Louise Bernice Halfe

Louise Bernice Halfe is a Cree poet and social worker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Halfe uses code-switching, white space, and the stories of other Cree women in her poetry. Her experience at Blue Quills continues to influence her work today.

Personal life Louise Halfe was born on April 8, 1953. She is also known by her Cree name Sky Dancer. She was born in Two Hills, Alberta, and was raised on the Saddle Lake Reserve. When she was seven years old, Louise was forced to attend Blue Quills Residential School in St. Paul, Alberta; she remained there for nine years. At the age of sixteen, she left home and broke ties with her family. This gave her the opportunity to complete her studies at St. Paul's Regional High School. While Halfe attended high school, she developed an interest in writing. She started a journal to write about her memories and life experiences.

During her six years at The University of Saskatchewan, Halfe lived off campus in Northern Saskatchewan.

Halfe earned a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina and a certificate in Drug and Alcohol Counselling from the Nechi Institute.

Career In 1990, Halfe was first published in the collection Writing the Circle: Native Women of Western Canada. She is the second person ever to hold the title. She is currently the acting Elder at the University of Saskatchewan.

Poetic style Halfe uses code-switching in her work. Code-switching is largely a response to the devastation of Aboriginal languages. Halfe personalizes the Cree language in her work by using possessive kinship terms. She tells women's stories to explore the link between creation and knowledge in Cree storytelling. Her book Burning in This Midnight Dream received numerous awards, such as the Saskatchewan Book Awards and the Indigenous Peoples' Publishing Award. The judges from these events have stated that Halfe's poetic storytelling reflects the harm inflicted by Canada's residential school system, calling her verses "heartbreaking and hopeful" and noting her attention to creating a healing atmosphere through specific use of Cree language and culture.

Other works by Halfe have received similar reviews, often applauding Halfe's use of code-switching for taking back the Cree language. This is prominent in Halfe's Blue Marrow and Sôhkêyihta: The Poetry of Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe. Critics have also noted Halfe's focus on both mind and spirituality. Cheryl Petten for the Saskatchewan Review had noted that readers not only responded intellectually to Halfe's The Crooked Good but emotionally as well.

Awards Louise Halfe has won many awards and has received positive recognition as an independent Canadian author and poet. After making her debut, Halfe won third place in the League of Canadian Poets' Historical Poetry Contest. In 1998, Blue Marrow was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, the Saskatoon Book Award, and the Saskatchewan Poetry Award. The Crooked Goodwon the First Peoples Publishing Award and the Saskatoon Book Award in 2008. It was also nominated for the Poetry Award honouring Anne Szumigalski in the same year. Burning in This Midnight Dream also won the League of Canadian Poets Raymond Souster Award and the High Plains Book Award for Indigenous Writers. Burning in This Midnight Dream was also the 2017 WILLA Literacy Award Finalist in Poetry.

In 2016, Halfe received the Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL award which recognizes Indigenous artists living in Canada and, in 2017, she was given the Latner Writers' Trust Award in recognition of a remarkable body of work.

Works Bear Bones & Feathers, 1994 Blue Marrow, 2004 The Crooked Good, 2007 Burning in this Midnight Dream, 2016 Sôhkêyihta: The Poetry of Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe, 2018