BIO & HISTORY

A dynamic Métis woman originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Arnolda studied creative writing with Guy Vanderhaeghe at the University of Saskatchewan. Her first book, 20.12m, is a compelling and acclaimed coming-of-age collection of stories based on her father’s childhood among the marginalized Métis Road Allowance community at Punnichy, Saskatchewan, during the late 1940s. The book received several major awards in 2022: Danuta Gleed Literary Award and $10,000 grand prize from The Writers Union of Canada and the international High Plains Award for Best Indigenous Writer. It was among SaskBooks’ best-selling titles of 2021 and won the Saskatchewan Books Indigenous Publishing Award.

She is a Sask Teacher’s Federation facilitator, teaching how to build stories through Indigenous pedagogy. Arnolda also facilitates a creative writing class at the Saskatoon Correctional Center. She admits she is no expert, but Arnolda seeks to share her knowledge and constructs a safe and engaging environment.

Arnolda’s passion is to provide hope and reconciliation through truth-sharing and storytelling and to provide her audience with knowledge and encouragement. Arnolda can tailor presentations to fit the audience, whether addressing a book club, university, elementary or high school classroom, or professional or casual setting.She has presented on story-building, character development, Metis scrip, and the Road Allowance Metis and given talks on her personal journey as an evolving Indigenous artist who has had to persevere to reclaim and rebuild her life narrative.

Arnolda is a spirited woman on a life journey to evolve herself as the seasons change continually in her life.

She values learning new skills and living purposefully and finds writing therapeutic. Arnolda sees herself as an organic creator; she creates beauty from the smallest remnants, whether through words, music or art. Her deepest desire is using her skills to paint vivid stories that must be heard or seen.