The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission continues its online Courageous Conversation speaker series on Thursday, June 24, 2021, at 10:00 AM.

The speaker is Cheryl L’Hirondelle. Her Courageous Conversation “Why the Caged Bird Sings” focuses on her project of co-writing songs in correctional facilities and the resulting immersive media installation that is currently touring the province.

Cheryl L’Hirondelle is an interdisciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and critical thinker whose family roots are from Papaschase First Nation, amiskwaciy wâskahikan (Edmonton, AB) and Kikino Metis Settlement, AB. Her work investigates and articulates a dynamism of nêhiyawin (Cree worldview) in contemporary time-place incorporating Indigenous language(s), audio, video, VR, olfactory, sewn objects, music and audience/user participation to create immersive environments towards ‘radical inclusion’. As a songwriter, L’Hirondelle’s focus is on both sharing nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) and Indigenous and contemporary song-forms and personal narrative songwriting as methodologies toward survivance.

She is the recent recipient the 2021 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art. In addition, Cheryl was awarded two imagineNATIVE New Media Awards (2005 & 2006), and two Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (2006 & 2007) and has been nominated for or received honorable mention for various other arts or music awards.  Her work has been published, written about, exhibited, performed and presented regionally, nationally and internationally.

L’Hirondelle holds a Master of Design from OCAD University’s Inclusive Design program (2015) and is a current member of the university’s Indigenous Education Council. She is currently a PhD candidate with SMARTlab at University College, Dublin, in Ireland.

Attendees are encouraged to email questions in advance of the Courageous Conversation.

Please RSVP via email to adam.hawboldt@gov.sk.ca by Tuesday, June 22.

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