Wanda John-Kehewin

Wanda John-Kehewin is a Cree-Métis (Kehewin Cree Nation) author and poet.

Early life and education
John-Kehewin grew up on the Kehewin reserve in Alberta, but did not grow up speaking the Cree language. She lived with her mother, a Métis woman who struggled with alcoholism, for parts of her childhood. She became aware of the lack of literature centering First Nations voices at a young age, after seeing the lack of representation in the books in her reserve's library. At 19, John-Kehewin became pregnant. She left her reserve and traveled to Vancouver.

She attended Douglas College, where she studied criminology, and she also studied Sociology and Aboriginal Studies at Langara College. She earned her Master of Fine Arts at University of British Columbia. In 2011 she completed The Writer's Studio, a creative writing program at Simon Fraser University.

Career
John-Kehewin has worked for the Canadian Ministry of Children and Families.

John-Kehewin released her first graphic novel, Visions of the Crow, in 2023, with illustrations by Nicole Marie Burton. The story features a Cree-Métis teenager who tries to figure out his relationship to a crow and a new girl at his school, while also dealing with his mother's alcoholism and life away from his Alberta reserve. It is the first in a planned trilogy.

Her first young adult novel, Hopeless in Hope, is scheduled to release in September 2023.

Personal life
John-Kehewin currently lives in Vancouver.

Poetry

 * In the Dog House (2013), Talonbooks
 * Seven Sacred Truths (2018), Talonbooks
 * Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ mamahtâwisiwin, pakosêyimow, nikihci-âniskotâpân (2023)

Graphic novels

 * Visions of the Crow: Volume 1 Dreams (2023)

Novels

 * Hopeless in Hope (2023)

Awards

 * World Poetry Empowered Poet Award 2018, for In the Dog House
 * Finalist for the Indigenous Voices Awards 2019, Published Poetry in English, for Seven Sacred Truths