Duncan Mercredi (born 1951) is a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

and

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

poet from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Life and career

Mercredi was born in Misipawistik

Grand Rapids, Manitoba Grand Rapids is a town in Manitoba, Canada, on the northwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg where the Saskatchewan River enters the lake. As the name implies, the river had a significant drop at this point (more than in less than ). In modern days, a ...

, where he grew up. At sixteen he moved to

Cranberry Portage, Manitoba Cranberry Portage is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district located in the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, Manitoba. It was an important part of the pre-European contact trade routes of the Cree and Assiniboine peoples. L ...

, where he attended high school and moved to Winnipeg shortly thereafter. Mercredi's mother was a residential school Survivor, which formed the inspiration for many of the poems in his most recent book, ''215''. In 2020, Mercredi became the second (after

Di Brandt Di Brandt (''née'' Janzen; 31 January 1952) often stylized as di brandt, is a Canadian poet and scholar from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She became Winnipeg's first Poet Laureate in 2018. Life and career Brandt grew up in Reinland, a Mennonite farming ...

) Poet Laureate of Winnipeg. In 2021, he won the Manitowapow Award at the

Manitoba Book Awards Manitoba Books Awards/Les Prix du livre du Manitoba was the premiere annual book awards for Manitoba, Canada from 1988 to 2023. Originating in 1988, an award gala was usually held in April in Winnipeg, Manitoba, celebrating the best of Manitoba wri ...

Bibliography

* ''Spirit of the Wolf: Raise Your Voice'' (Pemmican Publications, 1991) * ''Dreams of the Wolf in the City'' (1992) * ''Wolf and Shadows'' (1995) * ''Duke of Windsor: Wolf Sings the Blues'' (1997) * ''mahikan ka onot: The Poetry of Duncan Mercredi'' (2020) * ''215'' (2022)

References

Writers from Winnipeg First Nations poets 21st-century Canadian male writers Living people 1951 births Municipal poets laureate in Canada 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century First Nations writers 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century First Nations writers Canadian male poets Poets from Manitoba {{Canada-poet-stub