Author: Editor Ed News

HRI-funded research on child sponsorship

Dr. Kathleen Nolan, Professor – Mathematics Education

Over the past year, Dr. Kathleen Nolan has been working on an HRI-funded research project entitled “Engaging the Public in Critical and Justice-Oriented Global Actions: Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship.”

Q&A with Dr. Kathleen Nolan

What were the circumstances that led to your research thesis topic? How did this topic become important to you?

I’ve been studying this topic of child sponsorship since about 2018, after becoming aware of the large amount of funds raised through child sponsorship and the questionable ethics involved in the process. I noticed many justice-oriented, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who were struggling to raise funds for their work in Canada and throughout the world, and yet this charity-only child sponsorship approach was raising billions worldwide. By “charity-only,” I mean that child sponsorship agencies raise funds but do not educate about poverty nor advocate for change.

So, I began a journey to educate myself and others about child sponsorship by reviewing the research literature around child sponsorship and publishing a critique article entitled Better Than Nothing? (https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i8.5574). The title was selected because that is the question I was asked many times as I conducted this review and critique: “Well, isn’t it better than nothing?” At first, I thought that the article would be the end of my research into the topic but, of course, if you tell people it is NOT better than nothing, you are leaving things rather unfinished. It begs the question of, “If not this (CS) then what?” That led to me applying for an HRI Fellowship to respond to that question.

How are you sharing your findings?

WEBSITE: Your Global Action Tackle Box: Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship: https://www.beyondchildsponsorship.ca

In this educational tackle box, I provide materials and resources designed to tackle child sponsorship (CS) through education and by proposing alternative critical and justice-oriented actions aimed at moving beyond CS. The contents of this tackle box website are drawn from research interviews conducted with academic researchers (in the areas of international development studies, sociology, education, anthropology, and global citizenship education), directors and coordinators of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and independent consultants and global fund raising managers.

ARTICLE: “Please Continue To Not Sponsor This Child” published in the New Internationalist. Read at: https://newint.org/features/2022/04/04/feature-please-continue-not-sponsor-child

Published in the May-June 2022 issue of New Internationalist, this feature article marks the 40th anniversary of “Please do not sponsor this child,” an article published in New Internationalist in 1982. In “Please continue to not sponsor this child,” I revitalize that 40-year-old story with new information from my research study that demonstrates how, over these 4 decades, the more things have changed, the more they’ve stayed the same. That is, the same set of misguided motivations for sponsors, the same lack of public education around issues of global poverty and inequity and the same level of denial of the role played by the Global North in (re)producing problematic historical patterns of thinking and relationships.

PODCAST: HRI Let’s Talk Research: Episode 3, Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship, with Dr. Kathy Nolan: https://www.humanitiesresearch.org/podcast/

In conversation with Dr. Charity Marsh (Director, Humanities Research Institute (HRI) at the University of Regina), I share information and reflections on the ‘Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship’ research project that was funded through an HRI Fellowship award. The podcast, which is 35 minutes in duration, challenges the listener to reflect on their own views about child sponsorship and the importance of engaging in alternative actions which are critical and justice-oriented.

RADIO INTERVIEW: Garth Materie show on CBC radio (6 minute recording). Listen in at: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-103/clip/15916615

What impacted you most about your findings?

This was a very unique research project for me to do because I began at ground level with my knowledge, not like my usual research in the area of mathematics education. This means that my learning curve was steep and while I still have lots to learn about all of the topics related to child sponsorship—global citizenship education, international development, etc.—I have come a long way in my understanding. I share with people that the audience for the article, the website and the podcast is the general public (your average citizen), and I know this because I’m right there learning with them! Such a new and important topic to learn about.

What recommendations do you make?

This is an important question because the research project’s aim was to propose alternatives to child sponsorship in the form of justice-oriented actions. The website—or what I call the “tackle box”—is structured around 4 drawers, each having a key focus question that is responded to through the voices of interviewed research participants. Drawer 4 in the tackle box, the one that most directly addresses the question “If not CS, then what?, proposes 5 specific actions that people can engage in as alternatives to the charity-focused approach of sponsoring a child. The actions are not easy, but that is to be expected since the issue of global poverty is not easy either; it is highly complex. Actions suggested in this drawer include, for example, deeper reflection on how the goal to be a ‘good person’ can translate into thinking that the Global South needs to ‘catch up’ to the North (which is just not true) and it can do so by just receiving more money, and that we have no role to play in global poverty; this is a tough one because it means deep examination of one’s privilege and complicity.

