Member Profile

FIRST NATIONS EDUCATION: I have written an authorized narrative history of Wandering Spirit Survival School (WSSS), working very closely with my co-author, Cree Elder Pauline Shirt. I also have a chapter on WSSS in ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLING AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: Canadian Stories of Democracy within Bureaucracy (Palgrave, NY, 2017).

I will offer 80 minute sessions (up to 60 students) in classrooms or join in an auditorium presentation with others.

Beginning with the personal story of Wandering Spirit, the War Chief of Big Bear's band and the person that Pauline Shirt named her school for, I will speak to Junior, Intermediate, and High School students about:   a) the general history of First Nations education in Canada and the impetus for founding a Native Way school in Canada,   b) the struggle of various nations for recognition of First Nations human rights by the provincial and federal governments, including the discriminatory and punishing clauses that still exist in the Indian Act,   and c) The Native Peoples' Caravan to Ottawa in 1974, which resulted in a so-called 'riot' and led First Nations to rise up with programmes of their own under the idea of Indian Rights to Indian Education so students could be educated to their own heritage

POETRY: I will visit age groupings (Primary, Junior, Intermediate, High School) in individual classrooms for 80 minutes (double period) or an auditorium presentation. 

Grades 1-3: 80 minutes (double period)
Who I am (5 minutes) and Presentation (10 minutes) of my own unpublished children’s book/mock-up for In the Beginning There was You. This will be followed by a Workshop (45 minutes) where groups of 4 or 5 students brainstorm together and write -- alternating with different coloured markers -- their own poem and drawings together on chart paper. The class teacher and I will circulate in the classroom to assist students in their work as necessary. Finally, Students Present Their Poem (& Illustrations?) (20 minutes) with assistance as needed. Follow-Up is that these chart paper posters can be shared in depth with their class and homeroom teacher.
Grades 4-6: 80 minutes
Who I am (5 minutes) and Presentation (10 minutes) of my own chapbook Pineapple Cheese. This will be followed by a Workshop (45 minutes) where groups of 4 or 5 students brainstorm to help each other write their own poem for a small collection, seeking advice from each other as needed. The class teacher and I will circulate in the classroom to assist students in their work as necessary. The goal is to create a small book together on 8 x 11 size paper. Student groups briefly Present Their Poetry Book (20 minutes) with encouragement as necessary. Follow-Up is to create a cover for their book and staple it together so it can be shared in depth with their class and homeroom teacher.
Grades 7-12: 80 minutes
Who I am (5 minutes) and Presentation (15 minutes) of several poems of my own to present both form (e.g., sonnet) and free verse.  Workshop (40 minutes) working individually or in partners, students decide on a form or free verse approach and create their own poems. The goal is to write a class book, so each student should write on 8 x 11 paper. They can choose their own themes or using a ‘big idea’ specified by the classroom teacher (e.g., How I feel about climate change). That big idea can be related to their studies in science, geography, history or whatever seems appropriate. The idea is to communicate both their ideas and their feelings related to the theme or big idea. The class teacher and I will circulate in the classroom to assist students in their work as necessary. Students will then volunteer to Present Their Poem (20 minutes). Follow-Up is to type and print out their poem on the computer, ready to be collected in a class book. The teacher can hold a contest, with every student offering a vote for the design of the book cover.