As the weeks draw closer to the first day of class at universities and colleges across the country, we look at services provided to Aboriginal students. I had the chance to connect with Sarah Noel, the communication officer/recruitment and communications for the University of Sudbury, and she shared information on the assistance provided by their institution.
University of Sudbury-Aboriginal Centre
“The are many services the University of Sudbury provides Aboriginal students offering cultural, academic and individual support. Such services include the department of Indigenous Studies; a lounge for Indigenous students; access to Traditional Resource People; and a student group called Indigenous Student Circle, to name a few,” Noel said.
Noel said as members of the Laurentian Federation, students can access services offered by the Indigenous Student Affairs office as well as the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Center located at Laurentian University. Programs and courses are also offered by the University of Sudbury directly onsite or via video-conferencing in the communities of the James Bay Coast, which include Moose Factory, Attawapiskat, Fort Albany and Kashechewan.
“The University of Sudbury is dedicated to making education financially accessible by providing numerous scholarships, bursaries and awards to their students. Among the financial aid available is bursaries, scholarships and awards specifically for Indigenous students,” said Noel.
The unveiling of the University of Sudbury’s arbor, Nishnaabe-gkendaaswin Teg (where Indigenous Knowledge is), will take place on Thursday, September 14, which is soon after classes resume. Noel said Nishnaabe-gkendaaswin Teg will be a place to sit with your ancestors, seek the wisdom of elders, receive teachings and explore your place within creation and share in peace, understanding and thoughtful contemplation. The arbor will be available for class time, workshops, ceremonies, teachings and other gatherings.
I asked Noel if she thought these kind of services for Aboriginal students helped them with their studies in terms of giving a sense of belonging, to inspiring them to achieve their program goals.
“Yes, these kinds of services definitely help in giving Indigenous students a sense of belonging. The University of Sudbury provides a safe, inclusive, supportive and nurturing academic environment that allows students to reach their goals,” said Noel.
Noel added she definitely feels Aboriginal Centres are a welcoming place that provides guidance and supports for student success on both a personal and academic level.
“Providing an atmosphere of identity, a place of belonging and being connected with one another eases the transition between home, community and school, and significantly enhances Indigenous culture and way-of-life,” said Noel.
As a former student of Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, I would most definitely agree with Noel that Aboriginal Centres gives students a sense of belonging and encouragement. When I attended Grant MacEwan from 1999 to 2002, I completed the Native Communications Program, aka, NCP, and the Journalism Diploma Program.
Relying on the Aboriginal Centre as a place to go and study, chat with other students and counsellors and experience positive vibes, and sometimes gain inspiration, I remember on many occasions chatting with then Grant MacEwan University Aboriginal Centre counsellor Jane Woodward, who was a great person to speak with and always had encouraging words, making it easier to finish that next assignment.
I have spoken with many former students and they all agree post-secondary institutions need both Aboriginal Centres and their services. In our next issue we’ll look at new programs that are in development, like Alberta announcing a $665,000 grant to train Indigenous language teachers.
Eugene Brave Rock is the Blackfoot actor from the Blood Tribe in Southern Alberta, who is enjoying world-wide recognition for his role as “Chief,” a.k.a. “Napi,” in Wonder Woman, one of the highest grossing films of 2017. I had the chance to talk with Brave Rock and discuss how his latest role has given him international recognition, including a recent “Headdress Honour Ceremony” bestowed upon him by his own First Nation.
First, we have to include some of his film and TV acting accomplishments like The Revenant, Big Thunder TV series, Blackstone, Tin Star, Klondike and Timeless. Originally, Brave Rock began work in the industry as a movie and TV stuntman but has embraced his acting chops and grown into a fine actor.
The role as “Chief” in the DC Universe Wonder Woman came out-of-the-blue when he was on vacation and his agent contacted him to audition for a role at Warner Brothers studios. When Brave Rock asked his agent details on the part he was told the studio would give him the lines for the character when he arrived in Hollywood for his first reading.
This would be his first film audition with a major Hollywood studio and Brave Rock said he was a bit excited. Not knowing for which film he was reading made the experience even more nerve-wracking.
Eugene Brave Rock in his role as “The Chief”
“I was pretty overwhelmed. I was going to the Warner Brothers studios,” Brave Rock said. “I totally blanked when I read off the script and I thought, ‘Oh well, I screwed that one up.’”
Casting told him he “nailed it” in the audition. Brave Rock said he was surprised they would say that. “Well, I thought, ‘Oh, they were just being nice and that’s probably the last I would hear from them,’” said Brave Rock.
