Lynda Brown (with Rob Nicholson)
Headstart Parent Worker
Family & Community Development Coordinator
Tungasuvvingat Inuit Head Start
230 McArthur Avenue
Vanier, ON K1L 6P5
(613) 747-2225 ext.10
(613) 747-0629 (Fax)

lbrown@ontarioinuit.ca

I really enjoyed my time at Trent and it inspired me to come to Ottawa to be a part of the large Inuit community here - I have been blessed with a wonderful job working with Inuit children, teaching them about our culture. I have included a picture of me and my husband (Rob Nicholson, we met at Trent) enjoying "Inuit Day" at Head Start.

Qujannamiik

(so there's more to Trent than just getting a degree! - editorial comment.)

 

Daphne Taylor-Garcia
PhD Candidate, Department of Ethnic Studies
University of California, Berkeley

dtgarcia@berkeley.edu

After finishing my BA at Trent, I went on to complete a Bachelor of Education degree at Queen's University. I then returned to Trent and after my first year of graduate school, decided to take a year off and moved to Winnipeg to teach at the Aboriginal Community Campus, an adult education centre. After teaching for a year I decided to seriously pursue a university career and returned to finish my MA and am now completing a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. My time at Trent has given me some of my best and warmest memories.

The unique and pathbreaking training I received there gave me the tools to pursue my current goals. Many thanks to all the faculty and staff who made my stay there so great, and hello to everyone I haven't seen in a while!

Daphne

 

Michelle Richmond-Saravia

Michelle graduated from Trent in 1996 with her Honours in Native Studies. She continued on to recieve her B'Ed. with Lakehead University. Michelle is from Pic River First Nation in Ontario.

Currently her husband and her son reside in Calgary where she works in the area of anti bullying using a culturally appropriate model through Awotaan Family Wellness Centre. She aspires to continue to work with First Nations in education and health and has worked previously with Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Anishnawbe Mushkiki in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Meegwetch!
Michelle Richmond-Saravia

Email: nishwifey@hotmail.com

This is my husband (Ennio Saravia) with me at my home community in Pic River First Nation, Ontario.

 

Brittany Cadence
Marketing & Sales Manager
Conference & Hospitality Services
Trent University

Phone: (705) 748-1011, ext. 5081 Fax: (705) 748-1209
Email: bcadence@trentu.ca
Website www.trentu.ca/conferences

I remember thinking in Grade 7 how boring Canadian history was, as my teachers seemed to focus on only one thing - the building of a national railroad.

When I arrived at Trent and took my first Native Studies course, I was immediately hooked with its fascinating exploration of the rich social history of this country. Discovering the struggles and successes of First Nations people in Canada was akin to stumbling on a great secret; it was something completely hidden from my suburban upbringing, yet dramatically influential to the development of Canada.

I chose to pursue a joint major in Native Studies and History in order to gain a deeper understanding of how cultures compete and survive.

After graduating in 1993, I decided that museums were a place where as a non-Native person I could make a difference in promoting greater awareness and understanding of the Native situation in Canada. I enrolled in the Museum Management & Curatorship program at Sir Sandford Fleming College, which took me to Victoria, BC for my internship where I learned about the politics of First Nations culture on the West Coast first hand.

In fact, while there I witnessed Shuswap elders conduct a hunger strike on the front lawn of the Royal British Columbia Museum in protest over the museum's refusal to return ancestral remains. (The matter was subsequently resolved and the remains were repatriated one week later). I learned through this experience how important the media was in engaging non-Natives in First Nations issues.

My Native Studies degree played a major role in my ability to land a position at the Canadian Canoe Museum following my graduation from SSFC. I spent six rewarding years there, starting as their Fundraising & Marketing Coordinator and eventually serving as the museum's Executive Director.

When it came time to move on, I accepted a position as Director of Sales & Marketing at Canada's largest destination spa, Ste. Anne's. After two years at Ste. Anne's, my career then came full circle as I returned to Trent to take on the challenge of the newly created Marketing Manager position within the university's Conference Services Department. It's been a great experience here supporting my alma mater and I enjoy attracting conferences to Trent that complement its academic strengths.

My next goal is to pursue a Master's in Communications in order to advance my skills in public relations, marketing and organizational development.

 

Kris Meawasige
O-GI Field Support Worker
Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres
Grand River Employment and Training Initiative

krismeawasige@trentu.ca

I am loving my new job at the OFIFC! I have enjoyed a warm welcome by all the staff.

I have the info. you were requesting. I have attached a picture for you to include.

My title is O-GI Field Support Worker. O-GI stands for Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres - Grand River Employment and Training Initiative.

If you would like any additional info please do not hesitate to email me. Once again, miigwech to you and everyone for the opportunity to work in the Indigenous Studies Dept.

In Friendship,
Kris Meawasige

 

Isadore Toulouse

Read an Article about what Isadore has been up to since coming to Trent. Close the window that opens to return to this page.

No photo available

 

Akemi Takeda

When alumna Akemi Takeda came to Trent from Japan in 2001 to study Indigenous Studies, little did she realize she would one day be coordinating global cultural exchanges of her own.

