Louise B. Halfe – Sky Dancer receives award for literary excellence

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In a presentation conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, writer and poet Louise B. Halfe — also known by her Cree name, Sky Dancer — received one of the most prestigious literary awards Saskatchewan has to offer.

Halfe was the recipient of the 2020 Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence, announced by the Kloppenburgs on Sept. 16, 2020. The award “honours a Saskatchewan writer who has written a substantial body of acclaimed literary work and has had a significant impact on writing in Saskatchewan,” according to the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild.

Halfe was raised on the Saddle Lake Reserve and was forced to attend Blue Quills Residential School as a child. She later earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Regina, and has since been awarded honorary degrees from both Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Saskatchewan. She served as Saskatchewan’s Poet Laureate for two years, starting in 2005.