It is an exciting time to pursue Indigenous scholarship. Our Ph.D. candidates are part of an international movement to decolonize the academy and to recognize the centrality of Indigenous/Traditional knowledges as a foundation for contemporary Indigenous scholarship. Our students have extraordinary opportunities to work with Anishnaabe and Haudenosaunee Elders and Traditional people who are actively involved in our program as professors and teachers.
Barbara L Wall, P.E.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Shawnee, Oklahoma
B.Sc., Michigan Technological University, M.S. University of California, Berkeley
My dissertation research, It Flows from the Heart: Bodwewaadmii Anishinaabekwewag Nibi Waawiindmowin, gathers and shares diverse narratives of the uncovering and reweaving of Bodwewaadmii water knowledges and ceremonial practice within our relocated communities. Using a decolonizing methodology, grounded in Anishinaabe intellectual tradition and language, this work resists centuries of assimilation, acculturation, and marginalization and our prior conversion to christianity. Narratives of resurgence privilege the voices of Elders, women, youth and 2SQ folk.
Maurice Brubacher, Ph.D. Student
Research Project Title: “Exploring the Dynamic Interplay Between Ojibwe Language and Traditional Knowledge”
Summary: Elders tell us that traditional knowledges are embedded in their languages, and that their deep meanings cannot be translated into English. Yet such profound beauty and wisdom continue to be lost through colonial language infringement. My research is focused on listening to Anishinaabeg Elders’ stories and reflections about their first language. It is a search to celebrate the power of traditional knowledge contained within Anishinaabemowin, in hopes of making a small contribution to Anishinaabemowin revitalization.
Brandy Kane, Ph.D. Student
My spirit name is Thunder Eagle Woman and my colonial name is Brandy Kane. I am a member of the Xaxl’ip First Nation from St’at’imc territory. I chose to do my PhD in Indigenous Studies because of my strong desire to make a difference in Indigenous communities. As a St’at’imc woman I am well aware of the challenges faced by Indigenous people in today’s society, included are loss culture and traditional ways of life. My research proposal focuses on working with ceremonialists, medicine people, and those that have been helped and/or been healed through Indigenous ceremonial practices. My research question is: How has participating in traditional Indigenous ceremonies brought healing and wellness to you mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually?
Binesi Morrisseau, B.A., M.A, Ph.D. Student
My name is Binesi Morrisseau. I am Sturgeon Clan from Couchiching First Nation, located within the sovereign territory of Treaty Three. My SSHRC sponsored research seeks to explicate the ways in which we can understand ‘treaty epistemologies’ from within Anishinaabek genders and sexualities. What does it mean to be treaty people? Using a Foucauldian discourse analysis, legal theory, Anishinaabemoowin, and the oral tradition, I problematize modern treaty discourse by re-imagining treaty from within the fluidity of Anishinaabek genders and sexualities.
Nancy Stevens, Ph.D. Student
My name is Nancy Stevens/Mno Waasemok Mizhakwad-kwe and I am from Bear Clan. I am of Haudenosaunee and European descent, a mother of four and grandmother of two, and a part-time Ph. D. student in the School of Indigenous Studies. My research focus is on how people understand their experience of using cultural ceremonies and practices to heal from trauma.
Evelyn Poitras
Cree and Saulteaux
M.A. in Indigenous Governance with Distinction, 2015, University of Winnipeg
Thesis: Treaty Four Sovereignty and Governance: Emawasakonaman Isicikewina (Gathering the ways of the People) for Peepeekisis Cree Nation and the File Hills Indian Farm Colony
My name is Evelyn Poitras/Askitako Piasew Iskwew and I started my PhD studies at Trent in 2015 with research interests in Nitanis (Daughter) Narratives and Nehiyawak Iskwewak (Cree Women) roles for Governance and Treaty Enforcement, Treaty Four and Treaty Six.
