草莓污视频导航

One to Watch: Joshua Whitehead

An undeniable force of talent and empathy, Indigiqueer writer and doctoral candidate Joshua Whitehead is an original on paper and in person
Joshua Whitehead
Tim Nguyen

Nobody talks about Dover like Joshua Whitehead talks about Dover.

The southeast Calgary neighbourhood, bounded to the south by Peigan Trail and overshadowed by Forest Lawn to the north, flies low on Calgary鈥檚 real-estate radar. Seen through the lens of one of Canada鈥檚 most inventive young artists, however, Dover is a heartland of stunning river views, bucolic swimming holes and unconventional vibes that both inspire and ground his work.聽

Indeed, Whitehead, who is poised to complete a doctorate in English from the 草莓污视频导航 this summer, has a gift for seeing and articulating beauty and meaning in unexpected places. A two-spirit, Oji-Cree/nehiyaw member of Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, he is the author of the novel, Jonny Appleseed (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018), which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and recently won CBC鈥檚 2021 Canada Reads. The book鈥檚 lovable protagonist, Jonny, is an Indigenous sex worker who is as unforgettable as the rez he leaves behind. 鈥淚t鈥檚鈥 home because the bannock is still browning in the oven and your kokum is still making tea and eating Arrowroot biscuits,鈥 writes Whitehead. 鈥淚t鈥檚 home because it has to be 鈥 routine satiates these pangs.鈥

At 32, Whitehead, who is as unassuming as he is original, has racked up more accolades than successful writers twice his age: in addition to the above, he won the Governor General鈥檚 History Award for the Indigenous Arts and Stories Challenge in 2016 and, in 2018, his debut poetry collection, full-metal indigiqueer鈥(Talonbooks, 2017), was a finalist at the Indigenous Voices鈥疉wards.

Now, a version of the dissertation behind his PhD in Indigenous literatures and cultures is poised to grace literary festivals and nightstands everywhere. In addition to a book deal with Penguin Random House for two novels, Whitehead signed with Knopf Canada for a creative work of non-fiction excerpted from his academic topic and titled Making Love with the Land. As Whitehead describes it, the book will be a reflection on his personal experiences with the land in Manitoba and Alberta, 鈥渁s spaces ripe with knowledge for approaching mental health and queerness from an Indigenous perspective.鈥

鈥淭hese are spaces ripe with knowledge for approaching mental health and queerness from an Indigenous perspective.鈥

If Whitehead doesn鈥檛 wake every day feeling like 鈥渙ne to watch,鈥 he鈥檚 not unaware that his life is observed from afar by legions of young people, in particular Indigenous young people, for whom he thinks of himself as 鈥渁 gate-opener.鈥 Whitehead believes 鈥渢hings are shifting in queerness overall in Western society, and also normalizing within Indigenous cultures.鈥 Via his storytelling and uninhibited social media presence, he imagines 鈥渉olding hands with everyone as we move forward.鈥澛

In the long term, Whitehead hopes to find an academic post teaching creative writing and Indigenous literature. Meanwhile, he鈥檒l keep writing and 鈥渆nriching two-spirit stories over my lifetime.鈥

Wherever he lands, he vows to keep returning to the places he loves in the Blackfoot territory: 脕铆s铆nai鈥檖i (Writing-on-Stone), Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump 鈥 and the Dover hills.