It turned-out Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins liked something in Brave Rock and a second audition was requested and he was offered the role.
“I was completely shocked that I got the role. I then asked what the role was for but they would not initially tell me because it was ‘top secret,’” said Brave Rock.
Eventually he was told he would be “Chief” in the upcoming movie version of Wonder Woman, but that he couldn’t tell anyone he landed the role in the big budget film, not even his wife.
Brave Rock said he enjoyed working with Gal Gadot, the actor who landed the coveted role as the Amazon Princess turned Wonder Woman.
“You know she was amazing, down-to-earth, and it’s so nice to see someone in that position to be just one of the guys and spend time with all the actors; the whole cast had such an awesome time and there was a lot of good vibes on set during filming,” said Brave Rock.
Filming took over seven months in England and other locations in Europe, with four months of straight shooting. Brave Rock says he flew over the Atlantic Ocean ten times to re-shoot scenes but there were no complaints as he enjoyed the process. Plus, he wanted to get his character performance right.
In the film, when Wonder Woman and Chief first meet one another, they talk to each other in the Blackfoot language – Brave Rock’s traditional language and the original language of over 40,000 Blackfoot people from the Blood Tribe, Siksika Nation, Peigan Nation, and from the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. It was the director’s idea to introduce Chief in his Blackfoot language and they both agreed they did not want to stereotype the character even though growing up, when someone called Brave Rock “Chief,” he said “those were fighting words.”
Blackfoot is the only non-English language not subtitled in the film as it is purposely left-out by director Jenkins for dedicated fans to uncover. It didn’t take long. Certain viewers revealed that during their introductions Chief introduced himself as “Napi,” a Blackfoot demi-god.
Napi is the culture hero of the Blackfoot tribe (sometimes referred to as a “transformer” by folklorists). He is a trickster, a troublemaker, and sometimes a foolish person, but he is also responsible for shaping the world the Blackfoot live in and frequently helps the people. Brave Rock revealed on his Twitter that Napi was an actual part of the script.
Is this a big deal? Of course it is. Not only for the character, but also for the overall DC Universe (DCU). It means several things. For starters, it means that Greek Gods are not the only “real” mythological deities in the DCU. Just like in the comics, there are several pantheons out there.
Second, it means that as a demi-god, Chief is ageless, much like Wonder Woman, and could show-up again in a future Wonder Woman film, or maybe another part of the DCU.
In a compelling scene, Wonder Woman asks Chief why he isn’t fighting on either side of the war and Chief replies he doesn’t have anything to fight for. When Wonder Woman asks about that, Chief says that Steve’s people (the white man) took it all from him.
In Hollywood, First Nation people are often portrayed as one of three stereotypes: the savage, Pocahontas, or, the medicine man. However the film industry is beginning to embrace a new kind of First Nation character: authentic, real and still here. Films like Smoke Signals, Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance and Fast Runner are embracing the authentic First Nations people. Chief in Wonder Woman is just the beginning.
When asked for the most challenging part of the role, Brave Rock said the role itself was not challenging because he enjoyed every minute of the production, but then added, “The most challenging part was being away from my family; I missed the birth of my son. The attack in Paris, that was a bit scary and tough.”
Brave Rock has always wished to one day be an actor and starring in this blockbuster is something special to him.
“It has been a dream of mine since I was a kid on the reserve to be an actor. There are so many stories of our culture that we can share,” Brave Rock said. “I’ll never forget where I came from. I’ve lived in Forest Lawn (Calgary neighbourhood), Bannock Street in Lethbridge, and of course Kainai (Blood Tribe).”
Now the question is: Will the franchise decide to bring back the character of Chief in Wonder Woman 2 or any other DCU production? This is a question Brave Rock couldn’t answer since there is so much secrecy involved with a sequel.
As for the future, Brave Rock will be in post-production as a stunt performer in an upcoming film. He is enjoying the amazing response to Wonder Woman and how it has ignited his acting career.
“I will take every opportunity that is there, there are so many stories out there,” said Brave Rock.
In 1983, after animal activists groups like Green Peace were able to convince the European Union to ban products made from whitecoat harp seal pups, everything changed for the worst for Inuit people in the Canadian arctic. If that wasn’t enough, yet another ban in 2009 by the European Union caused even more hardship for the Inuit people who rely on their seal hunt to sustain their livelihood, their culture and economy.
“Angry Inuk,” a film by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, enlightens viewers by providing background on the reality behind the anti-seal hunt demonstrations and those using whitecoat harp seal pups as their slogan. By portraying the helpless baby white seal as their poster darling, animal activists have been able to, time and again, convince world governments and the public that hunting seals is “evil and cruel” and unnecessary.
