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About

Tomson Highway

Tomson Highway was born near Maria Lake, Manitoba in 1951. His father, Joe, was a hunter, fisherman and sled-dog racer, and his family lived a nomadic lifestyle. With no access to books, television or radio, Highway’s parents would tell their children stories; thus began Highway’s life-long interest in the oral tradition of storytelling. When he was six, Highway was taken from his family and placed in residential school in The Pas; he subsequently went to high school in Winnipeg and then travelled to London to study at the University of Western Ontario, earning a music degree in 1975 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976. Instead of becoming a professional concert musician as he had at one point contemplated, however, Highway decided instead to dedicate his life to the service of his people. Fluent in Cree, English and French, he was for six years the artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, the first and most enduring Native professional company in Canada which he also helped found. From 1975 to 1978 Highway worked as a cultural worker for the Native Peoples’ Resource Centre. He has worked for the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture and also for the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres as a program analyst. From 1983 to 1985 he worked as a freelance theatre artist before becoming the artistic director of the De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Company in 1986. He has been writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and Concordia University. Tomson Highway is widely recognized for his tremendous contribution to the development of Aboriginal theatre in both Canada and around the world. In 1994, he was inducted into the Order of Canada, the first Aboriginal writer to be so honoured.

Books by Tomson Highway

Le grand chef Salamoo Cook arrive en ville !

by (author) Tomson Highway
illustrated by Delphine Renon

Grand Chief Salamoo Cook is Coming to Town!

by (author) Tomson Highway
illustrated by Delphine Renon

Laughing with the Trickster

On Sex, Death, and Accordions

by (author) Tomson Highway

My Name Is Seepeetza

30th Anniversary Edition

by (author) Shirley Sterling
afterword by Tomson Highway

Permanent Astonishment

Growing Up Cree in the Land of Snow and Sky

by (author) Tomson Highway

Permanent Astonishment (Signed Edition)

A Memoir

by (author) Tomson Highway

Kiss of the Fur Queen

Penguin Modern Classics Edition

by (author) Tomson Highway

Dragonfly Kites

by (author) Tomson Highway
illustrated by Julie Flett

From Oral to Written

A Celebration of Indigenous Literature in Canada, 1980–2010

by (author) Tomson Highway
edited by Jordan Abel

The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito

by (author) Tomson Highway
illustrated by Sue Todd

Caribou Song

by (author) Tomson Highway
illustrated by John Rombough

A Tale of Monstrous Extravagance

Imagining Multilingualism

by (author) Tomson Highway

Las Comadres de la Rez

The Rez Sisters in Spanish

by (author) Tomson Highway
translated by Pilar Somacarrera

Masculindians

Conversations about Indigenous Manhood

edited by Sam McKegney
interviewee Joseph Boyden, Tomson Highway, Lee Maracle, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Basil H. Johnston, Daniel David Moses, Louise Bernice Halfe, Taiaiake Alfred, Janice C. Hill, Kim Anderson, Thomas Kimeksun Thrasher, Brendan Hokowhitu, Ty P. Kawika Tengan, Warren Cariou, Alison Calder, Daniel Heath Justice, Adrian Stimson, Terrance Houle, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Richard van Camp, Joanne Arnott, Neal McLeod & Gregory Scofield
cover design or artwork by Dana Claxton

The Dispossessed

Life and Death in Native Canada

by (author) Geoffrey York
foreword by Tomson Highway

The (Post) Mistress eBook

by (author) Tomson Highway

The (Post) Mistress

by (author) Tomson Highway

Fox On the Ice

Maageesees Maskwameek Kaapit

by (author) Tomson Highway
illustrated by Brian Deines

Paasteewitoon Kaapooskaysing Tageespichit

Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing in its original version: Cree

by (author) Tomson Highway

Iskooniguni Iskweewuk

The Rez Sisters in its original version: Cree

by (author) Tomson Highway

Our Story

Aboriginal Voices on Canada's Past

contributions by Thomas King, Tantoo Cardinal & Tomson Highway

Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout

by (author) Tomson Highway

Rose

by (author) Tomson Highway

Comparing Mythologies

by (author) Tomson Highway

Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing

by (author) Tomson Highway

The Rez Sisters

by (author) Tomson Highway