Janice Acoose is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, newspaper columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

, filmmaker, indigenous language advocate and professor of indigenous

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 literature at First Nations University of Canada

First Nations University of Canada

The First Nations University of Canada is a university in Saskatchewan, Canada with campuses in Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert...

 in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

.

Early life and family

Acoose was born in Broadview

Broadview, Saskatchewan

Broadview is a community in Saskatchewan along the #1 highway, the Trans Canada Highway, east of the provincial capital city of Regina. The local economy is based mainly on agriculture.-History:...

, Saskatchewan, and attended the Cowessess Indian Residential School

Residential school

Residential school may refer to:* Canadian Indian residential school system* a term used to describe boarding schools*A residential treatment center for people with addictions or severe mental illnesses...

 in the 1960s. Her cultural roots stem from the Sakimay (Saulteaux

Saulteaux

The Saulteaux are a First Nation in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.-Ethnic classification:The Saulteaux are a branch of the Ojibwe nations. They are sometimes also called Anihšināpē . Saulteaux is a French term meaning "people of the rapids," referring to...

) First Nation and the Ninankawe Marival Metis

Métis people (Canada)

The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

.

Her father's mother was Madelaine O'Soup, adopted daughter of O'Soup, Chief of the Anishnabe at O'Soup Reserve. Her father's father was Paul Acoose, from the nearby Sakimay Reserve. Paul was the son of Samuel Acoose, an esteemed Buffalo Runner, and Samuel was descended from Quewich, who travelled with Waywayseecapo.

Works

Acoose was Saskatchewan's first Native Affairs columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

 for the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. She also regularly contributed to the Regina Leader-Post

Regina Leader-Post

The Regina Leader-Post is the daily newspaper of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and now a member of the Postmedia Network.The newspaper was first published as The Leader in 1883, by Nicholas Flood Davin...

, the Prince Albert Herald, Aboriginal Voices

Aboriginal Voices

Aboriginal Voices Radio Network is a Canadian national radio network with licensed radio stations in nine Canadian metropolitan areas, all which are licensed under the calls of Toronto flagship station CKAV-FM...

, New Breed and Windspeaker.

In 1995, Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

's Women's Press published her book Iskwewak Kah Yaw Ni Wahkomakanak.

Acoose is interviewed in the 2006 National Film Board of Canada

National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...

 documentary Finding Dawn

Finding Dawn

Finding Dawn is a 2006 documentary film by Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh looking into the fate of an estimated 500 Canadian Aboriginal women who have been murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years....

, about murdered and missing Aboriginal women in Canada.