sâkihitowin maskihkiy

nehi katawasisiw is muskego/anishinaabe on her mother's side (Opaskwayak Cree Nation) and nehiyawak on her father's side (Pihpikisis Cree Nation). She was born in Snow Lake, Manitoba and has lived in many places in the US and Canada. She dropped out of school in Grade Eight and later received her GED, which allowed her to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Gunner with the 18th Air Defence Regiment for three years. She was sentenced to four months at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre in 1995 where she was struck by the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the prison system. This experience helped shape her professional aspirations and personal politics. katawasisiw holds an AA degree in Creative Writing and Studio Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and an AB from Smith College where she double-majored in Sociology and Anthropology and minored in International Relations. She also served as a Congressional Intern in Washington, DC for the Department of Interior with the Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of Indian Affairs--Tribal Relations. She is the recipient of a 2007 Grant for Emerging Aboriginal Writers from the Canada Council of the Arts. In 2010, she studied under Professor Patricia Monture at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Sociology. After Professor Monture's passing in 2011, she transferred to Native Studies where she is currently studying for her MA with the intention of defending in the fall. Future plans include a JD and, eventually, a PhD.