Born to aMétis father andMennonite mother,[7][8] vermette grew up in theNorth End of Winnipeg,Manitoba,[6] a neighbourhood distinguished by a relatively high population ofIndigenous people (approximately 25%), primarilyFirst Nations and Métis people. In an interview withCBC Radio, vermette described her childhood as not being "picturesque."[6] For vermette, growing up in the North End meant that she bore witness to injustice and prejudice from a young age;[6] when she was 14, vermette lost her older brother, 18-year-old Donovan, who was missing for six months prior to being found dead.[9][6] vermette asserts that the combination of Donovan's young age, his pre-disappearance circumstances of being at a bar with friends, and his beingCree meant that his disappearance did not get adequate coverage by the media. Vermette cites the apathy shown by her community and the media surrounding her brother's disappearance as instigating her awareness of the discrimination against Indigenous peoples by settler Canadians.[6]
vermette's first published volume of poetry,North End Love Songs functions as an ode to the place she grew up, Winnipeg's North End.[11][6] In the work, she describes her neighbourhood through highlighting its relationship to nature.[10] The collection depicts a "young girl or woman struggling with identity and place."[12]
A poem commissioned byCBC Aboriginal, "Heart" similarly depicts the North End of Winnipeg from vermette's point of view. vermette aims to change the narrative from "that North End", known for being a "lost cause", to the way she knows it.[11] vermette calls the North End the "heart of the Métis nation."[11]
vermette'schildren'spicture book book seriesThe Seven Teachings Stories was published by HighWater Press in 2015.[13] Illustrated by Irene Kuziw, the collection aims to present theAnishnaabeTeachings of the Seven Grandfathers in a way that is easily digestible for young people.[14] The series depicts Indigenous children in a metropolitan context.[15] The series comprises seven individual volumes:The Just Right Gift,Singing Sisters,The First Day,Kode's Quest(ion),Amik Loves School,Misaabe's Stories, andWhat is Truth, Betsy?.[15]
In 2015, she and Erika MacPherson co-directed the 20-minuteNational Film Board of Canada documentaryThis River, about Canadian Indigenous families that have had to search for family members who have disappeared. Partly based on vermette's own experience, the film received the 2016 Coup de coeur du jury award at Montreal'sPrésence autochtone [fr] festival, and premiered in vermette's hometown of Winnipeg on October 5, at theWinnipeg Art Gallery.[19][20] It was namedBest Short Documentary at the5th Canadian Screen Awards. vermette and NFB producer Alicia Smith also created a relatedInstagram work,What Brings Us Here, a companion piece toThe River, which offers portraits of volunteers behind the community-run Winnipeg search teams the Bear Clan and Drag the Red.[21][22]
In 2013, vermette won theGovernor General's Literary Award for poetry, for her collectionNorth End Love Songs,[6][25][12] vermette considered not accepting the award, as a means of protesting theCanadian government’s treatment ofMissing and Murdered Indigenous Women and the government’s policies in general.[6] vermette decided to accept the award because the people who voted forNorth End Love Songs were a collection of her literary peers, making it a reflection of the Canadian poetry community, rather than the Canadian government.[6]
vermette works with young people who are ostracized due to their circumstances and labelled "at risk".[10] She ran a workshop on using writing to cope with growing up marginalized.[10] vermette promotes developing young people's artistic voices through poetry.[10]
vermette has described her writing as motivated by anactivist spirit, particularly onFirst Nations issues.[6]
^Lewis, Philip (2 October 2015)."Redemption on the Red: this river".NFB Blog. National Film Board of Canada.Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved11 August 2016.
