Smokii Sumac

Smokii Sumac is a Ktunaxa poet whose first book of poetry, you are enough: love poems for the end of the world was published in 2018 by Kegedonce Press. In addition to writing, Sumac dedicates much of his work to Indigenous and LGBTQ communities. He identifies as two-spirit, transmasculine, "an uncle" and "an auntie", and has said "I didn’t fit in that check box of male / female". He currently lives in both Peterborough, Ontario and Ithaca, New York with his family and their dog. Smokii uses he/him and they/them pronouns.

Sumac grew up in Invermere, British Columbia. He attended the David Thompson Secondary School. He has talked openly about his recovery from alcoholism and addiction. He credits the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2017 with inspiring him to begin writing poetry.

Their work has been published in Write Magazine, Electric City Magazine and Canadian Literature. you are enough has been favorably reviewed in publications including Muskrat Magazine and Transmotion. In 2017 the Indigenous Voices Award was presented to Sumac for his unpublished poetry including his #haikuaday, which he posted on social media. They have performed at various events and venues including the Queer Arts Festival in 2018 and PoetryNOW: 11th Annual Battle of the Bards in 2019. Currently, Smokii Sumac is a PhD Candidate in Indigenous Studies at Trent University, where he is researching "coming home" stories from a Ktunaxa adoptee and two-spirit perspective.

Publications

 * 'there are hierarchies of grief'. 2016 Canadian Literature.
 * "All My Relations": Aunties, Cousins, And Indigenous Methods Of Recognition. 2017 Write Magazine.
 * "No Pipelines On Stolen Native Land". 2017 Electric City Magazine.
 * "Two Spirit and Queer Indigenous Resurgence through Sci-Fi Futurisms, Doubleweaving, and Historical Re-Imaginings: A Review Essay" published on July 31, 2018 for Kent University.