What are your future plans?

At the moment, I am thinking that these “Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship” resources could be connected more explicitly to high school and university curricula and to the actions of students who are striving to be better global citizens. Potentially, I will place a call for social studies and social science educators to help me with this task. I think that would be a very important follow-up action for this project.

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Don’t forget to join Dr. Nolan today, June 1, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. on Zoom for an unpacking of the “Tackle Box” developed through her HRI-funded research.
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Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Programs appointed

Dr. Xia Ji has been appointed the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Programs for a five year term, beginning July 1, 2022.

Dr. Ji joined the Faculty of Education in 2008 and teaches in the Science and Environmental Education subject area. From 2015 – 2020, she was the Director, Professional Development and Field Experiences in Education. Over the years, she has also served as the Chair of the Science & Environmental Education subject area and Chair of the Undergraduate Admissions, Studies & Scholarship Committee. She has also served on a number of other committees including: Executive of Council; Dean’s Advisory Committee on Sabbatical, Tenure, and Promotion; Dean’s Group; FGSR Scholarship Review Committee; Research & Graduate Program Development Committee in Education; and as a reviewer for the U of R Sustainability & Community Engagement Fund (SCEF). Recently she has been invited and joined the Delta Kappa Gamma Society (DKG) – Regina Chapter, which is an international coalition of women leaders in education, and the U of R’s Working Group on China Planning with the goal to strengthen partnership and collaboration with universities in China.

Dr. Ji’s work with and commitment to graduate students and programs, her administrative experience, her ability to think creatively and strategically, and the leadership she has provided to the Faculty of Education over the last several years position her well for her new role as Associate Dean.

Dr. Jerome Cranston
Dean/Professor
Faculty of Education

 

Queen Elizabeth II Centennial Aboriginal Scholarship

Congratulations to PhD student Jessica Madiratta for being awarded $20,000 for the 2022-2023 Queen Elizabeth II Centennial Aboriginal Scholarship.
“Jessica is obtaining a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education Studies from the University of Regina. Her research is the first of its kind in the province and will explore how building a community of educators over multiple culturally responsive professional development sessions can impact instruction in the classroom and benefit the academic achievement of Indigenous students. This scholarship is awarded annually based on academic excellence.” (Source: Saskatchewan Students)

Visit the website to read the announcement: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2022/may/17/2022-23-queen-elizabeth-ii-scholarship-recipients-announced

Change maker: Transforming schools and society

Grad student and teacher Keilyn Howie (BEd’19) is a change maker. Keilyn’s lived experiences have given her a drive to make schools and society safe for racialized minorities.

Growing up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the 90s with a White family taught Keilyn what it feels like to be different. “I come with my own privileges because I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, but in a lot of ways as I was growing up I was made to feel very different, and it was quite obvious I was very different, and I was treated differently,” she says.

Following an initial unsuccessful attempt at university, Keilyn moved to Regina in 2011 where she met a Black professor who encouraged her to go into education: “I was helping her out at Footlocker, where I worked, and she said, ‘You would make a really great teacher! You should go into education.’”

Though Keilyn couldn’t envision herself as a teacher at the time, she was still drawn to the field of education because she had a younger brother with autism, and she had witnessed her mother’s impact as an advocate for him and his needs in the public school system. When Keilyn took a job with the Autism Resource Centre, she was motivated by their requirements to work on her Educational Assistant (EA) certificate.

Later, in 2014, while working with Regina Public Schools (RPS) as an EA, Keilyn had the privilege of working with a teacher who inspired her to become a teacher: “I was with an amazing educator who was so inspirational, just the way she worked with students. I was so touched and moved and I thought ‘I want to be like that.’ She encouraged me to go to university to get my education degree.” The RPS community school she was working in also affected Keilyn: “Education looked different in a community school, just the impact you could have as a teacher. I felt that I could contribute something, just through the relationships formed with students. Teaching is so relationship based, especially in a community school. I felt that who I am and my experiences and lenses would fit well in a community school setting.”

With all this encouragement, Keilyn finally decided to become a teacher. She entered the Elementary Education program at the University of Regina and found the experience life changing. “The first class was BAM, so eye opening;” Keilyn says, “Dr. Carol Schick’s class gave me the language to describe my experience. Growing up in Saskatchewan, we didn’t really talk about race and racism. Especially when I was growing up in the 90s, there wasn’t a lot of diversity; it was a pretty lonely world. I learned the language for the world around me, to name, recognize, and address oppression and racism in different forms. I’ve been drawn to this work in this field ever since.”