Arnaquq-Baril is narrator for the compelling documentary, which was filmed over a seven-year period beginning in the spring of 2008. The film shows the pristine landscape of the Nunavut Territory in the Canadian Arctic and looks into the Inuit people and their way of life. It explains how the seal hunt is so much a fundamental part of Inuit culture.
In one scene, Aaju Peter, a seal skin designer and a lawyer for Inuit Seal Hunting Rights, is admiring a picture of two children with their faces smeared with seal blood while enjoying eating seal. Peter explains, “To other people, this probably looks scary. But to us, this is cute.”
After the 1983 seal hunt ban was imposed, most Inuit people had no choice but to move away from their traditional grounds and into town because the price of seal skin completely crashed. Most Inuit had to find odd jobs creating carvings and perform whatever other jobs they could find. But the Inuit still had to hunt seal for food.
Arnaquq-Baril said the 1983 ban was their “Great Depression” as it was a life altering event for the Inuit. Within a year of the ban the suicide rate spiked even higher and has risen to rank among the highest globally ever since.
“Suicide was once a rare thing in the Inuit community. As a result of traumas from residential school abuse, forestry relocation, and other destructive government policies, Inuit people began taking their lives at alarming rates,” narrates Arnaquq-Baril in “Angry Inuk.” “In 1983 it was yet another layer of stress on our communities causing widespread hunger and hardships.”
In 2009, the filmmaker followed a group of Inuit representative who traveled to the European Union Parliament to voice their opinion on banning the seal hunt. The viewer will see their efforts were futile and did not change world leaders’ minds on the vote.
“Angry Inuk” is a film worth watching and may even change your thoughts on the Seal Hunt Ban lobbied for by Green Peace – an organization responsible for successfully implanting the erroneous image of the “evil and killing of the baby white seal” in the minds of those not educated to the facts of Inuit life.
UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Aboriginal Admissions Program 2017 graduates. Alex Sheppard, back row center, James Andrews, right of center back row. Photo credit: Kevin Ward
The University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine Aboriginal Admissions program is on track to graduate over 100 med students by 2020 says, James Andrews, University of British Columbia (UBC), Aboriginal Student Initiatives Coordinator. “This year is our 15 year anniversary for the program, and as of May 2017, with seven new med students graduating, we have reached 71 Aboriginal graduates,” Andrews said.
Interest in the program has grown since it began in 2002, the year they received seven applicants, of which two were admitted. Designed to increase the number of Aboriginal medical students and physicians in British Columbia, the program now averages 20 to 25 applicants per year.
Academic success of Aboriginal students is contingent upon early educational engagement. Programs such as the pre-admissions workshop (conducted by the Division of Aboriginal People’s Health) introduce science and medical career role-models to young Aboriginal students where academic success is fostered by early engagement and recruitment. Aboriginal MD students also serve as mentors to applicants in the pre-admissions stage and forge strong relationships and a system of peer support.
Andrews explained many individuals praise the Aboriginal medical program and hope it continues to thrive. “My response is, we still have decades to go and we need at least 300 Aboriginal physicians in B.C. in order to make an impact on our Aboriginal people’s health; we aren’t even a quarter of the way there yet. In Canada we need 3,000 Aboriginal physicians, but the best guestimate is 300 and our work isn’t close to being done,” said Andrews.
About 60 per cent of the program’s Aboriginal graduates have trained and are training to become family doctors, while the remaining graduates are in surgical specialties and other specialties like psychiatry. Aboriginal med graduates are choosing to practice medicine in the community, such as one graduate who is now a family doctor with a practice in Vancouver’s Lumar Housing complex.
As graduates help meet the need of more family doctors in B.C. and throughout Canada, the program continues to improve its curriculum in Aboriginal health. Alex Sheppard, Cree and Metis from Alberta, and one of the seven graduates this year, said she would definitely recommend the UBC Aboriginal Medical program to Aboriginal students interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
“I think they are a leader in Canada for Aboriginal medical education with a separate Aboriginal admissions process and support for Aboriginal students during our four years of training,” Sheppard said. “All of the Aboriginal medical students also had the opportunity to take part in an Aboriginal orientation week before first year started, where we all got to know each other and take part in a number of cultural activities. We also had yearly Aboriginal retreats that allowed us to stay connected to one another and to our heritage.”
Sheppard plans to move to Newfoundland for two years for a residency in family medicine. She is in a program called NunaFam, which involves spending six months of second year training in Iqaluit. “I’m really looking forward to being immersed in rural generalist medicine and to further cultivate my interest in Aboriginal Health,” said Sheppard.
