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
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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.
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As a teacher,
R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
Support and encourage students as they discover themselves and their potential.
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.
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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)
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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”.
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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
During my career, I held positions as: elementary school teacher, principal, guidance counselor, schools super-
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.
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