Henry
Heavyshield
Henry Heavyshield is a writer from the Kainai First Nation. In addition to participating in Audible’s Indigenous Writers’ Circle program, his work has appeared in publications including C Magazine, Kimiwan Zine, and The Ex-Puritan. He won the 2023 Riddle Fence Poetry Contest and The Capilano Review’s Fall Writing Contest in the same year. Heavyshield lives on Treaty 7 territory where he works as a community engagement organizer for the City of Calgary’s Indigenous Public Art program.
Award History
Jury Citation
“When a glowing purple hole appears on a reservation and dead raccoons start pouring out, a legal battle withthe Crown over the ‘anomaly’ brings in scientists, the military, and the National Assembly of Chiefs. Through a seemingly outrageous concept, ‘Our Rez Anomaly’ explores the decades-long and very common reality that settler governments want control over anything and everything Indigenous communities have, ‘whether it’s land or water or even infinite dead raccoons.’ With a sharp voice and propulsive narrative, Henry Heavyshield gifts us a story that is both playful and contemplative.”
—2024 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award short fiction jury (Jessica Johns, Maria Reva, and Jack Wang)
