 If you could please describe your program. Okay, so I'm currently in the role of Indigenous Liaison Coordinator. I'm covering off a medical leave. Grand Prairie Regional College has the only on-campus Friendship Centre in a post-secondary education in Canada. And my role is to work with that program but to support Indigenous students as well as staff and faculty on campus in pursuing their dreams, more or less. How do you support them? What types of things take up your day? Well, student-wise, I support students by, of course, helping them find different funding routes and stuff like that. So, for example, at GPRC, the average student is 26 years old and female. So, in most cases, if she's Indigenous, she perhaps has children. And we also have a very high amount of students from the North, and by North I mean Northwest Territories. And so it's helping students figure out their housing, figuring out their childcare, how to get themselves to school, how to get their children to school. I don't really do a lot of advising about actual academics. The student advisors help students pick their courses and stuff like that. I help them figure out different ways to study. I work with the Friendship Centre to make sure that they have the appropriate supports up there. And then with staff and faculty, it's more or less helping them find resources moving forward. Sometimes they'll flag a student for me, and so I will go and find that student and see what supports can be offered to help them. And then part of my job is to working with the Circle of Indigenous Students on campus. So the Circle of Indigenous Students, there's an elected executive, and they are elected to carry the Indigenous Voice of Students on campus and ensure that Indigenous culture is honoured and celebrated. So part of my role is helping them to get their job done because they're students, right? And they typically engage, well, they don't typically, they do engage in celebrations every single month. And they offer a lot of different things to students, so making sure that they have the resources that they need in order to do that. So what I hear you saying is your focus is not on the academic and the paper administrative side of things. It's on the human soft side, people's skills and basic needs being met. And helping the students make sure that their culture and needs are represented in all facets of the college. Yes. So the students and the on-campus Friendship Centre, kind of the goal of that is ensuring that students are immediately connected to the urban Indigenous community and that they're getting their needs met in there. What do they do after 4.30? And how are they addressing homesickness? How are they making sure that they have access to celebration, ceremony, whatever it is that they feel they need? Right. And so that's why it's so nice to have an on-campus Friendship Centre because then students are automatically connected to the urban Indigenous community through many different programs at the Friendship Centre, but other things that go on in the community as well, you know? There's, of course, there's the Head Start, the Baby's Best Start, if they're travelling, if they've moved here and they have young people with them, there's the youth programming, there's the suppers, there's all different kinds of things, but then there's also, you know, like traditional past society and different things like that. So making sure that people have those opportunities if that's what they feel they need in order to be a successful student. And so through the on-campus Friendship Centre, that's a physical space on campus. That's like a mini Friendship Centre for students. And that's one of a kind in Canada, which is amazing. It's a satellite Friendship Centre and what it is, is it's through partnership through Grand Prairie Regional College and Grand Prairie Friendship Centre. So the college provides the space and furniture, computers, all that stuff. And the Friendship Centre provides the outreach worker, and part of their wage is subsidized through the college. And then the elder in residence is, that's where she's located too. And so the elder in residence is full-time this year. She lives on campus and the college covers that portion of it. She lives in family housing. So students have access to an elder in the evening and stuff like that. That's very accessible, very accessible. I guess I'm curious, I wonder why it's the only campus in Canada? Well, I think a lot of that has to do with, you have to have the perfect storm, right? You have to have a very healthy Friendship Centre. You have to have a very healthy post-secondary. And you need to have a healthy Indigenous student executive. And they all have to come together under a common goal, you know? And fortunately, we were able to do that in Grand Prairie. And the On-Campus Friendship Centre has been open since 2000. Wow, so it's 18 years coming closer to 20 then. That's amazing. Well, you've talked about the aim of the program. And some of the first people that were on that circle of Indigenous students before 2000, like when what happened was there was Indigenous students on campus. That was before we had University Transfer and all of that. And a lot of the students that were attending GPRC were going to... They were part of the Grand Prairie Friendship Centre as well. They were going there for supper, yada, yada, yada. And the staff there realizing some kind of support needs to be in place for these people. And like I say, it's kind of like creating the perfect storm. Like people that were part of that original executive were like Brian Callio, who's part Banff Centre now. Right. Corvorgia, you know, people like that. It just... everything came together as it was meant to be. I'm very proud to know that it's in our community. Yeah. We have something so unique. I know, I was a student at one time here and it helped. Yeah. And I worked there at one time as you know. Yeah. I felt so very blessed to work, I guess, in my perspective. I felt so very blessed to