KATERI AKIWENZIE-DAMM •
JOANNE ARNOTT •
JOSEPH A. DANDURAND •
DANIEL HEATH JUSTICE•
JOSIE DOUGLAS •

• DAVID A. GROULX
• AL HUNTER
• BASIL JOHNSTON
• JOHN McDONALD
• RICHARD VAN CAMP

John McDonald is a writer, artist, musician and playwright of Plains Cree
blood from north-western Saskatchewan. He is a sixth-generation direct>descendant of Chief Mistawasis of the Plains Cree, signer of Treaty 6 at
fort Carlton, and part of the Dreaver dynasty of chiefs and politicians.
His maternal grandfather was acclaimed Metis leader Jim Brady.
It was from this heritage of powerful and learned men than John developed
his love for history and the written word, as well as an insatiable thirst
for knowledge that has been present since childhood.

Fighting racism and inequality as a light-skinned Aboriginal person, John's
life has been described as both romantic and Dickensian. From the suicide
of his father when he was ten to the substance abuse and life on the streets
he faced as a teenager, John overcame his demons through the power of words,
and has spent the last eleven years capturing his life in word and verse,
healing his spirit through writing and through art work. His recent
discovery of a long lost Scottish heritage has rekindled John's quest for
knowledge of his history and of who he is. John has studied at the prestigious University of Cambridge,one of only a handful of First Nations people to do so, where in July 2000, he drew international media attention by “discovering” then “claiming” England for the first peoples of the Americas. John's art and writings have been published in several countries around the world, and he has sat as an editorial writer for several publications in Canada and the US. John has also been a guest speaker at several international venues, with His most esteemed presentation being before the Governor General of Australia in 2001. John was also the Creative and Cultural Consultant for the Kamamakus Drama Troupe, writing the vast majority of the material performed.

John is a practicing neo-pagan witch in the religion of Wicca, and he
resides with his wife in Prince Albert.

NEWS:

"The School is the Riverside Community School in Prince Albert "Wall of Fame". The Wall of Fame recognizes former students who have achieved some measure of esteem within the community and abroad." Photo's
courtesy of Delphine Melchert