Julie Flett

Early life and education

She was born in Toronto and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied textiles at Alberta College of Art and Design attended Concordia University in Montreal and Emily Carr University of Art + Design where she studied fine arts. She incorporates photography, drawing, and painting into her work and has an interest in indigenous textiles. Flett also has a son.

Works

Flett’s writing focuses on Canadian First Nations children’s literature, while her illustrations differ depending on the source. In her books, Flett’s illustrations are aimed for children, while in her freelance work aims for a wider audience. Flett cites her style as influenced by Cree and Inuit artists such as Meelia Kelly, Pitseolak Ashoona, Annie Pootoogook, and Christi Belcourt, as well as her own artistically-inclined parents. Flett also states that she explores her heritage through her art, allowing her Cree-Metis roots to influence her work as well. She illustrates for works that are culturally relevant and present a unique worldview.

For her illustrations, Flett uses mixed mediums, often incorporating texture and collage techniques into her illustrations. Flett says that her illustrations are influenced by "the warm, muted colours and tones and the simplicity"of children's books from other generations.

Reception

Flett’s work has been received well among Canadian populations. Flett’s illustrative work has been called “gorgeous” and her work towards preserving the Cree language has been praised as de-colonizing and re-Indigenizing perceptions of language within Cree culture. Her books Wild Berries/Pakwa Che Menisu, Lii Yuboo Nayaapiwak Swer (L’Alfabet De Michif)/Owls See Clearly at Night (A Michif Alphabet), and We All Count make specific advances towards preserving language through teaching young children the language with captivating illustrations and bilingual text. These books are reindigenizing the way that literacy is taught in schools that have First Nations populations; allowing First Nations students to learn basic literacy skills in both English and a language of a First Nations group.

Advocacy Works

After graduating from Concordia, Flett returned to Vancouver and took on the role of visual communication program coordinator for First Nations. Flett also became involved with advocacy work for women on Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. She worked for the Positive Women’s Network as an outreach worker for a period of time and discovered that she loved educating through her art.

Through her writing, Flett is constantly working to keep the Cree language alive, and approaches this through a lens of education. She not only does this through releasing books that have underlying messages about Indigenous teaching and ways of knowing, but also through putting those books in the hands of children. Flett has worked with librarians to work towards getting her books into the hands of children who will benefit from the literature. For example, the book "The Moccasins", illustrated by Flett made its way into the hands of an Aboriginal Foster Child and the book is about an Aboriginal Foster Child. Helping children to find ways to keep in touch with the Indigenous community even in adverse circumstances is a type of advocacy that Flett captures in her children's books.