Reflecting further on Dr. Schick’s class, Keilyn says, “My identity was being validated in that class—to learn that this is how society is and that it needs to change. Before I had thought it was just me that needed to change. Even for the other students in the class to learn the language of anti-racism and anti-oppression … it wasn’t only my introduction to this language, it was also new to my peers. I remember another person in the class making sense of intersectionality and binaries, saying, ‘So if you’re a woman and you’re Black, it’s like a double negative?’ It was so jarring for me to hear that, but at least he was trying to make sense of it, and he was realizing that somebody who looks like me has a lot more to overcome than somebody who looks like him. Even with moments like that, as hard as they are to hear, there is hope: people are still learning, and people are changing, and it gives me much hope for the future.”

In her third year of university, Keilyn experienced her first Black professor, Dr. Barbara McNeil, who had encouraged her while she worked at Footlocker: “I think that shows how important representation is. I had lived my whole life with White teachers who never told me that I could be a teacher or that I would be a great teacher. I didn’t feel seen when I was growing up, didn’t see myself reflected in the classroom. I didn’t see Black kids in books or hear Black voices. It inhibited my identity growth for a long time.”

After graduating in 2019, Keilyn began her teaching career in a community school. Just one month later, she was challenged by the pandemic and the movement to remote teaching. The pandemic, she says “really opened my eyes to some of the inequities that community schools face, so I really wanted to become an advocate for these communities. That’s been driving me ever since.”

To make the changes that are needed, Keilyn is active with her Division’s Diversity Steering Committee and an Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppressive Advisory Committee. “All of these experiences over many years have put me in a place to speak and advocate for people in these communities, to advocate for the change that is so desperately needed in our Division, not only in community schools. The necessary conversations are being shied away from and I really want to be the voice to open those doors and make it seem less daunting to talk about what’s right, justice and equity, even with my young students.”

Now in her third year of teaching, Keilyn brings all of her personal and professional experiences, to her classroom of Grades 1 and 2 students at Thomson Community School in Regina. “I just love it here. Being a person of colour is really helpful in a community school. The demographics in a community school are diverse and representation is so important. With my experiences, I feel I’m able to connect with these students and even their parents who might be new to the country, or who might have some generational mistrust of schools.”

In her master’s program in education, Keilyn is planning her thesis and anticipates exploring anti-Black racism in Saskatchewan. “It’s such a big void, but it’s something I still personally experience and I’m from Saskatchewan so I can only imagine what other people are experiencing.”

Inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission model, Keilyn says, “First there needs to be truth so we can get at what the issue is, how deep this issue is, what we even need to address, and then working on the action pieces to follow: How can we create these changes? How can we create more safe and inclusive spaces?”

With her work to make change in education, Keilyn hopes we can “re-imagine education. I think we can use education as a tool to transform schools and societies. [see K. Kumashira’s anti-oppressive model]. We can make sure that kids don’t go through what I went through when I was younger.” Keilyn summarizes with a quote by Ivan Fitzwater, saying, “The future of the world is in my classroom today.”

Keilyn’s Recommendations for Safe, Inclusive Classrooms

A foundation of belonging. Creating a classroom climate where kids feel safe and have a sense of belonging is important for them to learn. Keilyn says, “I’m intentional about making sure they all see themselves in the classroom. Even little things like this board on wall (see photo left.) My students love it. It builds that community.” This sense of belonging is fostered by several aspects in Keilyn’s teaching:

Conversations guided by great literature. Having a great selection of books with diverse topics and characters is Keilyn’s top teaching best practice suggestion. She says, “I don’t use a lot of pencils and papers, or worksheets. I teach through conversations, started with high quality literature. We have amazing conversations. Books are so important. I aim for three read alouds every day. I look for a books that match what I want to achieve. I don’t just read the book and move on. We talk about it. I ask them ‘What are your questions?’ which is more inviting than ‘Are there any questions?’ I am honest when I don’t know the answer to their question and we research it together.”

Responsive teaching. Part of creating a sense of belonging is being guided by the interests of students and their identities. Keilyn says, “I try to be culturally responsive. I use that globe all of the time because we are always talking about who we are as people and how we are all connected on this beautiful land. If I get a new student, we pull out the globe and look at where they come from and what languages they speak. If they are comfortable, they tell us about that, and we learn some of their language. It’s really important to me to let the kids be leaders and to introduce them to as many viewpoints as possible.”

