Aboriginal Education Research Forum 2013

Greetings and Welcome

On behalf of all the staff at the Aboriginal Education Directorate and the Aboriginal Education Research Forum Planning Committee, Welcome. Aniin. Tansi. Boozhoo kakina awiya, Elders, presenters, delegates and volunteers to the 9th annual Aboriginal Education Research Forum, Shawane Dagosiwin. Our theme this year is “Aboriginal/Indigenous Research Supporting Sustainable Practices for ‘All Our Relations‘” which will guide the 2013 agenda.

We anticipate you will enjoy your stay in Manitoba, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe (Ojibway), Dakota, Dene, Ininew (Cree), Métis and Oji-Cree, and renew kinships and acquaintances with friends, colleagues and family from near and afar.

It is Manitoba’s privilege to host this conference, which is rich in the knowledge and wisdom that our Elders from Manitoba and other Nations share with us every year. We are honoured to receive as our keynote speakers Priscilla Settee and Kevin Lamoureux.

Shawane Dagosiwin would not be possible without the financial and in-kind support of our esteemed sponsors. University College of the North; University of Manitoba; United Way of Winnipeg; Manitoba Education; Advanced Education and Literacy; Competitiveness, Training and Trade and Aboriginal and Northern Affairs.

Thank you to all our sponsors who contributed in so many ways!

This conference is possible because of the collaborative work of the Planning Committee, whose members work diligently throughout the year to bring you this eventful gathering. Their efforts are truly appreciated. Also, we would like to acknowledge the special contribution of our conference volunteers and elders; Carmen Neufeld of Planners Plus, Inc. for all her tremendous hard work; and to the wonderful staff at the Victoria Inn.

To the Creator, thank you for gathering us here safely. Thank you for bringing us together and giving us the self-determination and liberty to join our voices together for the goodness and growth of our communities. Thank you for opening our minds and giving us the ability to think individually and as a collective and ask that our thoughts are pure so we are able to create new meaning, purpose and growth for ourselves, our families our communities and nations.

Richard Perrault

On behalf of
Helen Robinson-Settee and
Staff at the Aboriginal Education Directorate

Keynote Speakers

Kevin Lamoureux

Keynote Presentation

Kevin Lamoureux is an instructor in The University of Winnipeg’s Faculty of Education and for the Faculty’s ACCESS Education Program. He is a Ph.D candidate in Gifted and Talented Education through the University of New England (UNE), Armidale, Australia, where he also completed his Master’s degree in the same area. Kevin works closely with schools and school divisions throughout Manitoba in support of Aboriginal education and the inclusion of Aboriginal perspectives; enrichment and talent development, as well as working with troubled and disengaged students. He has published many articles and chapters on the subject of Aboriginal education, at-risk children and youth, gifted education, mentoring, and creativity. He is the senior author of Mentoring in a Canadian Context (published by the Institute of Urban Studies), the recent recipient of the University of Winnipeg’s Merit Award as nominated by his peers, the International Center for Innovation in Education (ICIE) Young Scholar Award, and UNE’s Merit award for outstanding academic performance. As a member of the Faculty of Education’s ACCESS community, he works directly with pre-service teachers preparing for careers in the inner city, and is a member numerous professional fellowships.

Dr. Priscilla Settee

Dr. Priscilla Settee is an award-winning Professor in the Department of Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of Cumberland House Cree Nations from northern Saskatchewan.

Settee has initiated a number of projects locally and internationally, including a CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) project with the University of San Marcos in Peru. This project supported Indigenous Amazonian and Andean students make the transition from their home communities to the university. Settee is a board member for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a Faculty Fellow at the Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Research at the University of Alberta and a Research Fellow at the Adivasi Academy in Tejgadh, Gujarat, India and the Department of Science and Technology in Development Education at the University of South Africa, Pretoria. Settee has published many journal articles and book chapters. Her second edited book (Coteau Publishing) called The Strength of Women, Âhkemêyimowak (2011) documents the stories of women who have struggled against negative forces to create a world of peace, harmony and justice for their communities. Settee’s research interests include Indigenous women’s rights, Indigenous Food Sovereignty, prisoner’s and youth rights. She was a founding member of the Children of the Earth High School (Winnipeg) in the 1990’s and served as the Chair and Co-Chair for Oskayak High School (Saskatoon’s only Aboriginal High School) from 1996-2012. In 2008 Settee was awarded a Global Citizen’s award by Saskatchewan Council for International Co-operation and was twice nominated for a teaching excellence award by her students.

In 2012 she was awarded the University of Saskatchewan Provost Award for teaching excellence in Aboriginal Education and was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee award in 2012 for contributions to Canada. Settee is a fabric artist whose work is part of the Permanent Collection for the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Priscilla is the proud kohkum (grandmother) of her nosim (granddaughter) Nya Lily.

