While your hatches may be battened down and your blankets snuggled close, we want to invite you – from the comfort of your sofa – to meet some inspiring leaders on a special RAVEN year-end webinar.
Wednesday, December 16, join RAVEN to hear from activist, social worker, mother and Dane-zaa author Helen Knott. In 2020 Knott’s memoir, “In My Own Mocassins”, became a bestseller. She also launched the “Single Parent Writers Prize” to pay forward the help she received as a struggling writer, and she spoke on forums about suicide prevention, memoir writing and Indigenous matriarchy.
Also joining us will be ‘Ilhdesinon Birdy Markert (Likhsilyu), a board member and has been working with the Witsuwit’en Language and Culture Society for decades on revitalization of Wet’suwet’en peoples language.
Helen and Birdy will be joined by the divine Desiree Dawson! Singer, songwriter, CBC Searchlight winner and chart-topping diva , Desiree will be lacing the linguistic tonic with sweet music from her latest album, “All In”.
Everyone Welcome Please register here:
Desirée Dawson is the love spreading human who won Canada’s CBC Searchlight Competition in May 2016. Soon after winning Searchlight Desirée released her debut album, ‘Wild Heart’ which topped CBC Music charts. Her single, ‘Just Fine’, spent months on CBC Radio and made its way on to CBC’s top 100 songs of 2018. She has 4 new singles that are now available on all major streaming services. Desirée was born, raised and is currently residing in “Vancouver” on the traditional, unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ / sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations, and can often be found sharing her music internationally. Desirée is an accomplished songwriter and with her love for words, writing and collaboration she looks forward to growing her already very successful songwriting career. Desirée makes a point of having every song be honest and emotionally charged. She is very passionate about healing as a collective using the power of melodies, lyrics and instrumentation to encourage listeners to find a connection within them and to better connect with the people/ land around them. Desirée’s mission is to create in a way that allows people to feel and heal and that’s exactly what she does.
Some of Desirée’s career highlights have been:
-Winning CBC Searchlight
– Invitation to the goodvibes music group songwriting camp with the iconic Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds
-Acceptance into the TD Creative Entrepreneur Incubator Program
-Performing at the CBC music festival
– Interviews and performances at CBC’s Q
-Vancouver Folk Festival
+ more
Helen Knott is of Dane Zaa, Nehiyaw, and Euro descent from Prophet River First Nations, living in Northeastern B.C.. Helen is a Masters in FN Studies student at UNBC currently and holds a Bachelors Degree in Social Work.
Helen began this blog in the third year of her social work degree to chronicle her decolonization journey and continues writing here, and elsewhere, in order to share what lessons, insights, and challenges she has experienced. She was once taught that teachings are not yours until you give them away so her words are a part of her offering back to the people.
She has various pieces published in places such as the Malahat Review, Chatelaine, and The New Quarterly. Her first book, In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience, was released in the Fall of 2019 through the University of Regina Press and has been a national bestseller, was long listed for the RBC Taylor Prize, and is currently shortlisted for a BC Yukon Book Prize.
Helen is eight years sober and clean on her journey and is passionate about healing. She is a mother to one, a mediocre beader, and a skilled berry picker.
