Piker Press — Weekly Journal of Arts and Literature
April 13, 2026
Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith

Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith

Christine is a Canadian First Nations journalist and writer who hails from Peguis First Nation, one of Manitoba's largest reserves. "I write about issues that are close to my heart -- issues that will hopefully bring about awareness of what is happening with Canadian First Nations, because knowing your story, your truth and following it is something that can make us all better."

23 Articles
4 Genres
2018 Most Recent

About Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith

Christine McFarlane is a Canadian First Nations journalist and writer. She writes about issues that are the closest to her -- healing, inspiration, current events, and the political. She is currently working on her first memoir collection of short stories, which she hopes to have out in the next year. Besides her story "Choosing the Path to Healing" appearing in the 2006 anthology Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces, Christine has also had creative non-fiction pieces titled "As A Child" and "Mother: An Essay" in Yellow Medicine Review in 2008,and in Yellow Medicine Review Spring 2011, a poem titled "I Remember" in xxx ndn, a book of poetry published by the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and a piece titled "A Legacy of Colonial Childcare" in Briarpatch Magazine. She has had a regular column in the Native Canadian newsletter, titled Life's Journey and freelances for Anishinabek News, New Tribe Magazine, First Nations House Magazine that is based out of First Nations House of the University of Toronto, Windspeaker, and is a contributing editor with Shameless Magazine and The Toronto Review of Books.

Short

2 articles ↑ top
  • My Sister is Missing, Does Anybody Care?

    Author's note: In Canada, rates of violent crime are relatively low; murders and abductions generate significant media attention and mobilize impressive deployments of law enforcement agencies. However, the lack of inquiry into the disappearance of over 500 First Nations women remains a contentious issue between First Nations people and the Canadian government.

  • Memories of Things Left Unsaid

    Do the dead know what we think of them?

Poem

1 article ↑ top
  • Skin Color

    Well worth keeping in mind...

Opinion

6 articles ↑ top
  • A First Nations Perspective

    Christine Smith(McFarlane) writes about issues that will hopefully bring about awareness of what is happening with Canadian First Nations.

  • A First Nations Perspective 8

    Cultural appropriation is the re-purposing of a concept from another cultural background -- often taken out of context.

  • Racism and Discrimination Within the Use of Status Cards

    Who has to prove their genetic identity?

  • A First Nations Perspective 9

    A disproportionate number of Aboriginal women are missing or murdered. Isn't it time to find out why?

  • A First Nations Perspective 13

    Returning to the grave subject of Missing and Murdered First Nation women, the book "Kwe: Standing with Our Sisters" is a compilation by dozens of acclaimed writers and artists.

  • A First Nations Perspective 15

    The impact of national policy on education for aboriginal peoples.

Essay

14 articles ↑ top
  • A First Nations Perspective 2

    "When Worldviews Collide." A look at the way First Nation peoples view their history and their origins.

  • A First Nations Perspective 3

    Exploration in the New World by European nations was catastrophic for the indigenous peoples.

  • A First Nations Perspective 4

    An examination of the basics of treaties between First Nations and the Crown.

  • A First Nations Perspective 5

    A look at a government's attempt to change the culture of First Nations peoples by assimilation.

  • A First Nations Perspective 6

    The mass adoption of First Nation children during the 1960s became known as the "Sixties Scoop" -- everyone needs to know about this and prevent it from happening ever again.

  • A First Nations Perspective 7

    Stereotypes and misconceptions abound about First Nations peoples -- it's time to bring them to a halt.

  • A First Nations Perspective 10

    Reflections on caring for yourself through the Medicine Wheel.

  • A First Nations Perspective 11

    Aging Out of the Foster Care System: a story of trauma.

  • A First Nations Perspective 12

    An examination of the historical document "They Came for the Children" produced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in regards to the purpose and effects of the Residential School system.

  • A First Nations Perspective 14

    What is science, and who defines it? Does the definer define the definition?

  • A First Nations Perspective 16

    It is time to recognize the devastating effects of colonial policies on First Nations peoples. Especially for the children, especially for the future.

  • A First Nations Perspective 17
  • A First Nations Perspective 18: Kokum

    A short piece of fiction that hits very close to home for First Nations people...

  • Is This Goodbye Again?

    A childhood tragedy, a lost family...and a time of reunion all too short...