Member Profile

Robert Kakakaway

I am from White Bear First Nations, near Carlyle SK. I currently live on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation south of Saskatoon, SK. I married Vanessa Little Crow on September 21, 2002, and we have eight children and numerous grandchildren. As the president of Kakakaway & Associates, I believe in the value of a good education.

In high school, my English instructor told me I should prepare myself for a trade because he did not believe I would attend university. To be spiteful, I graduated from U.B.C. in 1992 with a B.G.S. degree. I also earned an Addictions Counselling Diploma, Wellness Counselling Diploma, and numerous certificates. On April 1/22 I was accepted into The Writers Union of Canada.

I wrote a memoir for my children about my early childhood experiences in a residential school. I decided they should know about the history of our people. Eventually, I decided to publish my experiences so others would learn about these horrific schools.

Writing about those painful memories was a difficult thing to do, but I felt it was important for Canadians to read about life behind those hellhole prison walls. As I wrote, I could still hear the haunting cries of small boys in the dorm who missed their parents and wanted to go home. There were times when I stopped writing and put my head on my desk and cried.

I am currently writing programs based on Indigenous spirituality so I can return the teachings we lost during the residential school era. With this COVID-19 pandemic, I can no longer facilitate traditional teachings in the sacred circle. Therefore, I am writing books and programs dealing with spirituality. Education is our new bison, so I look forward to publishing my books when the time is right. Aho!