Sky Dancer

Louise Bernice Halfe

Louise Bernice Halfe was raised on the Saddle Lake Indian Reserve in Northern Alberta. At the age of seven, she attended Blue Quills Residential School. She left home at the age of sixteen, completed high school both at Calgary and St. Paul, Alberta. She received a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina and Addictions training from Nechi Institute at St. Albert, Alberta. Now she lives in Saskatoon with her husband and one Teenager. She has a twenty-one year old who's made proud Grand folks.

Awards
Saskatchewan Writers Guild Annual Literary Awards: honourable mention, 1992.
The League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Contest, third prize, 1993.
The Milton Acorn People's Poetry Award, 1996.
The Governor GeneralŐs Award for Poetry, finalist, 1998.

Selected Publications
Bear Bones & Feathers. (Coteau Books, 1994, 3rd printing).
Blue Marrow. (McClelland & Stewart, 1998).

Selected Anthologies
Because You Love Being a Stranger: 55 Poets Celebrate Patrick Lane. (Harbour Publishing, 1994).
Border Lines: Contemporary Poems in English. (Copp Clark, 1995).
Urban/rural: women, writing & place. (Living Archives, Feminist Caucus, The League of Canadian Poets, 1995).

Books in Print
Halfe (Sky Dancer), Louise B.
Bear Bones & Feathers. Coteau Books, 1994. $9.95 ISBN: 1-55050-055-4.
Blue Marrow. McClelland & Stewart, 1998.

 

Poet in the School
(Saskatoon)

phone: 306-975-1130

Louise is a Cree writer, raised on the Saddle Lake Indian Reservation in Northern Alberta. She received her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina, and a certificate in addiction facilitator.

Grade Levels: 10 - 12

Fees: $300

Classroom Approach:
A historical overview of Canadian colonization of the people of the First Nations and its immediate impact on the psyche. How the written word demonstrates storytelling and the use of the Medicine Wheel. Louise's approach is informal. She utilizes social work applications in addictions and counselling to her writing workshop.