Flexibility. Flexibility with daily plans is another aspect of Keilyn’s responsive teaching. “I’m very flexible–I have my day plans, if I veer from that, it’s okay. Listening to students and where they are at and what they are wondering might be the most important thing you do that day. If something negative happens, such as an experience of racism, stop your lesson to address what is happening because that will be the most important lesson of their day. We want students to feel seen and validated, so if we brush off their experiences or the things they are feeling, that’s not going to help them, the classroom climate, or the world. We have to address these things as they come up.”

Critical self-reflection. Keilyn adds that critical self-reflection is another important piece of developing a culture of belonging: “Teachers need to keep educating themselves about, for example, anti-racism. This is a pretty new field for a lot, especially in Saskatchewan. Teaching is so influential because were not just teaching the curriculum but also the hidden curriculum. If you don’t take the time to address your lenses or biases that you might be bringing, you might just be perpetuating those norms.”

Decolonize and Indigenize. Keilyn is working to decolonize and Indigenize her classroom as well. Walking into her classroom, one immediately sees the bundles of wild sage hanging on the door, which were gifted to her class. The next thing you might see is the classroom treaty that she and her students develop at the beginning of each year. Keilyn explains this activity is “a simple way to talk about treaty and historical context.”

Using the resources she finds through the School Division, Keilyn develops new opportunities to start conversations about what people have experienced, what they did historically, how newcomer settlement affected their lives, and how to get back to learning on the land. “I invite a lot of guest speakers into the classroom and I have the school Elder come in once a week to spend times with kids.”

Spring 2022 Associate Dean’s Graduate Student Thesis Award recipients

Congratulations to Master’s students Willow Iorga and Bill Cook on being selected as the two  recipients of the Spring 2022 Associate Dean’s Graduate Student Thesis Award!

The Faculty of Education Associate Dean’s Graduate Student Thesis Award was established in 2021 to recognize outstanding academic performance of thesis-based graduate students (Masters and PhD) in Education.

This $2,000 award is granted to a student in a graduate program in the Faculty of Education who has exemplified academic excellence and research ability, demonstrated leadership ability and/or university/community involvement, and whose thesis was deemed meritorious by the Examining Committee.

De/colonising Educational Relationships

During 2020 and 2021, Dr. Fatima Pirbhai-Illich (University of Regina) and Dr. Fran Martin (University of Exeter) led a series of seminars on
“De/colonising Educational Relationships” and conducted research at the University of Exeter with grants received from the University of Regina’s Faculty of Education, the Centre of Educational Research, Collaboration, and Development (CERCD), the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education, and the Centre for Social Mobility.

The seminars were provided in two formats: As a weekend virtual retreat at the University of Regina on November 6 and 7, 2021, and as a series of monthly seminars at the University of Exeter. The topics covered for each university reflect the different audiences and contexts. For those interested in how the ideas were adapted for these specific contexts and audiences, visit the CERCD YouTube channel: Click here

Le Bac student helping to preserve Indigenous languages

4th-Year Baccalauréat en Éducation (Français) student Wahbi Zarry has beaten pandemic odds with his recently released video, 10 Days of Nakota, the second in a series of educational documentaries exploring Indigenous languages.

Produced and directed by Wahbi with director of photography and editor Tony Quiñones, the video documents Wahbi’s educational journey as he learns to speak Nakota in 10 days. The first video, 10 Days of Cree, was released in 2020. Despite the upheaval of the pandemic, including the loss of his father and uncle, Wahbi persevered to finish both his studies and the second video.

Wahbi conceived of the idea of the educational language videos after realizing how existing documentaries about Indigenous languages were slow-paced, not reflecting the vibrancy of the communities documented. “I mean there is no movement. We get the wrong idea about these communities. They are not at all like the documentaries; they are working, there are schools, there are education programs, people are fighting for their language, their culture, and I wanted to show it differently,” says Wahbi.

As a French language speaker who was born in Morocco and grew up in Paris, France, and who immigrated to Canada, where he learned English, and now Cree and Nakoda, Wahbi understands the value of language. “For me a language is what culture sounds like. Language is the mirror of culture. Losing the language is losing the communication part in a culture,” Wahbi is concerned about the loss of Indigenous languages worldwide. To save Indigenous languages, Wahbi says, we must “include the youth and create entertainment to learn this language.”

