Sharron Proulx-Turner

Sharron Proulx-Turner (pseudonym, Beckylane; d. November 2016)[1] was a two-spirit Métis writer. She investigated themes of Métis storytelling and was recognized as a mentor to other writers.

Sharron Proulx-Turner
Born(1953-04-21)April 21, 1953
Metcalfe, Ontario
Died2016(2016-00-00) (aged 62–63)
OccupationWriter

Early life and education

Sharron Proulx-Turner was born on April 21, 1953, in Metcalfe, Ontario, and her ancestry is of Mohawk, Huron, Anishnabe, Wyandat, Algonquin, Ojibwe, Mi’kmaw, French, Scottish, and Irish peoples.[1] Proulx-Turner was diagnosed with dyslexia and other learning challenges as a young girl,[2] but on her fourth birthday, Proulx-Turner received a dictionary from her "Nokomis," which in Ojibwe translates to grandmother.[3] Proulx-Turner would point to a word and her grandmother would tell her a story. This is when Proulx-Turner learned to love language.[4]

Proulx-Turner earned her undergraduate and Master's degrees in English, focusing on Feminist Bio-theory, at the University of Calgary.[2][5]

Career

Her first publication, Where the Rivers Join: A Personal Account of Healing from Ritual Abuse, was published under the pseudonym Becklane to protect her identity as her life was still endangered.[6]

Her writing covers a variety of genres: poetry, memoir, and mixed-genre historical fiction. She is widely anthologized, appearing in Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood,[7] Crisp Blue Edges: Indigenous Creative Non-Fiction,[8] My Home as I Remember,[9] and An Anthology of Canadian Native Literature in English.[10] Proulx-Turner acted as a mentor to writers in the Canadian literature community, particularly for emerging Indigenous writers,[10] and advocated on behalf of the field of Indigenous literature and its writers.[11] She created opportunities for Two-Spirit and gender non-conforming people in ceremony and in writing communities.[11] Spirituality was an integral part of Proulx-Turner's writing process.[4]

In the fourth-grade, Proulx-Turner wrote her first poem and went on to publish a memoir, collections of poetry and a mixed genre historical fiction.[1] Proulx-Turner has also been published in several anthologies and literary journals throughout her career[1][12] before her death from cancer in 2016.[13] In 2017, her final publication was released posthumously by Kege-Donce Press, in honor of her.[1] Since then, she has had a dedication to her written in the Auto/Biography Studies Journal.[14]

Death and legacy

After she was diagnosed with cancer, the Indigenous Studies Literary Studies Association hosted a roundtable on her works: "Decolonial Solidarities and the Work of Sharron Proulx-Turner" which brought together writers to reflect on her influence as an activist, editor, and mentor.[15] After her death in 2016, the themes in her writing were the focus of a symposium held in her honour,[16] entitled creole métisse of french canada, me, and held November 23–24, 2018 at the University of Calgary.[17]

As she wrote in her book, One Bead at a Time, the purpose of her writing is to: "...give back to the women and children whose stories so often go untold. To give back to the spirits of the Indigenous children that have been and are still missing."[13]

Selected works
Publications & ContributionsPublication DateDescription
creole métisse of french canada, me[18]2017
One Bead at a Time: A Memoir by Beverly Little Thunder[19]2016This memoir is an oral narrative of Beverly Little Thunder's stories that have been transcribed by Proulx-Turner.
Anthology of Canadian Native Literature In English[4] 2013 Her poem "a horse's nest egg is very large" was feartured with an introduction from Proulx-Turner describing her relationship with her Métis grandmother.
the trees are still bending south[20]2012
Salish Seas: an anthology of text + image[21]2011
iLit Remix: A Revolution of Text Forms[22]2011 Aug
iLit Strength and Struggle: Perspectives From First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Canada [23]2011 May
She is Reading Her Blanket with Her Hands: The Dedication Poems[24]2008Dedicated to Proulx-Turner's Mother
she walks for days inside a thousand eyes: a two-spirit story[25]2008A book of poems, that delve into life a two-spirited woman.
What the auntys say [26]2002
Where the Rivers Join: A Personal Account of Healing from Ritual Abuse[27]1995Proulx-Turner published under her pseudonym, Becky Lane. Her memoir was the first book she published after graduating from the University of Calgary.

Further reading
  • Hanson, Aubrey Jean (2018). "On teaching queer indigenous literatures". English in Australia. 53 (2): 68–72. ISSN 0155-2147.

