Dwayne LaFitte
Program and component
Creating, Knowing and Sharing, Small-Scale Activities
Community
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland
Field of practice
Literature
Grant amount
$1,675
Fiscal year
2020–21
Preserving Qalipu Mi’kmaq Stories in a Visual Memoir
Photo courtesy of Dwayne LaFitte
Technology helped Newfoundland and Labrador author Dwayne LaFitte overcome the challenges of the pandemic and craft a visual memoir manuscript detailing the feats of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq.
An inspiring and profound sense of pride and honour
In 2016 and 2017, author Dwayne LaFitte travelled to the west coast of Newfoundland to immerse himself in the Qalipu Mi’kmaq culture, originally intending to write an illustrated children’s book. The Elders and communities in the region shared tales of happiness, heroism, hardship, survival and perseverance that inspired him to pursue a larger project.
Overcoming pandemic challenges with technology
LaFitte planned to revisit the community in 2020 to learn more about important stories and memories to create Perseverance: Accounts of Qalipu Mi’kmaq Survival. The non-fiction book will help share these vital pieces of Indigenous history with Canadians. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, he reached out to the Qalipu Mi’kmaq through social media and other virtual means. With a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, LaFitte obtained software technology that enabled him to integrate visuals into his original research and produce a publishable manuscript.
External
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