Enter: Crocus BigEagle and an entertaining video documenting Wahbi’s attempt to learn Nakota in 10 days.

Photo credit: Tony Quiñones.

In 10 Days of Nakota, 10-year-old Crocus BigEagle was Wahbi’s Nakota teacher; he smiles as he says, “She was sufficiently strict.” Their interactions are lighthearted and humorous. The final exam is conducted by the only remaining fluent speaker of Nakota, Elder Peter Bigstone (Ocean Man Nakoda First Nation). To receive his Nakota education, Wahbi moves from Ocean Man First Nation, to Regina, to Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation, and finally to Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation. While the video’s tone is entertaining and heart-warming, that there is only one fluent speaker left is felt poignantly.

Wahbi says, “When it comes to Indigenous language in general, it is something extremely important. What kinds of structures do we have to protect these languages?” Officialization of Indigenous languages is one of the solutions Wahbi suggests: “What we do for the French language needs to happen for Indigenous languages.” Wahbi adds, “Braille and sign language should also be official languages.”

By producing these videos, Wahbi says he has learned to think differently about the concept of identity: “I grew up in Europe where the concept of identity is considered a bit of racism, or chauvinism, but in the Indigenous communities of Canada, identity means something else: language, culture, including others, it means sharing the knowledge. Now I see identity really differently than before.”

Parts of the video were intentionally filmed on the University of Regina campus. Wahbi says, “I did very good to apply to the University of Regina. It is very important to me to represent the University. Being a student here was a blessing.” Wahbi funded these videos himself as a gift, a way of giving back to Canada, a country he says, “gave me the opportunities I needed to do what I wanted to do.”

As a result of the documentaries, Wahbi has been contacted by Indigenous communities and others from around the world. His videos have cleared up a misconception that “All First Nations speak the same language.” Wahbi hopes the next video will be set in New Zealand, learning the Māori language in 10 days.

Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzIBEZIBrps

Alumnus positively influencing change

Alumnus Christian Mbanza (BEd’17–Le Bac) is currently a French Immersion Educator at École St. Mary Elementary School in Regina. You may have seen Christian in the news recently regarding his work to bring Black history into prairie classrooms.

Christian has a passion for history and it is one reason he became a teacher: “I have a passion, not only about important events throughout history, but the people who were able to influence society. I had a history teacher in high school who would always tell us that ‘those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it,’ and that continues to echo in my mind. I see how true that is throughout society today.”

Black history is a particular focus for Christian, who says, “I believe that teaching Black history is often misrepresented or ignored in general and has created a negative image and perception around Africans/African-Canadians. In order for the perception to change, we must first know the history and properly teach the history. When students, Black or White, learn about the positive contributions of Black people, whether it be in science, art, law, and so forth, they are able to gain an appreciation and a new understanding. To ensure that Black history is being implemented, I encourage teachers to use resources by Black authors, writers, artist, and refer to famous Black scientists and mathematicians and incorporate primary sources into reading lists.”

A second passion for Christian is people, especially youth, which is another reason he became a teacher: “An educator can positively influence and change the course of a person’s life and that has always been my goal in becoming an teacher,” says Christian.

After 5 years of teaching experience at the elementary level, Christian has had the opportunity to define and refine his teaching philosophy. He says, “Experience is the best teacher. I have learned that effective teachers allow their students to make connections between content and acquire new knowledge that transforms into new ideas. That is why teachers have such a crucial role in the advancement of the community. Further, I am a firm believer in the power of relationships. Strong, positive relationships between teachers and students in the classroom are fundamental to promoting academic and overall student growth.”

Christian values the B.Ed. program he took with the Faculty of Education, “The B.Ed program has shown me the importance of challenging students to be the best that they can be so that they can positively influence our community.” Earning an education degree was, says Christian, “One of the proudest accomplishments of my life… I gained a passion and found purpose in education. Education has allowed me to gain problem solving abilities from multiple perspectives and, in my opinion, it has always held an important role in shaping the future of our society.”

Offering shout-outs to former professors, Christian says, “I had some very influential professors like Clay Burlingham, who changed my entire perspective on how history was taught; Dominic Sarny, who was instrumental in teaching me about cultural pride; and Jean Dufresne, who showed me how to implement my passion into what I teach and how I teach it. A lot of how I teach has really come from my education at the University and these professors especially.”

