Cree author Harold Johnson has died

A former Crown prosecutor who became a celebrated author has died.

According to a Facebook post attributed to his family, Harold Johnson died on Wednesday.

"The storyteller, trapper, father, brother, husband, uncle Harold R. Johnson took his final breath today and will continue the rest of his journey on to the other side," the post on Johnson's page said.

Johnson was born and raised in northern Saskatchewan. He was a Montreal Lake Cree Nation member.

Johnson's non-fiction 2016 book Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours) was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-fiction.

His 2018 novel Clifford was a blend of memoir, fantasy and fiction written in tribute to his late brother — the book's namesake.

Johnson graduated from Harvard Law School and managed a private practice before becoming a prosecutor.

He also served in the Canadian Navy, according to Penguin Random House Canada — the publisher of Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada, Johnson's critique of the Canadian justice system.

 In his survey of how Indigenous people are treated in Canada's justice system, Johnson reflected on his own work as a Crown prosecutor.

"I'm looking for my own redemption; I was part of it. I helped to fill the jails full of Aboriginal people, I'm trying to take responsibility. I'm trying to make things better," Johnson said in a 2019 interview.

He said he felt compelled to write the book following Gerald Stanley's acquittal.

No funeral service for Johnson is planned at this time, according to his family.

"A celebration of life will be communicated in the coming months," the post said.

"We ask that everyone gives our family some time and space to grieve. "

His most recent published novel was 2021's The Björkan Sagas where Johnson drew upon his Cree and Scandinavian heritage to weave a trio of fantasy "sagas."