Profiles of Aboriginal Educators: Footprints for the Future
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H O M E C O M M U N I T Y Duck Bay, 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, Duck Bay School Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 62 3/24/09 3:11:10 PM
Fred Sanderson E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G Bachelor of Education, University of Manitoba with the land. I was born and raised in Duck Bay, Manitoba. It was here that I developed a great respect and love for the outdoors as I was a trapper, commercial fisherman and hunter. I was able to provide for my family living a traditional lifestyle for many years. Unfortunately I had to leave this love because the mismanagement and depletion of resources within our communities. This led me to consider how else I could provide for my family and contribute to my community. I have always maintained a strong con- nection to the land and my learning con- tinued as I became involved in academic learning. I realize that I had to take what my elders taught me and combine that with an academic education. I wanted to find a way to combine the best of both worlds to help me be the best teacher I could be in the classroom and the best person I could be in the community. As a traditional teach- er I pass on the stories of our land that students can directly relate to. This is what I feel has helped me be successful because for me as an Anishinaabe Métis living off the land, it is our Aboriginal belief system that has provided a strong founda- tion for me. These teachings created a strong sense of know- ing where I came from, which helped me move forward in life and bring something back to my community. I also have a great respect for the role young people play in the lives of our community. As a teacher I feel it is my responsibly to guide the work that our young people must carry on with. It is not my job to show them what to do but to nurture their own ideas. I believe we need to provide more support for young people to help overcome some of the major issues that keep our young people from participating in our communities the way they should.
Unfortunately, I see that there is no place for them in our com- munities. With the little resources or outlets, some of our youth end up selling or taking drugs. It is a false sense of success when money or happiness is made this way. In the end they really lose more than they think they gain. Hopefully, before it’s too late, they will realize that these things hurt our families and communities because everything comes full circle. We have to help students understand that we are all interconnected and therefore we are all affected by what we do. We have to restore the traditional teachings such as the Seven Sacred Anishinaabe teachings that will restore our sense of place, and a need for respect, love, trust and caring amongst us. Unfortu- nately, these things are not always taught in public education which is why as Aboriginal people we must find ways to bring this type of teaching and learning back to what we teach our children in school. As a teacher in a public school I take pride in the fact that I make efforts to bring these teachings back to young people and I am also able to share the teachings with other educators. If you look at many of our successful Aboriginal leaders throughout Manitoba, you will find in their stories that they have maintained a connection to their traditional roots. It is through ceremony, and practicing traditional teachings that they gain the strength to do the work they do.
My story begins R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
Look at what has been left for us by our ancestors. Their stories and teachings will help us find our way into the future. Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 63 3/24/09 3:11:10 PM
H O M E C O M M U N I T Y Ste. Peter’s: Little Peguis Indian Reserve, or Selkirk, Manitoba C U LT U R A L I D E N T I T Y Anishinaabe C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N Instructor, The University of Winnipeg & Columnist, Urban NDN Newspaper Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 64 3/24/09 3:11:16 PM
I love being a part of a learning process where along with my students I can learn a new idea, skill, and/or approach to the world. Watching someone take a risk and trying something they learned is a gift that never ends. My road to becoming an educator (like most) has included many stops and starts, sever- al internal and external obstacles, and too many self-imposed barriers, including financial, personal, political, and spiritual issues I have had to overcome. While we don’t ever overcome all barriers, trying to keep the old ones at bay while getting pre- pared to face new ones is a con- stant struggle. My parents are my biggest sup- porters and critics, and I love them for it. My sisters also keep me sharp, grounded, and honest. In grade three I had a teacher, Mr. Peters, who made me feel like a million bucks every day, and I realized then how much power the person at the front of the room had. In 2003 I read Craig Womack’s incredible book, Red on Red: Native American
Nowadays, though, my partner and daughter are all I live for. I do everything with, for, and because of them. When asked about critical choices or decisions that helped me get where I am today many things come to mind. I think about kindergarten when I stole a toy car from a boy in my class or when in Junior High I stayed silent when my classmates made fun of a girl because of her clothes and her “smell.” Both decisions were formative moments in guilt and regret that I continue to live with. In 1993 and 1997 I travelled as an exchange student to South Africa and Sri Lanka – expanding my knowledge and maturity by leaps and bounds. In 2000, I took my first teaching job as a Drama/English teacher at Ecole Kelvin High School, a choice that involved tremendous personal cost – but paid off in the end. Three years later, I had to make a decision whether to pursue graduate studies and confront the systemic racism and oppression I complained about every day. This accompanied my decision to join a Mide- wiwin lodge, which freed my mind and spirit in ways I am still learning. But the most difficult decision I’ve had is to be the best father I can be. My life radically altered due to that choice.
When I think about what has been significant in my own edu- cational journey I think of my grandfather, who suffered deep- ly from alcoholism. For most of his life he was not someone to be proud of. From his anger, which many from his generation inherited from colonialism, he abused himself, others, and the world around him. I’m told he also made some tremendously bad choices, which cost him dearly. But when I was born, my grandfather - with a little help from my parents - chose to never let me see him drink. It wasn’t easy I’m sure, but I believe this is what led him to a sober existence for the final two decades of his life. As a result, I have only known a beautiful, gentle, and funny Anishnaabe nimiishomis, not the side I have heard about. Although I know now that “other side” existed, he chose to give me the gifts of respect, love, and honor – something he couldn’t do with alcohol. These are the most important teach- ings anyone has ever given me. His one decision, in the inter- ests of making one other person’s world a better place, proves that such a choice can have incredible impact. All anyone has to do is have the courage to make such a decision. I carry that responsibility in every choice I make, every day. I’m very proud of my grandfather, the most inspirational man I know. I would not be anywhere without him. Niigonwedom James Sinclair E D U C AT I O N / T R A I N I N G Bachelor of Arts-Honors, Winnipeg Bachelor of Education, Winnipeg Masters in Education, Oklahoma Ph.D., British Columbia - pending Lighting the Eighth Fire is something we all have to do as Anishinaabeg. We cannot expect elders, language speakers, and traditional peoples to do it for us. We must use the tools we now have to live our lives and continue our cultural communities, families, and nations. That is how we will live, expand, and thrive as First Nations peoples – not just survive. 65 As an educator, R O L E S / R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
committee/curriculum work, editing, submitting work for publication, peer reviewing, colleague collaboration, conferencing, full-time daddying too! Ab. Education (Mar24-09)FINAL.indd 65 3/24/09 3:11:17 PM
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