9th Annual Kemosa Scholarship Winners!
What is the Kemosa Scholarship?
First established in 2017 by Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies in partnership with Tlicho Dene author Richard Van Camp, the Kemosa Scholarship offers an opportunity for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers to obtain resources to help them complete the work on their writing – whether that be a novel, a collection of stories, poems, or whatever form their writing might take. The Scholarship is partially facilitated by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.
Three cash scholarships are given out each year:
1st Place: $3000
2nd Place: $2000
3rd Place: $1000
This year, each honourable mention will also be receiving an honorarium of $250. All participants will also receive Writers’ Guild of Alberta membership, tickets to the Literary Awards Gala, and complementary registration to the WGA’s annual conference.
9th Annual Kemosa Scholarship Winners
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 9th Annual Kemosa Scholarship!
First Place: Ôhô Maskihkiwiskew (Tanya Cardinal)
Second Place: Chelsea Belcourt
Third Place: Sandra Lamouche
Honourable Mentions: Shelley Wiart and Shaylean Gladu
Thank you to all the applicants to the 9th Annual Kemosa Scholarship. We encourage those of you who were not selected to apply again, and invite any winners from more than 2 years to apply again as well.
About the Winners
1st Place: Ôhô Maskihkiwiskew (Tanya Cardinal)
1st Place: Ôhô Maskihkiwiskew (Tanya Cardinal)
Ôhô Maskihkiwiskew (Tanya Cardinal) is a Nehiyaw writer from Maskêkosihk (Enoch Cree Nation) with ties to Alexander First Nation and Kikino Métis Settlement on her father’s side. Her work moves between fiction and creative non-fiction, drawing inspiration from the real people and experiences that have shaped her life. Grounded in land, kinship, and memory, her storytelling honours the resilience and love within Indigenous communities. As a lifelong learner, she writes with a deep sense of responsibility to story as medicine, carrying forward ancestral knowledge while creating space for healing.
Jury Notes
“As a Kemosa Scholarship enthusiast and adjudicator for many years, I have read numerous entries and can appreciate the effort needed for a busy mother to create an original, well-crafted piece of writing. You can imagine my delight when I opened Ms. Cardinal’s entry and was immediately drawn into the story. The characters and descriptions created a 3-D world I could step into, with all my senses engaged. As a Metis woman myself, I particularly liked that Louise, the runaway child protagonist, was Metis and Inuit, a combination seldom used in stories. The memories of her father and mother, including descriptions of Inuit food, made the story even more intriguing. That such a tragedy as Louise’s could easily be based in actual events made this a compelling read and I am thrilled that Ms. Cardinal’s extraordinary talent was recognised in this year’s Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Mothers Who Write.”
2nd Place: Chelsea Belcourt
Chelsea Belcourt is a Métis/Coast Salish writer and academic, originally from Fort McMurray in Treaty 8 territory. She is pursuing her PhD in English at the University of Saskatchewan while raising her large family in Calgary, Alberta. Her creative focus is comedy script writing, and she has worked as a story editor and writer for numerous Indigenous comedies in development. Most recently, Chelsea collaborated with Siksika Elders, Roy Bear Chief and Hayden Melting Tallow on the upcoming stage play, Back to the Treaty, expected to run in 2027.
Jury Notes
“Original and engaging, this script creatively blends past and present, inviting the reader on a journey from the very first page. Its confident tone and humor make it a genuine pleasure to read. This writer shows clear promise and it is exciting to imagine how this script will transform from page to stage.”
3rd Place: Sandra Lamouche
Sandra Lamouche is a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation residing on the land of the Nitsitapi (Blackfoot people) of Southern Alberta. She is a champion hoop dancer, award-winning Indigenous educational leader, TEDx and keynote speaker, award winning children’s author, and storyteller. She received an M.A. researching Indigenous Dance and well-being. The hoop dance and its teachings of unity, balance, equality and interconnectedness of creation guides her work. This includes land based practices, environmental and climate related topics, wellness, and social justice issues including advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Residential School Survivors and their descendants, which directly impact her and her friends and family.
Jury Notes
“What a fabulous voice. I can’t wait to read this as it becomes a novel.”
Honourable Mention: Shelley Wiart
Shelley Wiart is a member of the North Slave Métis Alliance in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and is currently based in Calgary (Mohkinstsis). She graduated from Athabasca University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (Great Distinction) and is completing a Master of Arts in Leadership at Royal Roads University. Shelley writes poetry and creative non-fiction stories and is the mother of three daughters.
Honourable Mention: Shaylean Gladu
Shaylean Gladu is a multifaceted artist of the Nêhiyawak people. As a poet and writer, she explores intergenerational trauma, indigenous worldviews, and resilience. Shaylean was awarded First Place in the regional poetry competition, Words in Motion (2025) with her poem, ‘Drymeat’. Her work has been published in Northword Magazine, and Words & Birds Wood Buffalo. As an artistic contributor, her design was printed on orange t-shirts by Bee Creative for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, proceeds donated to Nistawoyou Association Friendship Center. Currently, she is looking forward to a public speaking tour, organized by the Wood Buffalo Regional Library, promoting the literary arts to children and youth in rural indigenous communities. Shaylean presently lives (and freezes) in Fort McMurray, Alberta with her loving family.
Shaylean is also a participant in this year’s WGA Mentorship program.
Thank you to our Sponsors and Donors!
We are so grateful to the Co-Sponsors of the Kemosa Scholarship:
As a Vietnamese immigrant to Canada, I am fascinated by the stories of this land and its people. In 2017, after speaking with renowned author Richard Van Camp and learning more about the struggles of Indigenous women, I was moved to found the Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Mothers Who Write.
