist Residency is one of our partners for the Big Read, and Cecelia will be their artist in residence for the week they come to speak. Cecelia LaPointe is the Founder and Executive Director of the Native Justice Coalition. They are also the Founder and Owner of Red Circle Consulting and Waub Ajijaak Press. Their poetry and writing is featured in 25 anthologies, booklets, chapbooks, dissertations, exhibits, journals, magazines, and online Indigenous-Native publications.