Now an arts manager with the Yokohama Arts Foundation in Japan, Ms. Takeda returned to Trent in late November to finalize arrangements to bring acclaimed Aboriginal performer Santee Smith’s dance piece Kaha:wi to Yokohama in 2009. This performance will be part of that city’s 150th anniversary celebrations, which honours cultural diversity around the world, starting with European works and ending with those from Indigenous peoples.

"I studied for four years at Trent and the worked for two years with Marrie Mumford where I helped run Nozhem, and came to know lots of Indigenous artists," explained Ms. Takeda. "I got to know Santee’s work when she came to Trent and thought it would be nice to share her culture with the Ainu." The Ainu are the Indigenous people of Japan who traditionally inhabited the north island, Hokkaido.

Interestingly, it was through her Trent connections that brought Ms. Takeda into contact with Ainu youth of Japan. "Two Indigenous artists whom I knew from Canada, Shelley Niro and Elizabeth Hill, visited Japan and hired me as their translator. They wanted to find the Ainu, so that’s how I came to meet them."

Ms. Takeda described the experimental dance work many Ainu youth are involved in, and thought it would be important for them to meet a professional Indigenous artist of Santee Smith’s stature. During Ms. Smith’s visit in Yokohama in the spring of 2009, she will team up with Ainu dancers through performance workshops and artists talks to help them understand what Indigenous artists around the world are doing. Ms. Takeda is hoping that if things go well, this collaboration may even result in the creation of a new work that she can then bring to Canada through her connections at Trent.

Ms. Takeda first became interested in Indigenous people following a cultural exchange to Perth, Ontario when she was 16 years old. When she learned that she could pursue a degree in Indigenous Studies at Trent, she decided to attend university here and graduated in 2005 with an emphasis in Indigenous Environmental Studies. It was during this period that she met Professor Marrie Mumford, Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Arts and Literature at Trent, and started helping out with the backstage management of Nozhem Theatre.

"I just wanted to help Marrie do the things she wants to do. Her work is incredible. She works so hard and is really the driving force in contemporary Indigenous art in the country," said Ms. Takeda, noting that this experience was a big part of why the Yokohama Arts Foundation hired her. "They looked favourably upon my Canadian experiences."

The production of Kaha:wi is described as a profound work that bridges the gap between contemporary and traditional Iroquoian song and dance in a fusion way without losing the integrity of the cultural content and aesthetics. Music, choreography and production design for Kaha:wi explores archetypal symbols of Iroquoian culture: the circle symbol, Woodland floral designs, images of duality and balance. The project reflects cultural concepts of Thanksgiving, sacredness of the natural world and rite of passage ceremonies.

 

Tara White

Graduate 1997 with a degree in Indigenous Studies with an emphasis in Native Management and Economic Development launches her first book "I Like Who I Am" at Trent in 2008.

Read Story

 

Dr. Yale D. Belanger, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Native American Studies
University of Lethbridge
4401 University Dr
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
T1K 3M4
(403) 382-7101 - w
(403) 380-1855 - f
belayd@uleth.ca

 

Songwit Chuamsakul, Ph.D.

A graduate of the Indigenous Studies PhD department has been appointed as "Director of Office of Ethnic Affairs", Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, for the government of Thailand.

 

Jarret Leaman

Jarret Leaman is the new Recruitment and Admission Representative for Queen's University. (2010)

Jarret graduated from Trent University in 2009 in Indigeneous Studies and Business and then went on to pursue a Master's degree in Industrial Relations at Queen's.

Jarret is also the person who does the 'virtual tour' on-line at Trent for Indigenous students.

He can be contacted by email at jarret.leaman@queensu.ca or by telephone at (613) 533-6000 ext.77986

Nia:wen (Thank-you),

 

Dawn White
Teacher, Grove School, Durham District School Board

Winner of the Premier's Award For Teaching Excellence 2010-2011

Bringing together Native Studies and Special Education has allowed Dawn White to inspire everyone around her. In her first year of teaching, Dawn created an Aboriginal Student Advisory Council which advocates for Aboriginal education, empowers students and gives them opportunities to showcase Indigenous culture. She also created an "Indigenous Fusion Camp" where environmental education is taught from an Indigenous point of view. Building strong connections within her school community has had a positive impact on her students, their parents, her colleagues and the First Nations community.

 

Dan Shaule
Researcher, Document Manager
Olthuis Kleer Townshend - LLP
Barristers and Solicitors

Dan Shaule is a researcher and document manager at OKT. He is registered with the Garden River Ojibway Nation, though currently resides on Georgina Island First Nation. Dan oversees document and database management for large-scale litigation cases involving Aboriginal and treaty rights and land claims at OKT.

Dan received a Masters in Canadian and Indigenous Studies from Trent University. He is currently pursuing another degree at the University of Toronto, researching Ontario Treaties in the larger British colonial context.

Dan contributed to the recently published Treaties With American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty, December 2007. He is a sessional lecturer at Laurentian University (Barrie) in First Nation History and Ethnology of North American Native Peoples.