H O M E C O M M U N I T Y
Born and raised in Winnipeg.
My mother, is from Koostatak:
Fisher River Cree Nation.
My father is from Roseau River
Anishinabe First Nation
C U LT U R A L I D E N T I T Y
Cree and Anishinabe
ancestry
C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N
Educational Assistant, R.B. Russell Vocational High School
Boozhou, Tansi,
Hello, My name is Lance Guilbault. Awinigaabo ndizhnikaaz
(“The Fog or Mist That Stands Alone/The Standing Fog”) is
my spirit name. Ginew ndotem (“Golden Eagle”) is my Clan.
I was raised in a traditional environment where I was able to
participate in ceremonies. With my family I was able to travel
great lengths for ceremonies to places in Manitoba and others
like Usk, Idaho, and Peever, South Dakota, or southern Brit-
ish Columbia. I am thankful that I was able to embrace our
sacred ways because my parents made a point of taking me
to these sacred spaces like the Sundance, sweat lodge, pow-
wows and other ceremonies. I am fortunate that my mother
and father have also played important roles in many of these
gathering places. I have seen them dance, sing, fast, be shk-
abes: helpers and workers, leaders and advisors. I realize that
today many of my family members have chosen to be social
workers and teachers. I too have made this choice for myself
because I have had many good teachers in my life. For ex-
ample, my grandparents are residential school survivors and
have been by far my wisest teachers. It is perhaps because of
them that my entire family has embraced the traditional life
of the Anishinabe and Cree people. I am thankful that I have
been taught to embrace life as a gift and celebrate knowledge
as power.
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Lance Guilbault - Awinigaabo ndizhnikaaz
E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G
Grade 12, Currently in CATEP-
Community-based Aboriginal
Teacher Education Program-
fourth year
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R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
I work collectively with our families, parents, students, staff and various community
organizations in Winnipeg’s inner city.
I recently married and together with my wife I journey towards
a beautiful future by following our sacred teachings and laws.
This is what we believe will help our children grow into successful
young men. We also teach them about our history as First
Nations people in Canada to ensure that they are not taught
misconceptions about Aboriginal people. I believe there is
still much to be told in our schools about the true history of
Canada. We recognize that there is still much discrimination,
ignorance and manipulation within our institutions, but we
recognize we are all still learning and that things are getting
better. We can use our sacred ways to heal as a people.
Together, my wife and I share these teachings with vast
amounts of students and educators. She has worked in
the Seven Oaks School Division for seven years and I have
worked in the Winnipeg School Division for nine years. It is
within these institutions that we have shared, taught, and
learned together with our students, our colleagues and our
school communities. We have both completed three years of
CATEP, the Community-based Aboriginal Teacher Education
Program, while juggling full-time work and a family. I appreciate
that this program has enabled Aboriginal employees in both of
our school divisions to attend university while we continue to
work in the school system. Our learning and experiences have
allowed us to learn about some of the most beautiful and artic-
ulate Aboriginal writers and artists in Canada. We have learned
about historical stories and about some of our most prolific
leaders and heroes. This has helped us learn about such things
as our rights and the treaties. It has been both an emotional and
empowering journey. I realize that education has enabled our
people to overcome the residential school era, the “60’s Scoop”,
and address legislative genocide. We truly believe education
can help make Canada a beautiful place to live for everyone!
I realize that as a role model I too can make mistakes, but I
learn from my mistakes. I am a teacher that doesn’t have all
the answers, and I’m not afraid to learn from others. I am a
warrior with a warrior’s soul, but I’ve never had to use my fists
for the most significant battles in my life. I realize that I can
fight with words as my actions. I believe this is how I can make
a difference for my people, my community, and my Canada. I
also realize that the greatest battle I have ever fought is with
myself. I strive to be the best man that I can be. It is through
being a great husband, a great father, a great teacher and a
great role model that I am able to live a good quality of life be-
cause these are the things that define me as a warrior. Overall,
I believe a good education is my armor.
I practice honouring my spirit name and who I am by hon-
ouring the voices of our Elders. I practice living a good life by
following the many beautiful teachings in our culture such as
the seven sacred teachings, the circle teachings, or the lodge
teachings. I try to find ways to integrate these teachings into
our classrooms and our homes. I try to see that these teachings
can benefit all people in Canada because they are universal.
My priority is to provide a more involved school community
that will benefit all of our students. I want our students to re-
spect themselves and others, and to be respected. I want our
students to belong and encourage others to belong. I want
our students to be responsible for themselves and for others
around them, whether they are in their class or at home. This
is how I encourage young men and women to be successful.
My family is the basis for my success. The teachings I carry, I
carry with pride, with love, and with truth to myself, my Elders,
and those around me. It has been a natural aspect, inherent in
my being, to coach, to teach, and to pay respect to those teach-
ers who shared wondrous amounts of knowledge, wisdom
and strategies which have helped me become successful. Today
I see myself as a worker, a shkabe, and I intend to do the best
job I can with the resources that surround me.
Meegwetch, Ekosani and Thank You.
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