Books to Build On: Indigenous Literatures for Learning

Dr. Aubrey Jean Hanson

Dr. Aubrey Jean Hanson (she/her/hers) is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 and an Associate Professor in Education at the University of Calgary. Her research spans Indigenous literary studies, curriculum studies, and Indigenous education. She is the author of Literatures, Communities, and Learning: Conversations with Indigenous Writers, published with Wilfrid Laurier University Press in spring 2020. Aubrey and Erin were co-leads on the Innovative Initiatives in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education within Undergraduate Teacher Education project. Together they led the team through reviewing the B.Ed curriculum, gathering Indigenous texts, and generating the Books to Build On web resource.

^{Photo credit: Neville Black
https://nevilleblack.com/}

Dr. Erin Spring

Dr. Erin Spring (she/her/hers) is a scholar and educator of British descent now living and working with/in Treaty 7. She grew up on Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe Territories and lived in many different places before moving to Moh’kins’tsis (the Blackfoot name for Calgary). She has been honoured to work with and learn from Blackfoot and Cree communities in Alberta and Manitoba over the past five years. Erin and Aubrey were co-leads on the Innovative Initiatives in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education within Undergraduate Teacher Education project. Together they led the team through reviewing the B.Ed curriculum, gathering Indigenous texts, and generating the Books to Build On web resource.

Anja Dressler Araujo

Anja Dressler Araujo (she/her/hers) is a Settler who was born in Manitoba, grew up on Vancouver Island and has resided in Calgary ever since. Her ancestors immigrated from Europe. Anja acted as the Content Manager and later the Digital Content Development Coordinator. First, she worked on the mapping out the existing Werklund curriculum and interviewing faculty. She then searched for Indigenous literature to include in the database. Finally, she coordinated new teacher graduates from the Werklund School of Education in developing resources and lesson plans using the Indigenous literatures. Anja is currently a grade 4/5 teacher in a German bilingual program in Calgary. 

Jadyn Fischer-McNab

Jadyn Fischer-McNab (she/her/hers) is a Cree woman who was born and raised in Calgary and belongs to George Gordon's First Nation in Saskatchewan. Jadyn began with the project by creating lesson plans for various Indigenous literature to be included in the database. Now, Jadyn is helping expand the project by working with her other team members to add knowledge, and resources as well as editing existing information in the website. Jadyn is a University of Calgary graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology as well as a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialization in Physical Education. She teaches grade nine humanities and physical education in Calgary.

Rachel Stubbs

Rachel Stubbs is an English PhD student at the University of Calgary and is of Saulteaux/Swiss/English descent. Rachel received her undergraduate degree in English and History at MacEwan University in Edmonton and her Master’s degree in English at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Rachel is a new Research Assistant with Books to Build On Project, in which she sources and categorizes new materials. This project coincides well with her own research, which focuses on depictions of Indigenous girlhood in literatures of Western Canada written by women from 1890-1939. Rachel enjoys spending her down time hiking, fishing, camping, and hunting with her two dogs, Widgeon and Cricket.

Kari Dressler

Kari Dressler (she/her/hers) is a Settler who grew up on Vancouver Island and resided in Calgary for most of her life. Her ancestors immigrated from Europe. As the Information Manager, Kari supported the project by implementing a process for tracking project objectives, resources, and applicable metadata. In addition, Kari conducted community consultation interviews and assisted in report formatting, citations, and proofreading. After completing her Bachelor of Commerce at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, she moved to Victoria, BC to continue her education at the University of Victoria, Faculty of Law. 

Maureen Plante

Maureen Plante (she/her/hers) is an Iroquois Cree/Métis woman who was born and raised in north of Edmonton. She is currently a second year MSc. student in counselling psychology at the University of Calgary. Her research interests are focused on Indigenous mental health, decolonization, Indigenous pedagogy, and anti-racism in the classroom. Maureen completed her B.A. (honours) in psychology at MacEwan University in Edmonton. She is a Research Assistant on the Books to Build On project where she helps expand the project to add knowledge, and resources as well as editing existing information in the website. She enjoys going to the gym, hiking, and walking her with her dog, Daisy. 

Mithushana Manokaran

Mithushana Manokaran (she/her/hers) is an English graduate student enrolled in the MA Literatures of Modernity program at Toronto Metropolitan University. She holds an Honours BA with Distinction in English and a minor in Sociology from Toronto Metropolitan University. Mithushana will be a student intern working on this project by finding gaps in existing curriculums. She will also collect materials that help fill gaps in the education system by adding Indigenous texts, and resources to the database which will assist both students and educators. Mithushana is deeply interested in higher education and curriculum development. She hopes to integrate her expertise and research interests to add to this database. Mithushana has a strong belief in literature as a site of knowledge production and its ability to represent valuable narratives of identity groups who are silenced in society. This is what inspires Mithushana in her personal research and work toward improving education systems in Canada through reading, writing and literature.

Dustin Walter & Shelly Eli

Okii,  My English name is Dustin Walter. My Blackfoot name is Mistukii Ksistukii (Mountain Beaver). I am Ampskapii Pikunii (South Peigan), located in Montana USA and is one of the four tribes from the Blackfoot Confederacy. I have a B.Sc. in Nursing and Master’s in Educational Research from the University of Calgary. I am currently a Doctoral student in Community Health Sciences, specializing in Population/Public Health at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. I was a cultural competency consultant on the Innovative Initiatives in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education within Undergraduate Teacher Education project.

Shelly Eli is a Blackfoot from the Piikani Nation (north Peigan) in Southern Alberta. I am a second year Doctoral Student in Educational Research – Language and Literacy at Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. I worked as an Indigenous cultural knowledge holder for the Innovative Initiatives in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education within Undergraduate Teacher Education project.

Kayshja Eli

Kayshja Eli is a Blackfoot from the Piikani Nation in Alberta. I am in my third year of my undergraduate degree at the University of Lethbridge in Bachelor of Arts – General Social Science with a focus on Women and Gender Studies, Indigenous Studies and Anthropology. I worked on the filming community Elder interviews for the Innovative Initiatives in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education within Undergraduate Teacher Education project.

Dr. Dorothea Vanessa Nelson

Dr. Dorothea Nelson was a PhD student when she participated in this project. She feels a connective empathy and commonality with Indigenous peoples. This has led to Dr. Nelson writing the articles Indigenizing Curriculum Development and Online Course Design: A Caribbean Study and Toward theorizing spatial-cultural ‘othering’ in networked learning and teaching practices. She was accepted to present Working in Third Space to Decolonize Curriculum Design at the 6^th World Curriculum Studies Conference in Melbourne, Australia. She deems it a privilege to have participated in this project which was a great learning experience for her.