Born in Fort Smith, NWT, bestselling author Richard Van Camp is a member of the Dogrib (Tłįchǫ) Dene Nation. A graduate of the En’owkin Centre’s writing program in Penticton, BC, he completed his BFA in writing at the University of Victoria and received an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. His work has won many awards and honours, among them the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Literary Prize and the title of Storyteller of the Year from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.

Mary Cardinal Collins is a semi-retired teacher, fluent Cree speaker and translator.

As a first-language speaker of Plains Cree (nêhiyawêwin), translator Dolores Greyeyes Sand has devoted her career to teaching and promoting Cree language and cultural literacy at every opportunity, proudly following the path laid by her late mother, Dr Freda Ahenakew CM, SOM.

The Cree Literacy Network was created in 2010 to promote Cree language and cultural literacy, in oral form and through literacy materials. Through the essential tool of standard spelling, the Cree Literacy Network supports the fundamental right of Cree speakers to understand and be understood.