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Musqueam hip-hop artist Christie Charles was named Vancouver’s fifth poet laureate during a ceremony Tuesday.

During her term, the city says Charles, who raps as Miss Christie Lee, will champion poetry, language and arts, and elevate the role of Host Nation and urban Indigenous poetry and cultural practices.

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“My project will connect the greater Vancouver poetic scene and the public to this history of local Indigenous communities, language and lands we live on today,” said Charles. “It will create new relationships and help elevate the beautiful and cultural understandings of my people. This will empower the young people from Indigenous communities and give them a path for creative expression.”

Charles, who incorporates traditional knowledge, stories and ancient Musqueam dialect into her music, said she is honoured to be Vancouver’s first Indigenous poet laureate.”

“It’s a really monumental thing for me. I’m super-excited and honoured to stand up and champion not just my work, but a lot of local First Nations, from Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh, and also urban Indigenous poets,” Charles said. “There’s so many different styles out there and everybody’s out on the scene working so hard, so I’d really like to just highlight Indigenous poetry in the city.”