come to work every day in this fabulous space that was a circle of people. You know, it was physically a circle. Yeah. With our culture represented all around us. And, you know, excited students coming through the door every day. Well, they weren't always so excited. Yeah. You know, but to be there to help. Absolutely. And to see these people doing such wonderful things in the relationships. Yeah. Lots of those relationships have maintained because of that. Mm-hmm. And, yeah, it really helped me at a time in my life, too. That's good. Of needing to engage in the community. Yeah. So it has so much benefit to it. Yeah. I think I'll ask you this question. What in your opinion makes an example of excellence in Indigenous education? To me, an example of excellence is when it is indigenously led. It honors Indigenous ways of knowing. And it gives voice to the Indigenous expertise in whatever field that may be. So highlighting local resources. Highlighting local resources, but through a true and authentic voice. And to me, that's very important. I think that it is essential to have the non-Indigenous community be a part of and lead things and share that expertise. But the true authentic voice needs to be there in tandem. How would you define that true authentic voice? I just would really like to ask you more. How do you see that shining through? Yeah. No, I see it in all different departments and facets of learning and so on. So for me, whether you're talking science, health, fizzad, whatever, there is a way to build in different Indigenous ways of knowing how we did those things historically and how they still ring true today. Right. So to me, that's that authentic Indigenous voice. And I do not believe that every instructor is going to be Indigenous or anything like that, but you can bring in those people. With your role or the college and all of the things we've discussed here, how do you measure the success of your program? How do you see the successes? Well, to me, there is success in looking at enrollment rates. Absolutely. There is success in that. But to me, looking at course completion and program completion is a truer sign of success. And I think too that a person needs to be careful when they're looking at success in academia and making sure that your aspirations or the aspirations of the institution don't overshine the aspirations of the student. I remember, I was in this role as you know years ago and I was an Aboriginal liaison coordinator at that time for seven years and then I left. And I remember at one point, well, and I still do that now, people who have a GPA of a certain amount and all of that, the college would like you to get a hold of them and discuss that. Right. And you know what kind of resources do you need what's happening and all of that. And doing that now, I'm more than confident in doing that but when I first stepped into this role many years ago, I was like hmm. And some of those marks I didn't see as a big issue. Right. So I was a little bit leery and I will never forget, there was a student on my list that I was supposed to contact and talk about low grades and I hadn't contacted her yet. And she contacted me and said perfect, we can talk about her grades. And she came in and I said yeah, I'm so glad you came in because I was going to get a hold of you, I want to talk to you about your grades. And she said I know, I'm so excited. And I said yeah, and she said yeah, I am so pumped, I am so excited. I'm passing every single class and I said yes you are. Because, you know, like she was. And guess what I'm going to do, Kelly, and I said what are you going to do? She says I've printed off my unofficial transcript and I'm rolling it up like a scroll and I'm giving it to my grandmother for Christmas. Oh wow. You know, so she can be proud of me. And I stopped in that moment and I thought don't ever let somebody else dictate somebody's success. Don't pop that bubble. You know what I mean? And so for me that was a really, really good lesson and a good guiding principle to when I talk to students, how are you feeling about how you're doing? Because their end goal may not be that stereotypical, I'm done the program in two years, I have a GPO of 4.0 and all that. Their goal may be, you know, I make it through. Maybe I take three years to complete the program instead of two. Like finding out what defined success for them because that's what success is. And not falling into those traps of what success means. At that point, that was years ago, the circle of Indigenous students started having their year-end celebration where they honour all students. Whether they're graduating or whatever, you came, you attended, you made that part of your dream come true. And so they honour all students at their year-end celebration. And to me that's very important. Yeah, that's honouring success. That's acknowledging one another. Yeah, just huge in our culture. Yes. Acknowledgement. To me also, part of the on-campus friendship centre, that was huge. Just acknowledging one another. People to say hello and to know your name, that was huge for people. So thank you, that's a very good description for measuring success. Even the word measuring is not a good word. Yeah, it depends what their success is. What does that person just find as success? Right, so student-led definitions. Absolutely. And community-led definitions. Family definitions is what I hear you saying. Yeah. And it's a matter of perspective. Yeah. One, how you look at what's really happening. Thank you for that. From your perspective, what is Indigenous education? How would you define that? I guess to me, Indigenous education, I have two definitions for. For me, Indigenous education is a level playing field. And everybody at the table having all the same toys and all the same roles. That to me is Indigenous education. I guess the other way I look at Indigenous education is ensuring that Canadians as a whole have the opportunity to learn who are the Indigenous people of Canada, who were we and who are we today. So I see