Louise Halfe

Angela Van Essen (University of Alberta)
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Louise Bernice Halfe, whose Cree name can be loosely translated into English as

Sky Dancer

, was born in Two Hills Alberta in 1953. She grew up with her family on the Saddle Lake Reserve in Alberta, but because of the enforced Canadian law that required all First Nations children to attend Indian residential schools (IRS), she was taken away at age seven by Indian Affairs agents in order to attend Blue Quills Residential School. This experience, according to Halfe, “destroyed my family” (interview with Ian Ferrier, np). However, unlike many other IRS survivors, she was able to keep her first language (nêhiyawêwin or Plains Cree) and as a young adult she renewed and revitalized her cultural connections that had “gone to sleep” while attending the residential school for nearly ten…

1522 words

Citation: Van Essen, Angela. "Louise Halfe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 February 2014; last revised 14 September 2018. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5350, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5350 Louise Halfe 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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