Sheppard said there are a number of health disparities facing Aboriginal communities across Canada today and she thinks, in general, there is a lot of room for improvement in how they deliver healthcare to the unique Aboriginal populations. “As a general practitioner, I hope to be able to work in these communities and have some opportunity to make changes on a systemic level,” said Sheppard.
During her time in medicine, Sheppard said she has been lucky enough to meet amazing Aboriginal residents and doctors who’ve taught her a great deal and inspire her every day. “I know what I have learned from them will inform my practice for many years to come,” said Sheppard.
I asked the UBC Aboriginal Student Initiatives Coordinator what students interested in gaining admittance into the Aboriginal Medical Program need to do to qualify. “Because the Undergraduate MD program is a professional degree, we require students to excel in their academic and non-academic endeavors,” Andrews said. “Academically, they should have strong marks, grades, and a relatively good MCAT score (Medical College Admissions Test). Non-academically, students should have demonstrated they can work with people through their volunteer and or work experiences.”
Anson McMaster from the Siksika Nation recently helped Team South win the Alberta Cup Bantam Hockey Championships in a tournament held for the Top 160 bantam hockey players in that province.
“The Alberta Cup Championships takes place a week before the hockey drafts and is a higher level than the Bantam AAA which involves the top 160 hockey players in Alberta,” said Jamie Steer, head coach for Team South.
“They are split into eight teams and this year Alberta South won the championship!”
Steer named McMaster the team’s assistant captain for the hockey tournament at the first try-outs. “It was fairly easy because Anson is one of the best. He skates really well both forward and backwards, and he works really hard,” Steer said. “He’s a quiet leader, a front-of-the-line player. One thing I noticed as the tournament progressed is he got better. I always tell my players if a team gets better every game, they’ll win the tournament.”
At the team’s awards banquet, the 14 year old, 6 feet 4 inch tall, 175 pound McMaster won Defensemen of the Year, Top Scorer, and Most Valuable Player, plus the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League chose him as Top Defensemen of the Year for the South Division.
I asked McMaster what he thought about winning the Alberta Cup with Team South, and his recent awards and recognition while playing for the Rocky Mountain Raiders.
“It was a pretty good experience playing with the best hockey players in the province, and winning wasn’t bad as well,” said McMaster.
During the Alberta Cup, McMaster was chosen Game Star for one of the games as Team South went on to defeat Team Northwest 5-1 in the championship game.
Among his most recent achievements, McMaster was just drafted 23rd overall in the WHL bantam draft by Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook. His parents, Mandi and Trevor Running Rabbit, are very proud of their son and instill education as a top priority.
“We are so proud and happy for our boy. He’s worked so hard through training five times a week and also keeping up his school average to 85%,” Mandi said. “We as parents have always told our kids that if they keep up with their education they can do anything they want, and for Anson that is to make it as far as he can in hockey, plus getting his schooling done along the way.”
McMaster appears to be listening to his parents as he told First Nations Drum he’s just finishing Grade 9 at the Crowther Memorial Junior High School in Strathmore, Alberta.
“Math is my favourite subject with an 85 percent average. I would like one day, maybe after hockey, possibly being a scientist.”
His favourite NHL player is Shea Webber, and if he had a choice to play for an NHL team it would definitely be his favourite team to cheer for, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
McMaster is on his way toward a bright future, and coach Steer thinks the same.
“So far he`s heading in the right direction. He’s 6 – 4, he needs to gain more body weight, needs to get stronger, and with his growth spurt he’ll continue working hard on his hockey skills. Anything is possible with this kid,” said coach Steer.
When the 2016 Juno Awards came to Treaty-Seven Blackfoot Territory, Tsuu T’ina Nation welcomed all of the inspiring artists to the area with an honouring ceremony during a special JunoFest Indigenous Showcase a few nights before the awards. The legendary Buffy Sainte-Marie stood amongst other Juno-nominated Indigenous artists including Black Bear, Armond Duck Chief, Don Amero, Cris Derksen, and Derek Miller. All of the nominees were invited to perform for their brothers and sisters at the Grey Eagle Events Centre, and it was here that they shared their unyielding passion for their craft and culture.
The night started off with the resonating cultural sounds of Black Bear, an Atikamekw drum group from the community of Manawan, Quebec. Their Juno nominated album Come And Get Your Love: The Tribe Session Powwow indulges in the tribal spirit of their ancestry. The group sang in their native tongue over traditional Atikamekw drumming, bringing the audience into the atmosphere of a powwow.