As a writer and mother of three young children, I know how difficult it is to find time to write. Financial constraints can make this time even more difficult. Fortunately, I also work as a physician and therefore, I felt that I, in some way, could help my fellow aspiring writers focus on their creativity, to help give voice to Indigenous mothers who write.
Jeananne Kathol Kirwin lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her husband and four children. Although she is a practicing lawyer and erstwhile sailor, her childhood dream to become a writer was rekindled during the sailing sabbatical that is the subject of her book Greetings from Cool Breezes/A Family’s Year Aboard (Borealis Press, 2005). That book won the Canadian Authors Association – Alberta Branch Exporting Alberta Award in 2006. We would also like to thank our past and present Donors:
- Trudy Grienauer
- Jacqueline Guest
- Jennifer Delisle
- Carol Holmes
- Audrey Whitson
This Year’s Judges
RICHARD VAN CAMP is a proud member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation from Fort Smith, NWT, Canada from Fort Smith, NWT. He is a graduate of the En’owkin International School of Writing, the University of Victoria’s Creative Writing BFA Program, and the Master’s Degree in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.
He is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. His novel, The Lesser Blessed, is now a movie with First Generation Films and premiered in September of 2012 at the Toronto International Film Festival. He is the author of four collections of short stories, Angel Wing Splash Pattern, The Moon of Letting Go, Godless but Loyal to Heaven and Night Moves, as well as two children’s books with Cree artist, George Littlechild: A Man Called Raven and What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?
JACQUELINE GUEST is an international award-winning author with twenty professionally published novels. She has presented across Canada, the United States and in Africa to audiences of all ages including the American Library Association, the American Indian Library Association, University of Calgary, Manitoba Association of Teachers of English, Alberta Association of Library Technicians, MASC Conference Ottawa, University of Victoria, Cultural Diversity Institute, North Central Teachers Association, Saskatoon Reading Council Teachers Conference, the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre, plus hundreds of schools, libraries and conferences.
In addition to her in-depth knowledge on writing novels, Jacqueline has over twenty-five years of experience presenting in classrooms, libraries and at conferences. She has been the Creator-in-Residence for CANSCAIP plus Writer in Residence for the Marigold Library System, the International Spanish Academy, St. Clare School, St Rose of Lima School, and Glenmeadows Spanish School in Calgary. She has mentored many writers offering advice and direction in their chosen career. Her novels have been nominated for or won numerous awards in Canada and the United States, including the AILA Middle School Award, Moonbeam Award, Red Maple, Silver Birch, Red Cedar, Golden Eagle, CCBC Our Choice, and more. Her curriculum-based school presentations, which tie in with her novels, have even reluctant students reading.
Jacqueline is the proud recipient of the Indspire Award for the Arts. In 2017, Jacqueline was awarded the Order of Canada for her work in the literary arts.
History of the Kemosa Scholarship
The Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write was launched in 2017 by Nhung Tran-Davies to help aspiring writers focus on their creativity and find time to write, and to help give voice to Indigenous mothers who write. The Kemosa Scholarship awards 3-5 prizes annually.
Nhung Tran-Davies:
As a Vietnamese immigrant to Canada, I am fascinated by the stories of this land and its people. In 2017, after speaking with renowned author Richard Van Camp and learning more about the struggles of Indigenous women, I was moved to found the Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write.
As a writer and mother of three young children, I know how difficult it is to find time to write. Financial constraints can make this time even more difficult. Fortunately, I also work as a physician and therefore, I felt that I, in some way, could help my fellow aspiring writers focus on her creativity, to help give voice to Indigenous mothers who write.
2025 Winners
- First Place ($3000): Lareina Abbott
- Second Place ($2000): Alycia Two Bears
- Third Place($1000): Samantha Gibbon
2024 Winners
- First Place ($3000): Shelley Willier
- Second Place ($2000): Rhonda Gladue
- Third Place($1000): Paige Cardinal
- Honourable Mention ($500): Diana Power
2023 Winners
First Place ($3000): Falon Fayant – Shadow of the Moon
Second Place ($2000): Josephine Small – Eagles Songs R Me
6th Annual Kemosa Scholarship Winners Announced
2022 Winners
- First Place ($3000): Lareina Abbott – Pchit – Little One
- Second Place ($2000): Amber Boyd – Spirit Bead
- Third Place($1000): Apryl Gladue –the assertion of truth in our bones (and other poems)
- Honourable Mention ($500): Sandra Lamouche – ᐊᐸᑯᓯᐢ Apakosis
- Honourable Mention ($500): Shirley Cire – Sleigh Ride (and other poems)
READ MORE ABOUT LAST YEAR’S WINNERS
2021 Winners
- First Place ($3000): Sierra Roberts
- Second Place ($2000): Teresa Jane Wouters
- Third Place($1000): Holly Gerlach
- Honourable Mention: Melissa Caillou
2020 Winners
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- First Place ($3000): Shelley Willier
- Second Place ($2000): Trish Noelle McOrmond
- Third Place ($1000): Teresa Callihoo
- Honourable Mention: Felice Gladue
- Honourable Mention: Katie-Jo Rabbit
- Honourable Mention: Alycia Two Bears
- Honourable Mention: Amber Weasel Head
2019 Winners
- First Place ($3000): Falon Christine
- Second Place ($1500): Amber D. Boyd
- Third Place ($1000): Shelley Wiart
- Honourable Mention ($300): Angela Hall
- Honourable Mention ($300): Kali Stewart
2018 Winners
- First Place ( $1000) – Rhonda Gladue
- 2nd Place ($500)- Catherine Lafferty – Yellowknife
- 3rd Place ($250) – Brittany Johnson – Beaumont
- Honourable Mention – Paige Cardinal – Edmonton