Our Festival Voices
Carolyn Roberts
Carolyn Roberts uses her voice to support Indigenous resurgence through education. She is a St’at’imc and Sto:lo woman belonging to the Thevarge family from N'quatqua Nation and the Kelly Family from the Tzeachten Nation and a member of the Squamish Nation. Carolyn is an Indigenous academic and Assistant Professor working in the Teacher Education Department of the University of the Fraser Valley. She has been an educator and administrator for over 20 years in the K-12 system. Carolyn’s work is grounded in educating about Indigenous people and the decolonization of the education system. She works with pre-service teachers to help build their understandings in Indigenous history, education, and ancestral ways of knowing, to create a brighter future for all Indigenous people and the seven generations yet to come.
G̱a̱mksimoon
Jeremy Pahl is a singer and songwriter based in British Columbia, and a member of the Ts’msyen (sometimes spelled Tsimshian) people. The traditions of music are of particular importance to him, as he’s explored the origins of folk and country, even in his original material. His recent release is something truly unusual and special, Titled G̱al'üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi, this album is delivered entirely (or nearly entirely) in Sm’algyax, the Ts’msyen language. Some of the tracks are traditional Ts’msyen songs, while others are original compositions by his music project. And one of them is a Hank Williams cover, delivered in Sm’algyax. Pahl plays both guitar and fiddle, focusing on guitar on this release. Joining him are Liam Meivor on lap steel and bass, and Danny Bell on drums, with Chloe Nakahara joining on fiddle on a couple of tracks. Together they form G̱a̱mksimoon (pronounced Gum-ksi-moan). In the Sm'algyax language, it refers to a weather phenomenon.
Katherena Vermette
Katherena Vermette (she/her/hers) is a Michif (Red River Metis) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Metis Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her home territory is a frequent setting in her works, informing the structure and themes of her stories. In 2013, her first book, North End Love Songs (Muses' Company) won the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. Since then, her work has garnered awards and critical accolades across genres. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi) and The Strangers, The Circle (Hamish Hamilton) and most recently, real ones (Hamish Hamilton) have all been national best sellers and won multiple literary awards. Her work for children and young adults includes the picture book The Girl and The Wolf (Theytus) and graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo (Highwater). She also co-wrote and co-directed This River, winner of the 2017 Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary.
Her third book of poetry, procession (House of Anansi) will be out September 30, 2025. Born in Winnipeg, her Michif roots on her paternal side run deep in St. Boniface, St. Norbert and beyond. Her maternal side is Mennonite from the Altona and Rosenfeld area (Treaty 1). She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia, and an honourary Doctor of Letters from the University of Manitoba.
Richard Van Camp
Richard Van Camp is a proud member of the Dogrib (Tłı̨chǫ) Nation from Fort Smith, NWT, Canada.
He is a graduate of the En’owkin International School of Writing, the University of Victoria’s Creative Writing BFA Program, and the Master’s Degree in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.
He is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. His novel, The Lesser Blessed, is now a movie with First Generation Films and premiered in September of 2012 at the Toronto International Film Festival. He is the author of five collections of short stories, six baby books, three children’s books, five comics and much more.