The most memorable experience Christian had as a French le Bac student was his experience at Laval University: “As a French education student, in order to develop our skills in French, second-year students spend two full semesters in language and cultural immersion at Laval University. This experience allowed me to grow as a person, student, and a teacher. By far the most memorable experience!”

Christian has now decided to work on his master’s degree with the Faculty of Education. “Pursuing a master’s will allow me to grow as a person, and I believe that it will help me create an inclusive classroom in a diverse world, while learning and growing my passions. As an educator I believe it is very important to continue to create the necessary changes in your life and in your classroom to impact our youth and our community.”

Why become a teacher? To be a role model

A story can be told about each of Education student Nahanni Evelyn Rose (Adams-Lindberg)’s names, which is not surprising when you consider that she was named by her mother, Carol Rose GoldenEagle, the 9th poet laureate of Saskatchewan. She was named after the Nahanni River located near Yellowknife, in Canada’s beautiful North West Territories (NWT). Yellowknife is where Nahanni spent her early years until the end of Grade 6, when her family moved to Saskatchewan. “Nahanni” is a Dene word that means “strong rock,” referring to a large rock that juts out of the Virginia Falls on the Nahanni River. Nahanni herself is a mix of Cree and Chipewyan (Dene). Her middle name, Evelyn, was given to her after the Evelyn Falls in the NWT. Given the meaning of her names and a childhood lived out in Yellowknife, it is little wonder that Nahanni loves to spend time in the outdoors and to hike.

Nahanni feels little connection with her current last name Adams-Lindberg. Adams is the name of the family who raised her mom after she was scooped in the 60s. And Lindberg is the family name of her father, who left when she was very young. “I still have a close relationship with my dad, but my name has no significance to me; that is why I want to change it to Rose, which has more meaning.”

Rose was name of the family’s first pet dog, adopted when they relocated to Saskatchewan. The significance of the name Rose, says Nahanni, “is that there are four letters in the word and there are four people in our family. Roses are beautiful but they have some thorns, like we have.”

Rose, the pet, brought their family together through the hardships they experienced after moving away from Yellowknife and through the difficult financial and emotional time while Nahanni’s mom, Carol, transitioned from being a journalist with CBC to a full-time artist/writer. Carol had been working on her first novel, Bearskin Diary, on top of her regular job and single parenting while the family lived in Yellowknife. But after a friend who had deferred his dreams until retirement passed away, Carol decided not to put off working on her art.

A year or so after settling down at Regina Beach, Carol left her job with CBC to establish herself as an artist. Nahanni says, “We ended up getting poorer at first. I know what it is like to grow up without money. But it all paid off in the end.” Nahanni points to the struggles faced by their family as showing, “what it’s like being raised by a single mom from the 60s scoop.” The difference being, “My mom ensured we grew up with a loving mom, something she never grew up with, a mom. I am living a happy life regardless of the obstacles my family has faced—we always make it out strong.” This outcome aligns with the oft-repeated family mindset of “Everything is going to work out.” And it has. Carol is now a successful published novelist, poet, playwright, visual artist, and musician and Nahanni is on her way to her chosen profession: teaching.

Growing up in Yellowknife was a great experience for Nahanni: “I loved it! I grew up with my brothers, grew up on the back rocks, playing outdoors, in the bush.” Nahanni is the twin sister of her younger brother (by 11 minutes) Danny, and the younger sister of Jackson. “It was like growing up with your best friends. They really looked out for me and made sure I was included,” says Nahanni.

Comparing her schooling experiences in Yellowknife to Saskatchewan, Nahanni says, “In Yellowknife, the students were mostly Indigenous. We didn’t see each other as colour; we saw people as their personalities. We were also taught Indigenous culture in our curriculum with activities like sewing class and a hunting class where teachers and Elders would take us out to the bush to learn how to snare rabbits and to dry meat. When we moved here, I felt like it was Danny and I, probably two out of the five Indigenous people in the school. It was hard making friends here. I’m just happy that I had Danny, he was kind of my best friend. I felt like I didn’t get bullied a lot. It took adapting to a new environment to learn who I am and I am happy in my place in life. I didn’t experience racism the way my mom did, but I felt that people did judge me by my look and not my personality.”

A couple years after moving to Regina Beach, however, their family became accepted as “locals” in the small town, and life became easier. “Now I work at the Beach Bar and I’m a local and everyone knows me,” says Nahanni.