it as twofold. Right. And when you say all at the same table with the same toys. Yeah. Let's talk a little more about that. So for me, true Indigenous education, I guess, is when we all come to the table and it's the same for everyone. Like whether you're on reserve or you're urban or whatever, your educational opportunities are the same. And that you're being taught in a facility that is the same. It's not an inferior facility. And that the people offering you your education have the same credentials as everybody else. And that the way you're treated within those educational institutions, whether it be preschool, elementary, high school, post-secondary, that you are treated the same way as everybody else, which is hopefully with respect and dignity. Right. That all that be the same. Right. And then you go in on equal footing. Okay. For me, I am always very disheartened when I look at... Well, I'm happy and disheartened, you know? Yeah. When I look at how many students are in upgrading, I'm so happy and so proud of those people for building their lives, taking control and all of that. Right. At the same time, though, I am always very disheartened when I look at how many of those people are indigenous. Mm-hmm. And I, why are you guys always upgrading? Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. I do. You know, it's yet another thing that we're over-represented in. Yeah. And that bothers me. Mm-hmm. It doesn't bother me that we have adult people taking control of their lives and building brighter futures and all of that. But I'm very discouraged at the amount that need to start out at an upgrading level. Right. Because there's a backstory there. Absolutely. They each bring a backstory. Absolutely. That may contain not an equal playing field. Exactly. Exactly. Really examining where they're coming from that created that. Mm-hmm. The why, why, why. Mm-hmm. That's a very good perspective. I'm glad that you said that. I haven't heard that one quite. Put that way. I'm really glad to hear that. What's your vision for Indigenous education over the next 10 years? What would you like to see? I would like to see the playing field come to a more equal place. I don't believe that within 10 years it will be totally equal. But I would like to see great advancements towards that. Mm-hmm. And I would also like to see more indigenization of bringing Indigenous culture, Indigenous ways of knowing, Indigenous expertise, Indigenous scholars into preschool through post-secondary. And whether that be as the professor or the guest speaker or the reading resource material, whatever, you know. And to me, that will make great advances. Like, for example, I was up in the on-campus Friendship Center the other day. And the students in their English class were reading about, talking about the book they're reading. They were always doing that, of course. And they're reading Richard Walcomie's Indian Horse. And I was like, what? Ah. You know what I mean? Like, to me, that's it. Mm-hmm. We have expertise. And I'm not saying that we should dominate the whole class. Like, every novel that's read in the English class, I don't think needs to be by an Indigenous writer. Mm-hmm. But I think that that needs to be in there. Yeah, absolutely. You know, especially when you're looking at the Canadian experience, Canadian education, Canada has a lot of Indigenous experts that need to be brought out and the sun shone on them. And not just because they're Indigenous. But what they're saying. But because he's a really, really good writer. Who has a lot to say. You know what I mean? Absolutely. And his nuances and his writing style. And yes, his stories are Indigenous and they're of Indigenous people. But he's also a brilliant writer. He's an award-winning writer. Exactly. You know? And that's what I mean. Yeah. And I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but not just buckskin and feathers. Yeah. Yeah. The rest of it too. Not romanticized. Exactly. Like, we need the celebration and we need the beauty and we need the art and all of that. But for example, we have a student in nursing who wrote her paper on a medicine woman. Mm-hmm. You know? She was enriched by the nursing department. Like, I've already seen so many changes. But I want to see more. Yeah. You want to see more. The on-campus Friendship Center had Richard Wagamees here at one time. Didn't they? Yep. I remember that. It was an incredible experience. Yeah, it was. He's a beautiful man. He was. So, it's too bad he's gone. But he had a huge impact. Yeah. And actually they're making Indian horse into a movie. So that's pretty cool. That's awesome. I just read that book a couple weeks ago. Yeah. And I thought, wow, it has a lot. I could think of a lot of young students that are not native. Mm-hmm. That are in my daughter's school that could have benefited from that book. Oh, for sure. To have an understanding of some of the history, the why's. Well, and I think it's bringing some of that history and some of that. Trauma? The trauma of residential schools and everything to light. But it brings it in a form and through a form and a venue that people can relate to and understand. Like it's hockey. Yeah. Yeah. It's a story and it's hockey. You know what I mean? And so that captures the audience. It's not just, we have to be careful that we don't, me personally, one of my goals is that I don't traumatize people with our history. Mm-hmm. That I educate because there's a difference. When I talk about the history of indigenous people in this country and all that dark, heavy reality and abuse that happened, my intent is to educate and share and move forward. My intent and to bring that person with me, whether they're indigenous, non-indigenous, bring them with me on that healing journey and moving forward. My intent is not to hurt you and wound you with that history and shame you. And sometimes that is people's intention and they're very good at it. But traumatizing people with our trauma is abuse and that's not who we are. That's not who we are. Thank you.