Conference Agenda

Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Time	Event/Activities
7:00 a.m.	Pipe Ceremony Elder Myra Laramee
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast – Centennial Ballroom
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.	Opening Ceremony Emcee – Helen Robinson-Settee, Planning Committee Chair Opening Prayer Opening Song – William Whyte Spring Turtles Girls Drum group Welcoming Remarks Helen Robinson-Settee, Aboriginal Education Directorate Dr. Laara Fitznor – Program Overview Keynote Speaker Dr. Priscilla Settee
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.	Health Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions 1 Indigenous Peoples and Archives (Camille Callison and Greg Bak) Elders and the Academy: Living together authentically (Elders Stella Neff and Martha Jonasson with Dr. Brenda Firman) Culturally Relevant Sport Programs for Aboriginal Youth: Stories from the Field (Heather McRae and Wendy Hallgrimson) Pipeline to Success. Building an Education System with a Community Revitalization Lens (Damon Johnston, Kathy Mallett, Sonia Prevost-Derbecker and Allan Wise) Elder Sharing – Elder Emma Gossfeld Elder Sharing Session – Where Children are Special (Elder Don Robertson) Follow up discussion from Dr. Priscilla Settee’s morning Keynote Presentation
12:15 – 12:45 p.m.	Lunch – Centennial Ballroom
12:45 – 1:30 p.m.	Cultural Entertainment William Whyte Square Dance Group DOTC Fiddler Winner Brendan Chartrand with Bruce Chartrand on Drums
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions 2 Aboriginal Vocational and Education Programs and Aboriginal Achievement (Robert Ah Wing) After This, Nothing Happened: Indigenous Academic Writing and Chickadee Peoples’ Words (Steven Koptie) Memory Mapping though trauma: An Indigenous approach to storytelling for healing (Brenda Wastasecoot) Indigenous Postcolonial Journey: University Retention (James Shawana) Flood Displacement of Lake St. Martin First Nation (Dr. Myrle Ballard) Top 10 Recommendations for Effective Indigenous Education (Ken McCorkle) Elder Sharing Session – Elder Levinia Brown
2:30 – 3:00 p.m.	Health Break
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions 3 The Daniel’s Case – What does it mean to Métis people? (Lawrie (Lawrence J.) Barkwell) Integrating Aboriginal Film into Curriculum (Dr. Helen D. Armstrong) Community Research for Active Measures: A Practitioner’s Quandary (Adrian Fernandes) Kenanow Teacher Education Program (David Anderson) Meeting in the Middle & Indigenous Knowledge’s – Building Relationships (Crystal Melin) Working Together to Improve Cultural Proficiency in Manitoba Classrooms (Dr. Jennifer Davis and Chris Brown) Elders Sharing Session – Children and Grandparents (Elder Mary Guilbault)
5:30 p.m	Celebrating our Gifts Current Aboriginal Issues in the Media (Jerry Daniels) Round dance

Thursday, April 4, 2013
Time	Event/Activities
7:00 a.m.	Pipe Ceremony Elder John Martin
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast – Centennial Ballroom
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.	Day Two Summary Dr. Laara Fitznor and Dr. Marlene Atleo Keynote Speaker Kevin Lamoureux
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.	Health Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions 4 A History of the Métis Nation in 20mins or less! (Shirley Delorme Russell) A Community Based View of Aboriginal Student Achievement (Dr. Glen McCabe) Publishing our Writing – Sensing, Sorting and Submitting Processes (Dr. Laara Fitznor) The Thompson Economic Diversification Plan – A Community Engagement Best Practise (Pamela Ritchot and Charlene Lafrenier) Key Policy Issues in Aboriginal Education: An Evidence-Based Approach (Christy Rochelle Bressette) We are all Related (Francine Whiteduck) The Aboriginal Youth Mentorship Program (Pinar Eskicioglu, Joannie Halas, Jonathan McGavock) Follow up discussion from Kevin Lamoureux’s morning Keynote presentation
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.	Lunch – Centennial Ballroom
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions 5 Bannock and Tea Grandparents Circle
2:30 – 3:00 p.m.	Health Break
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions 6 Aboriginal Education Support Teacher WSD Inner City District (Janice Millar) TRCM – Treaty Education Initiative (Commissioner James Wilson) CEDA Pathways to Education Program (Darlene Klyne) The First Nations Educators’ Stories of School Experiences: Reclaiming Resiliency (Colleen West, M Ed) Teaching and Learning as an Act of Love (Myra Laramee) Michif Language – New resources for learning and teaching (Louise Gordey) What Educational leaders in five First Nations communities look for when hiring “FIT” (Jerome Cranston) Aboriginal Post-Secondary Institutions: The Struggle for Recognition (Kim Browning)
4:00 p.m.	Closing Closing Circle Closing Prayer Adjournment