2016 Juno Aboriginal Album of the Year nominee Armond Duck Chief
The next act was Armond Duck Chief, a country singer from the Treaty-Seven community of Siksika Nation. “It’s awesome that the Juno’s this year is where I grew up” he told First Nations Drum. “I’m on cloud nine right now, and to just have my name amongst the other Juno nominees—that in and of itself is rewarding. They’re all top notch and have been grinding it out for so long.” Duck Chief performed an acoustic set for the audience, featuring three songs from his Juno nominated album The One. He swept in two awards at the last Indigenous Music Awards for the same album, but had no luck at this years Juno’s. With the expected release of another album in early 2017, it is hoped that Duck Chief will have a chance to rope in an award next year.
Don Amero followed Duck Chief, bringing to the audience his own style of strumming strings to heartfelt ballads. During his uplifting performance, Amero shared music from his Juno nominated album Refine. His album’s theme centres on the removal of toxic impurities in order to create a better sense of self. He spoke to First Nations Drum about how Canada’s community can remove it’s own impurities to create a better tomorrow. “Above all, it is important to have honest relationships with each other,” he says. “Being able to progress is about developing a community and trying to get people to realize that it’s not about government programming. It’s not about saying ‘Hey, here’s some money to help you with your situation.’ It’s about saying ‘I want to walk with you. I want to become a brother. I want to become a cousin. I want to become a friend.’ I think that this is not happening enough, and I think a lot of people in the non-Indigenous community are saying ‘Alright, well we need to fix this problem; I hope the government gets on that.” My mission is to change people’s mind and say ‘It’s not up to the government—It’s up to you.” Although Amero did not win a Juno this year, his vision and voice are vital to have in music.
Next up was half-Cree Albertan musician Cris Derksen, a cellist who captivated the audience with her multi-dimensional performance. She started off with a live improvisation that embraced the acoustics of her cello, creating heavy bevies of beautiful sound by weaving her bow masterfully along its strings. Within her Juno nominated album Orchestral Powwow, Derksen braids traditional powwow singing and drumming together with new-age electronic manipulation, creating unique textures that overlap and culminate in genre-defying arrangements. As for the rest of her performance at the showcase, she decided to share songs that she will be putting onto her upcoming album, including a piece that was written in respect for the missing Indigenous women across Canada. Unlike the other Aboriginal Juno nominees, Derksen was nominated in the category of Instrumental Album of the Year. While she didn’t win the award, she hopes her next album will be nominated for another Juno in 2017.
2016 Juno Aboriginal Album of the Year nominee Derek Miller.
Blues guitarist Derek Miller of Six Nations in Ontario hit the stage next, belting out songs from his Juno nominated album Rumble. Receiving a Juno in 2003 and 2008, Miller was well-seasoned in his performance at the showcase. With a band accompany him, he rumbled the auditorium with heavy guitar riffs and rocking blues songs. He even did a cover of “Come And Get Your Love” by Redbone, adding his own flare of grittiness and snarling vocals.
Above all, though, Buffy Sainte-Marie was the standout performing artist of the evening. Accompanied by her band, she sang multiple songs from her Juno nominated album Power In The Blood, as well as many others from her past records including “Darling Don’t Cry,” “Universal Soldier,” and “Little Wheel Spin and Spin.” On Juno award night, Sainte-Marie received not only Aboriginal Album of the Year, but was also recognized for her work’s thought-provoking lyricism and received the award for Songwriter of the Year. During her acceptance of the awards, Sainte-Marie shared a spoken word segment of her lyrics from the closing track on her album Carry It On, which she also shared at the JunoFest showcase.
“Hold your head up,” she said. “Lift the top of your mind, put your eyes on the Earth. Lift your heart to your own home planet–what do you see? What is your attitude? Are you here to improve or damn it? Look right now and you will see, we’re only here by the skin of our teeth as it is, so take heart and take care of your link with life. It ain’t money that makes the world go around, that’s only temporary confusion. It ain’t governments that make people strong, it’s the opposite illusion. Look right now and you will see, they’re only here by the skin of our teeth as it is, so take heart and take care of your link with life… Life is beautiful if you got the sense to take care of your source of perfection. Mother Nature, she’s the daughter of God and the source of all protection. Look right now, and you will see she’s only here by the skin of her teeth as it is, so take heart and take care of your link with life.”
All of these artists exhibit the strength of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples, especially through a shared connection to culture, tradition, Mother Earth, and community. Check out these Juno nominated albums to see how our indigenous culture is being represented in the innovative music of today.
2016 Juno Award winner Buffy Sainte-Marie takes home Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and Aboriginal Album of the Year for Power In the Blood.
