A Samson Cree Nation youth has won a national competition for Indigenous child authors.

Vienna Swampy didn’t see her culture or community represented in many stories, so she decided to write her own.

“I didn't see a lot of books having Cree representations and I thought it would be cool if I wrote some,” said the 13-year-old.

“Growing up, I always wanted to see that, and I thought it would be cool for younger kids in the community to actually see someone representing them in books.”

Hosted by Voices of Future Generations, the 2025 Call for Indigenous Child Authors invited youth across the country to submit stories highlighting the cultural heritage of their families and communities.

Vienna’s book, The Land Before Us, tells the story of an 11-year-old girl named Nimisew who wants to li

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