ndncountry

“Miyoonakishkatoohk, Tawâw, Biindigen. Welcome to the territories of ndncountry, our collection of Indigenous stories, poems and nonfiction writing from many parts of this beautiful land. We write to you from the centre of the turtle’s back, where for the last several months we have been gathering and arranging these gifts of imagination and craft that our relatives have sent to us. It has been our great honour to take part in this project and we are so proud to share this extraordinary writing with the world. When we sent out our call for submissions last year, we didn’t know what to expect, but we were absolutely overwhelmed by the number, and especially the quality, of the submissions we received. We had of course known that Indigenous literature is thriving these days, but our work on ndncountry revealed that we had underestimated the vitality and richness of this literature. Emerging writers sent us stunning work that made us re-evaluate literary categories, and established writers sent us submissions that took their work in new directions. It was very difficult to narrow down our choices to fit the parameters of this volume, and we had to leave out some excellent writing, but we are thrilled with these pieces we were able to include.

While this special issue contains a great diversity of voices, styles and genres, all of the work is representative of what we envisioned when we first thought of calling this collection ndncountry. To us, ndncountry is not a singular place. It is a territory of the imagination, but it is also profoundly rooted in the land and in the living energy of Indigenous languages. It is not about borders or real estate or extractive infrastructures; instead it is about the relationships that sustain us and connect us. It is a collective term for the nations that have existed for many centuries on this continent and that continue to thrive here. It is non-hierarchical, gender-fluid, respectful of diversity, open to experimentation, and always, always, fascinating. And as the stories and essays and poems collected here can teach us, ndncountry is literally everywhere, if you know how to look. It is a way of being, a way of seeing, and perhaps especially a way of listening—to the land, to one another, and to the generations. It is a deep and active acknowledgment of Indigenous belonging in this land, all of this land.”

–Katherena Vermette and Warren Cariou, editors of ndncountry

ndncountry is published collaboratively by Prairie Fire and CV2, and replaces CV2’s fall 2018 issue. This issue is a 256-page book and also includes work from the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s historic INSURGENCE/RESURGENCE exhibition.

This is an expanded back issue of CV2 & Prairie Fire and single copies are $10 each.