Photo: Christian Leduc Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau is an internationally-recognized vi- sual artist and author of Cree origin. She has published three novels and two poetry collections in French. Born in Rapides-des-Cedres in 1951, of a Cree mother and a mixed-heritage Québécois father, she holds a Fine Arts Baccalaureate and has participated in numer- ous exhibitions in Quebec, United States, Mexico, Denmark, and received several awards for her art. In 2007, she published her first novel, Ourse Blue. Her collection of poetry, De rouge et de blanc (2012), was awarded the Abitibi-Témiscamingue literary prize. Her subsequent novels include L'amant du lac (2013) and L'enfant hiver (2014). She lives in Abitibi, in northwest Quebec.