When the time came for choosing a career, Nahanni couldn’t decide. “When I graduated high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do at all,” she says. It wasn’t until she turned 21 that Nahanni took steps towards deciding on a career. She made a pros and cons list for a variety of career options, and education was the option that stood out for her. “It checked off all the boxes: I’m good with people, love kids, and I want to be a good role model. I want kids to grow up with someone who actually cares because I feel like I’ve had teachers in the past, where some cared and some didn’t. I could see myself as a teacher who cares. Something inside of me spoke to me: ‘Be a teacher.’ You just get those gut feelings.”

While many of her family and friends affirmed and encouraged her choice to become a teacher, Nahanni remembers specifically one of her Lumsden high school teachers, Ms. Winter, who was a great influence on her. “She was the one who paid close attention to me; she built that student-teacher relationship. She made me feel seen and heard. Ms Winter would say, ‘Your mom raised you well’ and ‘You’re a good kid.’ That made me feel seen as an individual who is capable, able to do things, even if I didn’t understand something right away.”

Nahanni considers her older brother Jackson a role model as well because he tutored her throughout high school in math: “Jackson was patient even when I was frustrated. He would calm me down and encourage me.”

Being a role model is why the teaching profession is so significant; Nahanni says, “We are the educators that need to be there for students, not just as a job, but as they develop. A teacher should be someone that students look up to for the rest of their lives. Someone who is a role model. I want to be a role model.”

Nahanni chose the University of Regina (U of R) for her elementary teacher education program for several reasons: She wanted to stay in Regina because it was close to her mom and her twin brother. Nahanni adds, “I thought it would be a great place to study. I had heard from friends and friends of friends that this education program is the best in Canada.”

Her experience at the U of R has been positive. Nahanni says, “I love it. I was first accepted into the Faculty of Arts. I didn’t get into the Faculty of Education, I think maybe because I was a bit late sending in forms. I took three classes in the Arts program that all transferred over into my education program.”

The next year Nahanni was accepted as a transfer into the Faculty of Education. “I was so happy. It was the best thing ever. I called my mom and my dad and I cried and danced. It was a lot of emotion. I was alone in my house. I am really happy. It all worked out. That mindset of when I was a kid—I stay true to that today. Everything will work out,” she says.

A major obstacle Nahanni had to overcome to go to University was her tendency toward procrastination. Nahanni says, “I kept making excuses and putting it off, telling myself I was going to apply. Mom and Jackson kept saying, ‘Just apply!’ Jackson on a daily basis asked ‘Have you applied yet?’ One day I just did it because I didn’t want him asking me anymore. The next time he asked, I could say, ‘I did it already.’”

As advice to others considering becoming a teacher, Nahanni says, “Just put in your application. Don’t make excuses and see where it goes. Who knows, it might change your life. If you’re nervous or scared, that’s the point where you push yourself a little, because you know you want to become a teacher. I was nervous, too, afraid I wasn’t good enough to be a university student. Now I don’t think that at all. I know I can do it.”

Teaching hard truths in a positive way: Kâsinamakewin

Natasha Halliwell, a third-year Elementary Teacher Education student, can now add author and illustrator to her list of titles. A mom to 7 children, wife to Tyler, and former youth worker, Natasha along with two of her children, Tamika (14 years) and Keaira (11 years) created a picture book, Owl of US MATTER, which tells the truth of Canadian history “without opening the wound again,” in a way she believes will give “hope to future generations.”

The book is a culminating phase of a project that started with course work Natasha was required to do in her first year as an Education student, a Journey of Reconciliation assignment. Natasha says, “Learning about reconciliation in school was saddening; for me being Indigenous it was like picking at a scab. It was devastating. I had never even heard of the word reconciliation before I came to school. I didn’t know it was a thing… Learning about residential schools, learning about what happened, the stories, and being Indigenous, I was shamed. I was never proud to be brown-skinned. But then Dr. Fatima Pirbhai-Illich, I love Fatima, she is very passionate and very kind, and she showed me someone from a different colour that’s not Caucasian that cares authentically about Indigenous people and what happened and I thought that was unreal. She was taking the time to bead this little orange shirt as personal journey of reconciliation. I was required to explain what reconciliation was in my own journey. Since then, I’ve been brainstorming.”

Part of Natasha’s journey is having a mom and uncles and aunties who attended residential school. Though the experience at Lebret was positive for her mom because she made many close friends there, it was harmful for others in her family. One of her uncles started running away from residential school at age 7 or 8 and lived on the railway tracks for most of his life.

