Speaking
Engagements

Speaking
Engagements
~ Jesse Thistle, Historian & Author
Events
Buy Her Books
Screenplays & Plays
/arnolda/images/Arnolda-Dufour-Bowes-inacircle-tornpaper.gif)
~ Jesse Thistle, Historian & Author
Arnolda Dufour Bowes is a Cree-Métis iskwêw and mother of three from Saskatoon, with rootsfrom Sȃkitawȃk (Île à la Crosse), George Gordon First Nation, and Punnichy, Sask. She is thedaughter and granddaughter of survivors of the Residential School system. Her firstbook, 20.12m: A Short Story Collection of a Life Lived as a Road Allowance Metis, received the 2021 National Danuta Gleed Literary Award and $10,000 grand prize of the Writers Union of Canada. In 2022, she received Best Indigenous Author at the international High Plains Awards.
READ ARNOLDA’S FULL BIO & HISTORY >

/arnolda/bronze-feather-arnolda-website.png)
/arnolda/scripture-book-pages-bride-dress-lace-flowers-arnolda-craft.gif)
Quill & Quire Article on the Danuta Gleed Award
Kirkus Review of Arnolda’s Book “Maggie Lou, Firefox“
Click on an Article Below to Read More
CBC Article on the Danuta Gleed Award
CBC Article about Arnolda’s Book “20.12m”
2022 High Plains Book Award Winner Announcement
/arnolda/Torn-Edge-Dark-Cream-Arnolda-Dufour-Bowes.png)
Quill & Quire: 2022 High Plains Book Awards winners
Kirkus Review of Arnolda's Book "Maggie Lou, Firefox"
Quill & Quire Article on the Danuta Gleed Award
CBC Article on the Danuta Gleed Award
CBC Article about Arnolda's Book "20.12m"
Quill & Quire: 2022 High Plains Book Awards winners
2022 High Plains Book Award Winner Announcement
October 2023 CTV Interview: New Book Maggie Lou, Firefox
/arnolda/images/Launch-Reading-October-2023-Arnolda-Dufour-Bowes-MaggieLou-Firefox_McNallyRobinson_600px.jpg)
New Book Launch Reading: Maggie Lou, Firefox at McNally Robinson October 2023
From 20.12 m ~ Pg 31

/arnolda/C-Adrian-Heidmreich-Arnolda-Quote-200.png)
C. Adrian Heidemreich, Ph D
Jesse Thistle
Historian & Author
Professor Emeritus of Native American Studies/Anthropology, Montana State University Billings
/arnolda/strappless-gown-300x512px-2.gif)
~ Arnolda Dufour Bowes
/arnolda/Arnolda-Dufour-Bowes-Web-BronzeSplatters500.png)
is based on Arnolda’s short story “Apples & Traintracks,” from 20.12m. This exhibit reveals the plight of the prairie Road Allowance Metis during the 1930’s-40’s, their history of dispossession, discrimination and forcible removal by the Saskatchewan government.
Her sister, Andrea Haughian, created the original artwork for her book 20.12m and a few captivating new pieces for this display. Her signature style is abstract realism, and her medium is acrylic.
Accompanying the short narration film Arnolda wrote and directed, you will walk through her free-spirited Askiy (Earth) art. It includes her photography, poetry, mixed media pieces, reclaimed pieces from their father's Road Allowance home at Punnichy and natural components she crafted to accentuate our deep-rooted connection to the land and to explore a piece of our history.
The Road Allowance Metis were innovative, resourceful, and full of life; nothing was wasted, not even experiences. In this exhibit, you will journey within a story, and Arnolda desires that you empathize with the strength, resilience, and determination of the Road Allowance Metis.
Batoche National Heritage SiteNow until Sept 2025
Wanuskewin
May - June 2024
Allan Sapp Gallery, North Battleford
Mar 1 - Apr 13, 2025
Dates/Locations TBA 2025:
Amelia Douglas Institute, Surrey BC
Duncan, BC
Red Deer, AB
Get Your Tickets
Arnolda captivates audiences of all ages, connecting in informal groups and professional settings alike. Approaching every engagement with thorough preparation, she seeks insights from organizations, researching relevant topics and thoughtfully considering how to deliver the utmost impact. Her mission is to inspire, uplift, and be a role model, embodying grit and resilience in every interaction.
She has continually reinvented herself during her life, working in construction, administration, retail, event coordination, healthcare, nursing, fitness, yoga instruction, adult education, and emergency after-hours work, among other roles. A nurse with pediatric experience, among Arnolda’s most profound experiences was a volunteer mission in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after the 2005 Boxing Day tsunami. She taught SIIT's Care Aide course and became a First Aid/CPR Instructor.
Schedule a Speaking Engagement
“Keep taking up space,” Maggie’s mother says. “You’re only making room for the girls behind you.”
From Maggie Lou, FireFox ~ Now Available!
Maggie Lou, Firefox, released by Groundwood Books in 2023. “An amusing story showcasing Métis humor at its finest. Starred review.” Kirkus Review Purchase at Indigo, McNally Robinson or local bookstores.
Currently, book two of this series, Maggie Meets Her Match was released August 2025, and Arnolda is excited to announce that Maggie Lou is in the development of becoming an animation series.
Maggie Lou, Firefox Maggie Lou, Firefox, has been highly acclaimed: it was nominated for the Red Cedar Book Award, the Diamond Willow Award, and the Saskatchewan Book Awards Young Adult Literature Award; it was named to Kirkus’s 2023 Best Middle Grade Books of the Year, ALA’s Rise: A Feminist Book Project, and NPR’s Books We Love; and it has even been optioned for a TV animated series!
/arnolda/Tricksters-Writers-logo-165.png)
Arnolda's screenplay Truthwalkers was conceived through the 2023 Tricksters and Writers program and was further developed through the 2024 Whistler Film Festival, Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship. Arnolda is proud to be part of the 2025 Whistler Film Festival, Screenwriters Lab.
/arnolda/Groundwood-logo-165.png)
/arnolda/images/WFF-logo.png)
Arnolda is a Playwright Resident with GTNT and her play Apples & Traintracks is due for production on April 30, 2026 - May 10, 2026 at The Refinery.
/arnolda/GTNT_logo_165.png)