Cuthand, Beth (1949-)

Beth Cuthand was born in La Ronge in 1949. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Saskatchewan, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. A supporter of First Nations Education, Cuthand has taught at the First Nations University of Canada (Regina and Saskatoon), En’Owkin International School of Writing (Penticton), and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (Merritt). She has also mentored many young First Nations writers and poets. Cuthand has given readings across North America, and was writer-in-residence at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio (1993). She is currently working on her Master of Divinity at the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad (University of Saskatchewan). The major themes of Cuthand’s writing reflect both voices from her ancestral past and the lives of contemporary Native women. Her poems and other writings appear in anthologies and magazines, the most notable being: An Anthology of Canadian Native Literature in English, 2nd ed.; Native Poetry in Canada; and Reinventing the Enemies’ Language: Contemporary Native American Women’s Writings of North America. Cuthand collaborated with Stan Cuthand and Mary Longman on a bilingual Cree-English Children’s book entitled The Little Duck, and recently published a collection of poetry entitled Voices in the Waterfall.

Christian Thompson