Children's/Young Adult
Katherena Vermette (she/her/hers) is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation. She has worked in poetry, novels, children's literature, and film.
Vol. 2, A Girl Called Echo
Red River Resistance
Published in 03/01/2019 by Portage & Main Press
Illustrated by Scott B. Henderson
Colour by Donovan Yaciuk
Picking up where Pemmican Wars left off, Red River Resistance sees Echo Desjardins adjusting to her new home, finding friends, and learning about Métis history. One ordinary afternoon in class, Echo finds herself transported through time to the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. All is not well in the territory, as Canadian surveyors have arrived and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing access to their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for her friends and the future of her people in the Red River Valley.
2021 © Katherena Vermette | A Bloom + Brilliance Website
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, her father's roots run deep in St. Boniface, St. Norbert and beyond, dating back over two centuries. Her mother's side is Mennonite from the Altona and Rosenfeld area (Treaty 1).
Vermette received the Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry for her first book, North End Love Songs (The Muses' Company). The Break (House of Anansi) won several awards including the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and was a bestseller in Canada. Her National Film Board documentary, this river won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia.
Road Allowance Era (HighWater Press) is the final installment of her graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo and is listed among CBC Books 21 Canadian comics to watch for in Spring 2021. The Strangers (Hamish Hamilton) is the follow up to her award winning debut novel, The Break and will include previous characters set in the same world.
Katherena lives with her family in a cranky old house within skipping distance of the temperamental Red River.