Lee Maracle Biography – Lee Maracle Wiki
Lee Maracle born Bobbi Lee Maracle was a Sto: lo poet and author from Canada. She spoke out as a critic of the treatment of Indigenous people by the Canadian state, particularly highlighting the issues relating to Indigenous women. She dropped out of school and went to California where she did various jobs that included producing films and doing stand-up comedy. She went back to Canada and attended Simon Fraser University. She was one of the first Aboriginal people to be published in the early 1970s.
She is remembered as one of the most prolific Indigenous authors in Canada and a recognized authority on issues pertaining to Indigenous people and Indigenous literature. She was a poet, novelist, performance storyteller, scriptwriter, actor and keeper/mythmaker among the Stó:lō people. She was one of the founding members of the En’owkin International School of Writing in Penticton, British Columbia, and the cultural director of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.
She was an orator giving hundreds of speeches on political, historical, and feminist sociological topics related to Indigenous people, and conducted dozens of workshops on personal and cultural reclamation. She served as a consultant on First Nations’ self-government and has an extensive history in community development. She was described as “a walking history book” and an international expert on Canadian First Nations culture and history. Her views (as broadcast May 18, 2014, on CBC Radio) were that the Canadian people (not the government, because Canada is an “illegitimate state”) should accept responsibility for cultural genocide and the theft of the whole land from the Indigenous people.
She lectured at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Southern Oregon University and served as professor of Canadian culture at Western Washington University. She resided in Toronto, teaching at the University of Toronto First Nations House. She was the writer-in-residence at the University of Guelph.
Her poetry book, Hope Matters, was written in conjunction with her daughters Columpa Bobb and Tania Carter and was published in 2019. She was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2018. In 2017, Maracle was presented the Bonham Centre Award from The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, for her contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification. She delivered the 2021 Margaret Laurence Lecture on “A Writing Life”.
Lee Maracle Age
She was named Bobbi Lee Maracle at birth. She was born on July 2, 1950, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and died on November 11, 2021, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. She was 71.
Lee Maracle Husband
She was married twice. She however remained private about her personal life and did not share information about her husband and children with the public.
Lee Maracle Children
She was a mother of four adult children. Her poetry book, Hope Matters, was written in conjunction with her daughters Columpa Bobb and Tania Carter.
Lee Maracle Parents
She was the eldest among eight children. She was the daughter of a Métis (a person of mixed blood, Native and European) mother, of Cree and French parents, and a Coastal Salish father.
Lee Maracle Family
She was recognized as the granddaughter of Tsleil-Waututh Chief Dan George, she was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She grew up in the neighbouring city of North Vancouver as one of the first Indigenous children to be allowed to attend a normal state (public) school.
Lee Maracle Nationality
She was of Canadian nationality and belonged to the Sto꞉lo nation and had Salish and Cree descent.
Lee Maracle Death
She died on November 11, 2021, at Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, British Columbia. Her family members confirmed the news of her demise. Her daughter Sid Bobb says his mother was many things: “a wondrous warrior and a loving love” who dedicated her life to helping others rise from poverty and inequality.
Tributes are pouring into Maracle’s social media page, honouring her life’s work and her untiring energy to mentor other Indigenous writers.
On November 9, 2021, her family friend Gabriel George announced on Twitter that Maracle had been admitted to the hospital. Her organs had also shut down as a result of her sudden heart attack. George referred to her as a true warrior and asked her supporters to pray for the late poet.
Journalist Nick Estes mourned her on Twitter writing, “Lee Maracle changed my life. She told us, Indigenous women, we could choose & that we could be free. Her words resonated so much that I sobbed & sobbed reading them. I got to meet her and tell her this a few years ago. She was an incredible force. Rest in power, Lee, prayers up ♥️”
Lee Maracle Cause of Death
She died on November 11, 2021, at Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, British Columbia.