The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) and AFOA Canada (formerly Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada) announced on February 19th that they’re building on a long-standing and collaborative relationship through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). “We both share a common vision,” says Tashia Batstone, vice president of education services with CPA Canada. “We each represent professionals who demonstrate a commitment to help organizations and communities succeed through high standards, accountability, and strong decision making.”
Tashia Batstone (Vice-President of Education Services at CPA Canada) and Terry Goodtrack (AFOA Canada President CEO)
Canadian CPA is one of the world’s preeminent accounting and business designations, and they are committed to supporting the development of strong financial leaders in the Aboriginal community. “Working with the AFOA and through our continued participation in programs such as the Martin Aboriginal Initiative, CPA Canada is committed to making a positive contribution to economic and social development in Canada,” said Batstone. “In discussions with AFOA executives we determined there was considerable alignment between the AFOA’s CAFM designation and the CPA Canada ACAF, and therefore we felt that an agreement that would recognize this alignment made good business sense for both organizations.” CPA Canada is committed to working with CPA Canada’s Aboriginal community and very much supported a strong relationship with the AFOA.
CPA Canada will be offering support by providing an efficient pathway to the new CPA Canada Advanced Certificate in Accounting and Finance (ACAF). The ACAF is an online education program created for students looking for junior and intermediate careers in accounting and finance. CPA Canada will work on integrating some course material from its ACAF program into the curriculum to become a Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager (CAFM). This will provide CAFM students an accelerated route to obtain the ACAF.
“The health and success of our Aboriginal communities can be linked to financial wellness and its management capacity,” states Terry Goodtrack, president and CEO of AFOA Canada. “Certified Professionals are key to communities in their journey towards social and economic prosperity. This relationship with CPA Canada just makes sense and continues to strengthen our ability to produce the top Aboriginal accounting and financial professionals.”
With the MOU, CPA Canada is also looking ahead, beyond just program support. “CPA Canada will also look for opportunities to increase exposure to Indigenous culture and history to members and students through professional development and education programs,” adds Kevin Dancey, president and CEO of CPA Canada. “We look forward to a strengthened working relationship with AFOA Canada and continuing to explore ways our two organizations can bring value to our members.”
Batstone says that the CAFM designation includes a module on Aboriginal history and culture. “This course would be very relevant to our CPAs and students who work with the aboriginal community. I would hope that through this partnership we will be able to make these types of opportunities available to our members.”
I had the opportunity to interview Melanie Mark, newly elected MLA for Vancouver/Mount Pleasant, a riding that was held by outgoing Jenny Kwan for the last 19 years. She graciously agreed to an interview, and we initially decided to meet at Our Town Cafe in the heart of her Mount Pleasant riding, but she suggested we walk across the street to the Kingsgate Mall, where we could find a quieter spot on one of the benches. As it turns out, the location was a place of fond memories.
Kingsgate Mall is in a predominantly working class, blue collar neighbourhood where Melanie Mark grew up. We found a good little bench in the middle of the mall, and she began introducing herself. Friendly and personable, Melanie shared with me that she knows almost every area in Mount Pleasant and that growing up she’d hang out with friends at the Kingsgate Mall to get a bite to eat or just sit and enjoy a cold pop. “I’ve moved at least 30 times in my life around Mount Pleasant and the east side. My mom still lives in the Downtown Eastside (DTES),” she said, “and I really just enjoy this area and being involved with the community.”
Melanie is a First Nations woman with Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Cree, Ojibway, French, and Scottish background. Her grandmother is from the Nisga’a Territory, and her grandfather was raised from the Gitxsan territory. She is a 40-year-old single mother of two daughters, a 5-year-old and 12-year-old. Her educational background includes a criminology diploma with one-year at Native Education College and a one-year transfer program with Douglas College, in addition to a degree in political science and a minor in sociology from Simon Fraser University.
I asked Melanie about her motivation to enter politics, and she began by saying that she spent eight years representing children and youth and advocating for the most vulnerable families, children, and youth throughout British Columbia. “Quite frankly, I saw enough people hit dead ends and brick walls and suffering the system that is supposed to be there to help,” Melanie said. “I felt like an effective advocate who fought for children’s rights, but it felt like I was fighting one battle a time instead of making systemic change.”
She went on to say that 2016 was a big surprise for a lot of people when Libby Davies decided not to run federally and Jenny Kwan ran and won for Vancouver East. That left Kwan’s seat available for the first time in 19 years. “Jenny and Libby held their spots for so long, so I thought I would run in 2017. That would give me a couple of years to learn the ropes, network, meet people, and build up a base, but everything moved so quickly. I had to decide just like that to put my name in the hat and run last April.”
