Darrel J. McLeod
Darrel J. McLeod is Nehiyaw (Cree) from Northern Canada, Treaty 8. He has been a French immersion teacher, school principal in Yekooche First Nation, director of a curriculum centre, executive director of Education and International Affairs at the Assembly of First Nations, and chief negotiator for the Government of Canada. He is fluent in French, Spanish, English, and is studying Cree. Darrel’s memoir, Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age (Douglas & McIntyre), won the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction, was nominated for the RBC Taylor Prize, George Ryga Award for Social Awareness, and the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award, and has been published in French and German. Its sequel, Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity (Douglas & McIntyre), published in 2021, was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. Darrel is now finishing his first novel, while living, writing and singing jazz in Sooke, B.C. and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.