Biography of Lee Maracle, author and critic (born at Vancouver, 2 Jul 1950). A prolific First Nations writer and expert on First Nations culture and history, Lee Maracle is an influential Aboriginal voice in Canadian postcolonial criticism. She is a member of the Stó:lō Nation, the daughter of a Métis mother and Salish father and a granddaughter of Chief Dan George. Maracle grew up in a poor neighbourhood in North Vancouver, east of the Second Narrows Bridge. Feeling distanced from her Aboriginal culture and an outsider in the broader Canadian culture, Maracle dropped out of school to become part of Vancouver’s hippie subculture and a member of the Red Power movement. She wandered to California and eventually Toronto, supporting herself in a range of occupations that included stand-up comedy and film production before returning to Vancouver to study at Simon Fraser University. Maracle is an activist in the Aboriginal struggle against racism, sexism and economic oppression.