Melanie then began the hard work of fundraising for her campaign because, in her words “campaigning is not cheap: paying for buttons, staff, campaign offices.” She then started connecting with the people by going up and down the hill of Mount Pleasant, saying that it was and still is “fantastic.”
Melanie Mark escorted by B.C. NDP leader, John Horgan, during a swearing in ceremony at legislature as members of the Nisga’a First Nations drummers perform honour song.
I asked her to share her thoughts on the night of her election victory with a commanding NDP stronghold of 5,353 votes (61%); trailing distantly was Green Party candidate Pete Fry with 2,325 votes (26%). “I have to tell you, I was in a backroom at the Heritage Hall with my grandmother’s button blanket, and I was told to stay in that room because the guests and band were arriving. As I waited, I looked at my cell phone and saw on my Twitter that I had won! So it was Twitter that told me that I had won, and of course I began to cry.”
Melanie continued, “Regardless what people say that this is a solid riding and Jenny was there for 19 years, I’m the new kid on the block. No one knew who I was. I had to work as hard as I possibly could and get people’s confidence. It was an incredible emotional day considering where I came from, and to achieve something like this is beyond my wildest dreams.”
I asked to her to describe why her campaign was successful, being a first time political candidate. “I’m not a stubborn person, but I know my own style, and I knew I was going to do things my way,” she explained. “My way is to go into the community, and I love connecting with people, and this is the best part of the campaign. The challenge of the campaign is that you’re basically being panelled everyday and every minute by the people you’re meeting with. You have to do a lot of homework, and you’re always studying in a way, and learning about new unions, business owners, environmental policy, so it’s an incredibly tense process, but at the same time an exhilarating process.”
Melanie says, “If you can meet people and change their minds, that’s incredible. If you meet people and they say, ‘I’ve never voted in my life, but I’m going to vote for you,’ that’s also incredible.” She continued with a story. “I met a man in his 90’s who served in the war, and he said. ‘No no, I’m not interested. So I said, ‘Ahh, you know that’s fine, with all due respect, I respect your opinion.’” Not long after speaking to this gentleman, she saw him again. Melanie explained that she guessed he read her bio. “He came down to the lobby and told me, ‘I’m going to vote for you. We’ve treated the Indigenous people of this country horribly, and the fact that you’re standing here proud, a single mother working so hard, I’ll vote for you.’ So you can imagine how impactful that is when a person in their 90’s, who is not Native and has never voted in his life… that’s powerful.”
Melanie also grew up partly in foster care, so to be able to share her experiences with with children and youth in foster care is quite remarkable. Some youth she once advocated for in foster care approached her and asked to work on her campaign. “They would tell people, ‘I know Melanie Mark will fight for you, cause she fought for me when I was kid in care.’ Imagine a 19-year-old kid out of foster care campaigning for you—that is an amazing and empowering experience.”
Melanie Mark says she will focus on three key areas housing affordability, child care, and economic sustainability. “We’re in a housing crisis, there are children impacted by welfare in the DTES and the child care crisis, and the third issue is the green economy—those are the three issues that came out in the campaign.”
Over the next few months, Melanie plans to get accustomed to her role in the legislature and familiarize herself with its structure, and she anticipates going in and making strong statement in the legislature on behalf of Mount Pleasant. She says, “The more connected I’m with my constituency, the better the people of Mount Pleasant are being heard.”
Melanie also touched on other issues, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman. “We know a lot of Indigenous women are particularly vulnerable in the DTES, and those women are not usually from Vancouver; they’re from throughout the province and country. One murdered person is enough,” she said. “We waited for twelve hundred, and the grassroots people had to push for an inquiry—we need to keep pushing the envelope.”
She also expressed her view on housing affordability, “There are over 1000 people homeless in Vancouver, and a large part are Aboriginal. The streets are where people are being subjected to extreme violence, and most are woman. This doesn’t mean men are not affected, and the youth going out of foster care to single room housing or even on the streets; they have nowhere else to live.”
Melanie Mark believes it’s a new era in Canada with Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government. “I think the people spoke loud and clear: anything but the conservatives. People had enough with the dictatorship we lived in under the conservatives. He (the prime minister) has a huge mandate, and the fact that the Murdered and Indigenous Woman Inquiry is going forward, to move any process in government, and the fact that it is moving, there’s a real sense of change and optimism,” she noted, “but it’s early.”
