The Colouring It Forward - Discover Northern Dene Nation Art & Wisdom features the beautiful art created by Chipewyan artist Michael Fatt and Gwich'in artist Christiana Latham as well as stories from the late George Blondin, a recognized Northern Dene elder and wisdom keeper born in the Northwest Territories. Part of the proceeds from your purchase will go to these two artists, to Mr. Blondin's estate and to foster community projects for First Nations people.
About the AuthorFatt, Michael: - Michael Fatt is a Chipewyan Dene from Lutselk'e, a fly-in community near Yellowknife, NWT, located on upper east arm of the Great Slave Lake. Michael's art has always been a part of his life. As a young child in a foster home, his artistic talent was noticed and he was entered into an art course at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He faced much adversity in life and after spending time in and out of jail, he returned to his original community. Here he was inspired to learn more about his people and the stories he listened to and learned to love, helped him evolve his work into a unique style. His art has been shown at the Moonstone Creation Native Gallery and Gift Shop in Calgary and in several fairs in Banff, Canmore, Morley and Symons Valley Ranch. In late 2016, he also created a live painting, which was auctioned off at Ground Zero Theatre.
Blondin, George: - The late George Blondin was a Dene Elder born in 1923 in the Northwest Territories. A prolific writer, he was also a wilderness guide, a miner, a trapper, Vice President of the Dene Nation, and in 1989 was elected Chairman of the Denendeh Elder's Council. He was also the author of When the World was New and Yamoria, the Lawmaker. For his storytelling efforts, Mr. Blondin received the Ross Charles award in 1990 for Native jour-nalism and in 2003, was inducted as a member of the Order of Canada. He was very active in the community and attended political meetings dealing with issues from land protection to em-ployment in the Northwest Territories. Blondin is best known for collecting and sharing the stories of his people so that future genera-tions of Dene would not forget their stories. He believed deeply in spiritual matters and published three books conveying stories with spiritual themes. The latest, Trail of the Spirit; Mysteries of Dene Medicine Power Revealed, was published in the fall of 2006, and sits on publisher NeWest Press's bestseller list.
Frost, Diana: - An Algonquin Métis, Diana Frost is an engineer by day, and artist, musician and author by night. Her mother was excommunicated from her aboriginal family for marrying herfather, an Englishman, who also committed the crime of not being Catholic. As a result, she have never met her First Nations family, but always wanted to connect with them. Over time, this yearning to learn more about my roots has grown and, as someone who strongly believes in supporting others, I've also been looking for a way to contribute to First Nations people. Out of that desire, the Colouring It Forward project was born. Along with my appreciation and love for the artists' work as an artist myself, the colouring book series has given me a chance to learn more about First Nations people, culture and wisdom. I also have the opportunity to 'colour it forward' with these books by giving a percentage of the proceeds from the books to the artist and to economic development project.
