The 2022 Indigenous Summer Scholars

Taylor is training with Dr. Paul DePasquale and Dr. Katherine Ready on The Past in the Present, Possibilities for the Future: The Indigenous Eighteenth Century.

"I graduated high school at College Beliveau, tried out for the jazz program at the U of M but did not get in. After a few years of working I found my passion for helping people achieve fitness goals through coaching Muay Thai. I competed a couple of times within that time period as well and this is how I found my way onto the path of becoming an athletic therapist!

I am a certified personal trainer, working in the field as a trainer and coaching bootcamps and Muay Thai. I like to play guitar, lift weights, train in Muay Thai and just hang out with people. My passion is helping people and I am finding my way to contribute to that goal to the greatest capacity through Athletic Therapy and helping people alleviate their pain."

Manuele is training with Dr. Caleb Hasler on Age, morphology, and growth analysis of lake trout and lake whitefish populations in Manitoba.

"I consider myself embracing multiple roles and identities. Firstly, I am Francophone- Red River Metis on my father's side. Some of my family names include McMullen, Lamontagne, Frigon, Rivard, Bellanger, Landry, and Allard. Our family moved around from Saint Boniface, St Norbert, St. Eustache, San Clara and the central St Boniface area within Winnipeg which is where I have grown up. I am also Mexican-Mestiza on my mother’s side, having Indigenous roots within the Oaxaca and Campeche regions. I have grown up with the privilege of being white-passing compared to the rest of my family. However, I also grew up quite disconnected from my Indigenous roots focusing instead on French- Canadian and Mexican cultures growing up. I am also a 3rd-year undergrad student majoring in International Development Studies. I focus my studies on how the Eurocentric mindset of development has been harmful to Global South and Indigenous communities and how local grassroots and community initiatives can be more beneficial. I am also part of the queer community and continue to be fluid with my sexual and gender identities.

I am an artist and creator and have used art to intertwine and connect my multiple identities. I bead, paint, embroider and more. I am a sister, daughter, partner and friend. I try my best to know my responsibility and relation to land, water and community all of which sustain me. Therefore, I try to walk as softly as I can while being conscious of the ripples I create."

Dominique is training with Laura Forsyth, PhD candidate, on The Importance of Métis-specific Academic spaces: A Case study Mawachihitotaak (Let's Get Together) Métis Symposium.

"Hello, my name is Jessica Ducharme, and I am a soon to be 5th year student at the University of Winnipeg. I am a queer, Michif person from Winnipeg, MB. As of this June 2022 I have been accepted into the University of Winnipeg’s Joint Radiation Therapy program at Cancer care Manitoba.

As for my family, it is has become increasingly small over the past 8 years, as of current it is my mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and I. My mother and I are the only ones who live in Winnipeg, we both work two jobs, and as they say teamwork makes the dream work, and because of our teamwork we have been very lucky and have been able to get by.

With working mostly full-time over the past 5.5 years, and applying to scholarships, I have been able to afford to put myself through university, thus far, and have had the chance to find new interests through university. I was able to explore my love for foreign languages and start my first 2.5 years of school, and had explored East Asian languages such as, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese dialect. As well as my interests in the social sciences, also known as Sociology. Hopefully, by the end of my degree, I should graduate with a minor in East Asian Languages and Culture, a Sociology minor, along with my Bachelor of Science in Physics with the focus of Radiation Therapy.

Whilst in University I was introduced to the .caiSES group and found a community with a passion for cultural revitalization, and community contributions. I am very grateful to have been introduced to such an intelligent group of people and they have been such an amazing support system. This group has allowed me to find new hobbies as well as reconnect to my culture like I had not been able to before. Over the beginning of the pandemic the .caiSES group held zoom workshops and I learned how to make a ribbon skirt for the first time, and now it is one of my favourite things to do when I feel like I need a new project. I also really enjoy beading and was lucky, as during my term as Vice President we had held a beading night with a guest beader and I was allowed a relaxing evening doing one of my favourite hobbies essentially with a zoom group of friends.