Almost immediately after ending her sentence, a passer-by came up to her to congratulate her, then another, and another. Soon Melanie was surrounded by well wishers talking about their hopes for the new MLA. I can see why she was elected in the BC Legislature. She is approachable, and the NDP’s are definitely fortunate to have her on their side.
Melanie Mark has become the first-ever First Nations woman elected to the BC Legislature, and her win has been celebrated by Indigenous people and supporters throughout Canada. “Today is another milestone in the history of the Nisga’a people and for Aboriginal women across British Columbia,” said H. Mitchell Stevens, President of Nisga’a Lisims Government.
Melanie Mark is of Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Ojibway, and Cree ancestry. She was raised in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside by parents who struggled with addiction and a father who died of an overdose. A single mother and the former president of the Urban Native Youth Association, she is now the new NDP MLA for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant. “This isn’t my first rodeo,” she said. Ms. Mark joins Jody Wilson-Raybould (the first Indigenous female Minister of Justice) and Carole James (the first Metis MLA) as prominent Indigenous politicians in BC.
Melanie Mark is of Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Ojibway, and Cree ancestry. Raised in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, she is the first ever First Nations woman elected to the BC Legislature.
After all the ballots were counted, Mark won with a commanding NDP stronghold in the Mount Pleasant riding (5,353 votes at 61%). Trailing distantly was Green Party candidate Pete Fry with 2,325 votes at 26%, followed by the Liberal Party’s Gavin Dew with 994 votes and 11%. Ms. Mark succeeds Jenny Kwan, who resigned the seat in advance of her successful run for Parliament as the NDP candidate in Vancouver East.
“It’s exciting to see that happen with Indigenous women in BC,” says Wab Kinew, acclaimed Indigenous educator, author, and activist—one of an increasing number of First Nations people to throw his hat into the ring of Canadian politics. Kinew has announced his candidacy for the Manitoba NDP in this year’s provincial election.
The first Aboriginal man ever elected to a legislature in Canada was Frank Calder. He was elected in the BC constituency of Atlin in 1949 and remained in office until 1979. But it wouldn’t be until 1978 that Len Marchand, a member of the Okanagan Indian Band, would become the first Indigenous member in the House of Commons. The second Aboriginal man elected was Larry Guno, a lawyer and playwright who represented Atlin from 1986 to 1991.
Ms. Mark focused her campaign on achieving a fairer deal for low-income people, highlighting the lack of affordable housing, the precarious job market, and rising costs of tuition, medical-services, and BC Hydro fees. She wrote on a website before the elections, “I was raised in social housing in East Van, and I moved more than 30 times in my life.”
It will be people like Melanie Mark who ensure the history books don’t look as bleak another 100 years from now. “It’s always scary, as you can imagine, to stand up and fight power when you don’t come from privilege,” Mark said at a campaign event. “And people say if you’re a leader you can’t be emotional.” Mark said she can’t wait to fight.
Growing up in the cold Manitoba winter, Sean McCormick proudly wore his mukluks wherever he walked. A deep appreciation for his Métis culture led him to start designing his own mukluks using hand tanned leather, which he traded for handcrafted footwear from local producers and then sold to local souvenir shops. McCormick eventually started his own business, Manitobah Mukluks [www.manitobah.ca], in 1997. Since then, the company has experienced phenomenal growth, and in 2014, Fortune Magazine designated the company as one of the fastest-growing Canadian Companies.
An array of mukluk creations—the final project for the 2015 graduating students.
To set his mukluks apart from others, McCormick hired generations of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters whose Métis traditions influence the unique product designs. In 2013, McCormick went a step further by creating the Storyboot School. Students learn about the Métis culture, establish relationships with elders and artisans, and practice the expression of traditional values. The school has grown and added to the curriculum with more sessions, training workshops, soapstone carving, dream-catcher classes, visual arts, and storytelling, as well as creating a growing digital archive of free instructional online videos and more. This venture will create new generations of mukluk designers and carry on traditions of McCormick’s past among First Nations youth, as well as people from other cultures.
The Storyboot School is a not-for-profit Indigenous arts-based training initiative that works with national and local partners to preserve the traditional art of making mukluks and moccasins. To ensure the Storyboot School has a national presence, eight training partners have come on board: McGill University, University of British Columbia, Carleton University, Bata Shoe Museum, Wabano Cultural Centre, Manitobah Mukluks Board Room, Wanipigow School, and the Community Holistic Circle Healing in Hollow Walter First Nation.
On December 1, 2015, the UBC First Nations House of Learning (in partnership with Manitobah Mukluks) hosted a graduation ceremony for the Manitobah Storyboot School. This year, fifteen graduates received their certificates, and approximately 240 students have completed the program so far.