Natasha is proud of her heritage, living up to her maiden name Yahyahkeekoot: “It means nose to the sky. Be proud of who you are. Keep your head held high. My kokum taught me how to say my name … you have to clench your teeth tight and say it very fast.” She is of Cree and Dene background, with some Irish, Scottish, and French. Her mother is from Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation and her Dene family is from La Loche, Saskatchewan. From age 7 to 11 she lived in Thunder Bay, Ontario, learning Ojibway legends at the boys and girls club, while her mom went to university to become a social worker, and while under the care of her stepfather, a refugee from Cambodia who had escaped the Vietnam war. “He was all about outdoors and survival. He taught me how to fight and survival skills. I grew up wonderfully like that,” says Natasha.

When her mom and siblings moved back to Saskatchewan, Natasha found another influence in her life: her uncle Leo Yahyahkeekoot, a Cree culture teacher in Saskatoon.

Natasha says, “My Uncle Leo really impacted me, just the way you can teach. Even though we all have our negative sides to this history, we can reroute it to the positive. Yeah it did happen, and it’s not going anywhere; it’s almost like we ain’t there, we’re in a shadow, that’s where I felt I was shamed. We need to help each other to make it okay. We all have our dark history, but it doesn’t mean we can’t forgive.”

After learning about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Natasha was concerned about the way triggering information is taught: “I learned about PTSD. And I started going through it, and I’m like, this happened to me. Okay, this is my family. And I started understanding my life a little bit more. And caring. And then I think because I learned about it through school, I’m able to spot things that are triggers. If we are going to have a trigger, because anything to do with residential school or the past can trigger, it needs to be taught in a positive way.”

“Kâsinamakewin – time to forgive” is the message of Natasha’s book that she hopes will make teaching the hard truths of our shared history less triggering and more positive. “You have to let something go for something new to come. Forgiveness. Putting us all on that equal playing field. It wasn’t only us that had something taken, and had that change, it was everybody. It was every living thing, including the sacred grandfather rocks, for instance. This book will teach the truth equally. It’s easy to comprehend. Easy to read and talk about,” says Natasha.

Natasha didn’t know what to do with her 2-year curriculum project until she conceived of a picture book through another class: “I had this class with Denise Morstad, and my personal art project, the whole thing just took off.” The book is designed to connect to the Saskatchewan curriculum. Natasha says, “My book connects outcomes in the Saskatchewan curriculum for every grade. Plus I have my teaching resources. It’s a big thing all in one.”

For the illustrations, Natasha and her daughters recreated many historical images using owls. Owls were an unusual choice, given they are a bad omen for First Nations. Natasha explains, “I wanted to get rid of race, the separation, the blame. I thought about the owl. An owl has many species that look the same but are different. So I used owls as characters. I use to hate owls; some are associated with death for First Nations. But my daughters love owls. Tamika loves the great horned owl, and Keaira loves the snowy barn owl.”

“I never thought I cared about residential schools, reconciliation, or being Native until I started going to university. I use to hate being brown. I was ashamed, it’s hard being brown. Even coming here sometimes, because you are the only brown girl in class, and then you see the odd one and you get really excited. I was constantly reminded of my difference, and that’s what really brought me to my book,” says Natasha.

Natasha hopes to ease the path for her children and future generations to have a more positive healing experience with education on reconciliation and residential schools.

“I don’t want my kids to feel that shame. They have friends who are Pakistani, Black, you name it. They come to their birthdays. We order so many different kinds of food. It’s so multicultural. I don’t want that diversity to die. I want kids to be able to have that without feeling that shame or separation because of an old fact in history. And well, yeah, there are things that need to be made right in terms of compensation and the Queen, but those things will get dealt with once more people are educated. Right now it’s almost a forgotten truth. It’s a hard truth to swallow. That’s why I needed my book. How am I going to be a teacher if I’m going to pull out all of these facts that I’ve learned? I wanted to compact that and make a friendly little version. ‘This happened, it’s done now. Let’s move on.’ I made sure a lot of facts and information in the book, but at a really easy learning level,” says Natasha.

An invitation to read her book to a class of students has already been extended to Natasha, and she has accepted. She looks forward to future opportunities.

You can view and purchase Natasha’s book at https://www.blurb.com/b/11160722-owl-of-us-matter

A Cree version is now available (Translated by Solomon Ratt) https://www.blurb.com/b/11181079-owl-of-us-matter-cree-version