Profiles of Aboriginal Educators: Footprints for the Future
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H O M E C O M M U N I T Y St. Boniface, Manitoba C U LT U R A L I D E N T I T Y Métis C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N Teacher Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 40 3/24/09 3:10:08 PM
Michel Hupé E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G Bachelor of Education, Post-Baccalaureate I enjoy guiding students as they grow and develop through school experiences. I enjoy watching students’ independence and self confidence evolve as they become more responsible for their own success. The obstacles I faced as a student helped me realize how deter- mined I was to succeed. No doubt they presented unpleasant situations but I used them as motiva- tion. When I would hear discouraging comments like “you can’t do that” I would tell myself, “Try and stop me!” When I decided to become an educa- tor the only people who truly believed I would succeed were my parents. I can remember them reflecting on my school experiences as youth and scratching their heads about what I had decided. I explained to my parents that I wanted to help kids who struggle in school and they threw their support behind me 100%. Today I am prepar- ing to enter the counseling field. I was encouraged and inspired to pursue my post-baccalaureate by Byron Jones, former administrator at Munroe Jr. High. I saw that he was driven to help kids succeed. Studying with Dr. Glenn McCabe, counseling professor at the University of Manitoba, has also inspired me to put my post-baccalaureate studies to use. I now hope to assist Aboriginal youth through counseling and lending support where I can. I chose to further my education after a few years of classroom teaching. I felt drawn to help those students who struggled for whatever reason and decided I would develop the ability to help students experience success despite their struggles. I believe it is important to share what we know so we can con- tinue to learn. Education as a career provides the opportunity to share with our children what we know and what we believe will help them. My own educational journey has taught me that there is potential in everyone to succeed. 41 As a teacher, R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
Surround yourself with positive people, be a positive source to those who choose to be around you. Learn all that you can. The more you learn the more you will believe in yourself. The self confidence that comes from learning can be the driving force to succeed. Once you believe in yourself there is no stopping you. Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 41 3/24/09 3:10:09 PM
H O M E C O M M U N I T Y Fisher River C U LT U R A L I D E N T I T Y Swampy Cree C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N Associate Professor Emerita University of British Columbia (Retired) Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 42 3/24/09 3:10:13 PM
Verna Kirkness E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G Professional First Class Teacher’s Certificate, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., 4 honorary doctorates. (C.M., O.M., M.Ed., LL.D.), Associate Professor Emeritus - UBC to become a teacher. That dream and taking advantage of opportunities led me to a career in education. On my journey, I was encouraged and assisted by many people. My grandfather, Jim Kirkness, was one whose own journey instilled in me that I could be whatever I wanted to be if I worked hard and had a passion for whatever I set out to do. Other members in Fisher River showed an interest as did my teachers in my elementary school days. In hindsight, I enjoyed the opportuni- ty to open doors for Aboriginal students not only in education but in all disciplines and all levels of education. It is never easy to create new opportunities and change the status quo. I surrounded myself with like-minded people and appealed to the senior administrators who responded to my requests for change that was necessary if we were to effectively serve Ab- original students and their communities
One of the critical decisions was to accept promotion and move on from teaching to other fields of education. I was happy to reach my goal of becoming a teacher. When the opportunity arose for me to become a principal, I had to be coaxed and prodded to accept this greater responsibility. I’m glad I did, as it led to more ways of contributing that allowed me to promote Aboriginal education. Teaching is both challenging and re- warding. It is setting the foundation for each child in your class to realize his/her dream. You instill confidence in the children by helping them to understand who they are and their potential to succeed. Probably, the most challenging is the kin- dergarten and primary years. We need more males to consider teaching as a career. They are particularly needed in the junior high school years and are worth a million in the early years as they present a father figure especially to those who are children of single mothers. Follow the philosophy as set out in the 1972 policy of Indian Control of Indian Education which states: “We believe in education as a means of enabling us to participate fully in or own social, economic, political, and educational ad- vancement”.
It was always my dream R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
visor, curriculum consultant, education director- Manitoba Indian Brotherhood, National Indian Brotherhood, freelance consultant, directorships and associate professor in education (UBC). Since retirement, I worked extensively on preserving and maintaining our Aboriginal languages in Canada, led the University College of the North community consultations and initiated a Ph.D. program for Aboriginal Scholars at the U of M. The answers are within us. Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 43 3/24/09 3:10:13 PM
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