Basil H. Johnston is a member of the Anishinaubae Nation. He was born on the Parry Island Reserve in central Northern Ontario and studied at Loyola College in Montréal, Quebec. Johnston has devoted much of his time to preserving the culture and traditions of his Anishinaubae people through his writing about traditional legends and stories. He has published more than a dozen books and twenty articles in the United States, Canada, and Germany; and received many honors and awards. In addition, Johnston has been a lecturer in the ethnology department at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.