Akiwenzie-Damm's afterword speaks to the relations and obligations Indigenous peoples have to one another and their other-than-human kin, as she reflects on the resilient work that Indigenous creative work has done and continues to do in spite of colonial violence. She stakes a claim for the necessity of poetry in the face of ongoing colonialism, not only in the present but in the future and for the generations to come. The introduction by Dallas Hunt locates Akiwenzie-Damm within the field of Indigenous literature and meditates on her influence on the field of Indigenous erotica.
Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm is a member of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, on the Saugeen Peninsula in Ontario. Kateri is a poet, writer, spoken word artist, Indigenous arts advocate, publisher, and educator. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, teaching creative writing, Indigenous literatures, and oral traditions in the English Department. She is the founder and publisher of Kegedonce Press, Ontario’s longest-running Indigenous literary publisher. Her publications encompass fiction, non-fiction, radio plays, television and film, libretti, a graphic novel, spoken word CDs, and two collections of poetry.
Introduction by Dallas Hunt who is Cree and a member of Wapsewsipi (Swan River First Nation) in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta. His first children's book, Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock, was published through Highwater Press in 2018. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Literature at the University of British Columbia.
