About Dawn Cheryl Hill
An author, speaker, storyteller, and advocate, she has dedicated her life to supporting conversations around intergenerational trauma, resilience, Indigenous knowledge, and personal restoration.
Dawn grew up at the Tuscarora Territory in Lewiston, NY. She currently resides at the Six Nations territory in Ohsweken, Ontario since 2016. Dawn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Community Mental Health and a Master of Social Work (BA/MSW) degree from the University at and Buffalo. She is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) and the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW). She retired in May 2024 and opened her own private practice, Sacred Circle Therapy.
Dawn Cheryl Hill, BA, MSW, RSW is the daughter of two residential school survivors. She is a beading artisan, published writer, and an enrolled member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, she is of Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and Ska꞉rù꞉ręʼ (Tuscarora) ancestry of the Turtle Clan.
Her first book, Memory Keeper has been nominated for an Indigenous Voices Award; it has also received the 2022 First Nation Communities Read Long-list Award. Memory Keeper has also been selected as a recommended read by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She won the Ontario Native Women’s Association’s (ONWA) Every Story Matters Writing Competition, May 2024. Dawn is an Ambassador for the Chaney-Wenjack foundation, a board member of the Mohawk Villiage Memorial Park (MVMP), and a member of the North American Indigenous Women’s Association (NAIWA).
Awards and Nominations
Indigenous Voices Award Nomination
Her book, Memory Keeper, was nominated for this award, which celebrates the work of Indigenous writers in Canada.
Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA)
She won this competition in May 2024.
First Nation Communities Read (FNCR) Long-list Award
Memory Keeper received this recognition in 2022.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
Her book was a recommended read by the TRC, acknowledging the impact of residential schools
Community, Recognition, and Public Voice
Through her writing, speaking engagements, and public conversations, Dawn Cheryl Hill continues to contribute to important dialogue around Indigenous identity, memory, resilience, and reconciliation. Her work has connected with audiences through readings, author events, community programs, and public discussions that invite reflection and understanding.
Dawn Cheryl Hill walks us through her life as an Indigenous person in a colonized world, introducing us to the people and particularities that had become standard for her generation.
