Julie Flett

Flett was born in Toronto, Ontario.[2] She studied for one year at Alberta College of Art and Design, taking coursework in textiles,[3] before transferring to Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, British Columbia to study film.[4] She completed a degree in Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal and afterwards relocated to Vancouver, where she currently resides with her son.[5][6]

Flett cites The Woman in the Dunes by the Japanese writer Kōbō Abe as having a profound effect on her personality.[7]

Flett's writing and illustrations primarily centre Indigenous people, particularly Cree and Métis children.[8] Her mixed media illustrations incorporate texture and collage techniques as well as photography, drawing, and painting.[9] She cites Cree and Inuit artists including Meelia Kelly, Pitseolak Ashoona, Annie Pootoogook, and Christi Belcourt as influences, in addition to her mother who was a textile artist.[3][2] Flett notes that she explores her heritage through her art, drawing inspiration from her Cree-Métis culture.[2]

Flett states that her illustrations are influenced by "the warm, muted colours and tones and the simplicity" of children's books from older generations.[10] Her illustrations for children's books are oriented to young audiences, while her freelance work is intended for a general audience.[11] The books that she has created independently and collaboratively have been praised for their cultural relevance and unique worldview.[3]

Her 2019 book Birdsong was met with widespread acclaim, winning the 2020 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.[12] It was named a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature, [13] an honor title for the 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Award,[14] and a best book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews,[15] School Library Journal, [16] Publishers Weekly, [17] and The Horn Book Magazine. [18]

Flett's work has been well received by Canadian audiences. Flett's illustrative work has been called "gorgeous" and her work towards preserving the Cree language has been praised as decolonizing and re-Indigenizing perceptions of language within Cree culture.[23] Her books Wild Berries/Pakwa Che Menisu, Lii Yuboo Nayaapiwak Swer (L'Alfabet De Michif)/Owls See Clearly at Night (A Michif Alphabet), and We All Count make specific advances towards preserving language through teaching young children the language with captivating illustrations and bilingual text. These books are reindigenizing the way that literacy is taught in schools that have First Nations populations; allowing First Nations students to learn basic literacy skills in both English and a language of a First Nations group.[10]

After graduating from Concordia University, Flett returned to Vancouver and took on the role of visual communication program coordinator for First Nations. Flett also became involved with advocacy work for women on Vancouver's Downtown East Side.[21] She worked for the Positive Women's Network as an outreach worker for a period of time and discovered that she loved educating through her art.[24]

Through her writing, Flett is constantly working to keep the Cree language alive, and approaches this through a lens of education.[22] She not only does this through releasing books that have underlying messages about Indigenous teaching and ways of knowing, but also through putting those books in the hands of children. Flett has worked with librarians to work towards getting her books into the hands of children who will benefit from the literature. For example, the book "The Moccasins", illustrated by Flett made its way into the hands of an Aboriginal Foster Child and the book is about an Aboriginal Foster Child.[25] Helping children to find ways to keep in touch with the Indigenous community even in adverse circumstances is a type of advocacy that Flett captures in her children's books.

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