Sylvia Olsen (born 1955 or 1956)[1] is a Canadian writer and public speaker.
Olsen was born and raised in a middle-class family in Victoria, British Columbia.
In 1972, Olsen married Carl, who is Coast Salish, and moved to Tsartlip First Nation, where she lived for 35 years. During her time in Tsartlip, she raised her three children, began a few small businesses, and began working in the Tsartlip housing department, a passion that led to a number of career developments later on. Also during this time, she began questioning the differences between her privileged upbringing at those of First Nation Canadians. These questions and life experiences have greatly shaped her art and academic endeavours. In 1996 Sylvia achieved a PHd from the University of Victoria. Her dissertation was on the history of on-reserve housing programs in Canada.
Later, Olsen's family adopted another son from Brazil, and her children have bore her eight grandchildren, most of whom live in Tsarlip.[2]
Olsen married her current husband, Tex McLeod, when she was 63. They live in North Saanich on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, just north of Tsartlip.[3]
Olsen has been a founding member at a number of housing organizations for Canadian First Nations communities, including the First Nations Housing & Infrastructure Council for British Columbia. She was also a member of the Assembly of First Nations Chiefs Committee on Housing & Infrastructure.
She also "helped develop the curriculum for and teaches the First Nations Housing Management Certificate Program at Vancouver Island University."
| 2005 | White Girl | Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize | Shortlist | [4] | |
| 2007 | Yetsa's Sweater | Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award | |||
| 2011 | Working with Wool | Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize | Shortlist | [5] WinnerLieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing | |
| 2010 | Counting on Hope | Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize | Shortlist | [6] | |
| 2010 | Which Way Should I Go? | PMC Indigenous Literature Award | Winner | [7] | |
| 2014 | Molly's Promise | Diamond Willow Award | Finalist | [8] | |
| 2020 | Neekah's Knitting Needles | PMC Indigenous Literature Award | Shortlist | [9] |