References
  1. sarah (2018-06-14). "Sharron Proulx-Turner". SAY Magazine. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  2. "I'POYI Panel 2 Sharron Proulx-Turner". YouTube. July 30, 2011.
  3. "June Drenning Holmquist, editor. <italic>They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State's Ethnic Groups</italic>. (Publications of the Minnesota Historical Society.) St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. 1981. Pp. xiii, 614. $45.00". The American Historical Review. April 1983. doi:10.1086/ahr/88.2.487. ISSN 1937-5239.
  4. Moses, Daniel (2013). An Anthology of Canadian Native Literature in english. Don Mills: Oxford University Press. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-19-544353-0.
  5. Proulx-Turner, Sharron (2002). what the auntys say. Canada: McGilligan Books. ISBN 978-1894692045.
  6. Proulx-Turner, Sharron (2015-07-03). "Ice Tsunami: A Process of WritingWhere the Rivers Join". A/B: Auto/Biography Studies. 30 (2): 217–231. doi:10.1080/08989575.2015.1083278. ISSN 0898-9575.
  7. Double lives : writing and motherhood. Stonehouse, Cathy., Lam, Fiona Tinwei, 1964-, Cowan, Shannon, 1973-. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press. 2008. ISBN 9780773574595. OCLC 760074087.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Crisp blue edges : indigenous creative non-fiction. Marsden, Rasunah, 1949-. Penticton, BC: Theytus Books. 2000. ISBN 978-0919441927. OCLC 45190668.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. My home as I remember. Maracle, Lee., Laronde, Sandra. Toronto: Natural Heritage Books. 2000. ISBN 9781554882366. OCLC 649903662.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. "Supporting Aboriginal writing". Supporting Aboriginal writing. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  11. Justice, Daniel Heath (2018). Why Indigenous literatures matter. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ISBN 978-1771121767. OCLC 910987272.
  12. Wunker, Erin (Spring 2007). "Speaking, Pausing for Breath, and Gardening". Canadian Literature (192): 167–169, 215 – via ProQuest.
  13. Proulx-Turner, Sharron (2008). She walks for days inside a thousand eyes. Artspace Building 018-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1H3, Canada.: Turnstone Press. ISBN 9781771332651. OCLC 936978606.CS1 maint: location (link)
  14. "Dedication". A/B: Auto/Biography Studies. 33: 1. 2018. doi:10.1080/08989575.2018.1389817.
  15. "2nd Annual Gathering 2016". Indigenous Literary Studies Association. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  16. Jacobsen, Mikka (2018-11-02). "Creole Métisse of French Canada, Me: A Symposium in Honour of Sharron Proulx-Turner". The Insurgent Architects' House for Creative Writing. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  17. Jacobsen, Mikka (2018-11-02). "Creole Métisse of French Canada, Me: A Symposium in Honour of Sharron Proulx-Turner". The Insurgent Architects' House for Creative Writing. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  18. Sharron, Proulx-Turner (2017-12-31). Creole Métisse of French Canada, me. Georgetown, ON. ISBN 9781928120100. OCLC 1031772718.
  19. Beverly, Little Thunder (2016). One bead at a time : a memoir. Proulx-Turner, Sharron. Toronto, Ontario. ISBN 9781771332651. OCLC 936978606.
  20. Sharron., Proulx-Turner (2012). The trees are still bending south. Wiarton, Ont.: Kegedonce Press. ISBN 9780986874024. OCLC 753228811.
  21. Proulx-Turner, Sharron (2011). Salish Seas: An Anthology of Text + Image. Aboriginal Writers Collective West Coast.
  22. Remix : a revolution in text forms. Cooke, Rachel., Jackson, Lyanda., White, Melanie., Curk, Mary., Barwin, Gary. Whitby, Ont.: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. 2011. ISBN 9780071067010. OCLC 769788421.CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. Strength and struggle : perspectives from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada. Mishenene, Rachel A., Toulouse, Pamela Rose., Augustine, Denise., Atcheson, Joyce. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. 2011. ISBN 9780071067034. OCLC 754227277.CS1 maint: others (link)
  24. Proulx-Turner, Sharron. (2008). She is reading her blanket with her hands : the dedication poems. Calgary: Frontenac House. ISBN 9781897181188. OCLC 191241158.
  25. Jacobs, Madelaine (Spring 2011). "Vocations: First Nations Voices". Canadian Literature (208): 160–162, 202. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  26. Sing, Pamela (2006). "Intersections of Memory, Ancestral Language, and Imagination; or, the Textual Production of Michif Voices as Cultural Weaponry". Studies in Canadian Literature. 31 (1): 107–108. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  27. Beckylane. (1995). Where the rivers join : a personal account of healing from ritual abuse (1st ed.). Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers. ISBN 978-0889740433. OCLC 32016197.
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