Along with hobbies/passions/hidden talents, I have a love for pole-dancing, I am an intermediate level for static pole, and my favourite move to do is a combination move from what is called a “chair” to a “back hook”. It is one of my favourite’s because static pole does not involve much spinning, and this combo allows for more movement and less upper body strength. I am also a huge gym-rat (I love to lift heavy things for fun), the heaviest thing my body can move/lift is 270lbs and I think it is time to increase my weights (my next goal is to be able to move triple my body weight!). I hope this gave you a slight insight to my person"

Jessica is training with Dr. Melanie Martin, Dr. Ingvar Fife, and Dr. Harry Ingleby on Radiation Dose in Dental Cone Beam Computed Tomography.

"Boozhoo, I am Anishinabe-Metis. I grew up north of Winnipeg between the two big lakes called Eriksdale.I am Turtle Clan. I am a sundancer. I am a helper at ceremony.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies and will be starting a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies next year where I will research access to clean drinking water. I enjoy beading, painting, hugging and learning from the trees, drinking tea, and spending time with loved ones."

Megan is training with Dr. Mark Ruml on Indigenous Spiritual Biography.

Read more about Megan here.

Cameron is training with Dr. Mavis Reimer, Dr. Melanie Braith, and Dr. Roland Bohr on The Six Seasons of the Askinikaw Īthiniwak and Asiniskaw Īthiniwak/Rocky Cree Place Names.

"My name is Daniel Nychuk. I am a Métis man born the youngest of three siblings and come from rural Manitoba on a family farm. I enjoy living an active lifestyle. I have played many sports throughout my life which include, hockey, soccer, basketball, and baseball with my favourite being hockey. My passion and knowledge for the game of hockey has also led me to have the opportunity to Coach my High School Hockey Team this past winter. I just recently completed a Bachelor of Commerce Honors degree in Accounting and Finance from the Asper School of Business and have just been accepted to be enrolled at the University of Winnipeg’s Master's in Development Practice-Indigenous Development (MDP) in the Fall of 2022.

This summer I am working with Dr. Janis Thiessen on the Manitoba Food History Project. The project has an objective to answer two key questions How has food been produced, purchased, and consumed in Manitoba? And how have those processes changed over time? I will get the opportunity to conduct an oral history interview to be archived in the Oral History Center at the University of Winnipeg. I will also get the opportunity to turn my research into a podcast or story map that will help in contributing to the Manitoba Food History Project and tell my story in a creative manner. I will also be given the chance to be on The Food History Truck where I get to sit in on life story interviews and eat local meaningful food to help further understand the business, labour and history of food in the province of Manitoba.

In the ISSP program I hope to build a foundation of knowledge and relationships to add to my current education and skillset to help strengthen my understanding of what it takes to be a graduate level student both in and out of the classroom. In the future I hope to use my Cando accredited Economic Development Officer Certification obtained within the MDP program and apply my knowledge in my Commerce degree toward Economic Development in Indigenous Communities. So far, my experience in the ISSP program has been great. I have had the opportunity to try and learn new things during the workshops that I have not had the chance to do during my undergraduate degree. I look forward to using these useful skills and practices moving forward in my future endeavours."

Read more about Daniel here.

Stacy is training with Dr. Lyida Schoepnner and Tagak Curley on Uppinaq - Letters from Nunavut: Inuit cultural loss and survival in the 1960s and 1970s.

Corey is training with Dr. Sanoji Wijenayake and Dr. Nora Casson on Impact of atmospheric phosphorous deposition in streams on the native microbiota. 

Read more about Corey here.

"Erin indizhinikaaz. Anishinaabe-Irish ikwe indaaw, Oshki-ishkonigan indoonji. My name is Erin. I am an Ojibwe-Irish woman from Peguis First Nation. I am graduating this fall with a Bachelors Honours degree in psychology. My hobbies include beading, going to coffee shops, and traveling, my favourite place to travel is anywhere that has mountains!"

Erin is training with Dr. Gina Sylvetre on Housing Insecurity and Older Women.

Hannah is training with Dr. Nora Casson on Impacts of climate change on carbon cycling in boreal forests.