Niigaan Sinclair
Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, also referred to as Niigaan James Sinclair or Niigaan Sinclair, is an Anishinaabe writer, editor, professor, and activist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Early life and education
Originally from Selkirk, Manitoba Sinclair is the son of judge and senator Murray Sinclair.He received his Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Winnipeg, a Master of Arts in Native- and African-American Literatures from the University of Oklahoma, and a Doctor of Philosophy in First Nations and American Literatures at the University of British Columbia.
Career
Sinclair is a professor and former Head of the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba where he holds the Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics.He is also a former secondary school teacher who taught at École Kelvin Secondaire High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Sinclair is a co-editor of a special issue of the and award-winning books such as Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories. He edited and authored two chapters in Winter We Danced: Voices of the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement as well as a number of graphic novels. He is also a journalist for the Winnipeg Free Press and a co-host of the newspaper's podcast called . In addition, he is a captain with the Mama Bear Clan patrol in North Point Douglas in Winnipeg's inner city. He is the son of the late and former Canadian Senator Murray Sinclair and Jeanette Warren.
Sinclair is also a public speaker and media commentator who was recently named to the “Power List” by Maclean’s magazine as one of the most influential individuals in Canada. He has helped organize Idle No More Winnipeg events and frequently speaks on Indigenous issues on CTV, CBC and APTN. In 2018, he won Canadian columnist of the year at the National Newspaper Awards for his bi-weekly columns in The Winnipeg Free Press and is a featured commentator on CBC's Power & Politics and ' panel. Sinclair won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He was also previously named on Ace Burpee's "Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitobans" list and one of Monocle Magazine‘s “Canada’s Top 20 Most Influential People.”
His book Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre won the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction at the 2024 Governor General's Awards.
Publications
- "Dancing in a mall," and "The words we have inherited," In Winter We Danced: Voices of the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement.
- "Water scroll," In Tales from ''Moccasin Avenue: An anthology of Native Stories.
- "Tending to Ourselves: Hybridity and Native Literary Criticism," In Across Cultures/ Across Boarders: Canadian Aboriginal and Native American Literatures.
- "A sovereignty of transmotion: Imagination and the "real" Gerlad Vizenor, and Native literary nationalism," In Stories Through Theories/ Theories Through Stores: North American Indian Writing, Storytelling, and Critique.
- "Trickster Reflections: Part I," and "Trickster Reflections: Part II," In Troubling Tricksters Revisioning Critical Conversations''.