F r o m t h e Dea n’s Des k
to shape the path on which I walk. Over the past 13
years, I have valued the efforts of this Faculty to take
seriously treaty education, ensuring that our students,
the current and future teachers in Saskatchewan and
beyond, are positioned to actualize treaty education
in their own classrooms.
D e an Je n
n i fe r Tup p e r
It is with very mixed emotions that I write my final
message as Dean of the Faculty of Education at the
University of Regina. In light of my imminent move
to the University of Alberta, I have been reflecting on
my 13 years at the U of R, six of which have been
in service to the Faculty and University as Associate
Dean and now Dean. It has been an incredibly rich
and rewarding time, during which I have grown as a
researcher, scholar, teacher educator, administrator,
and leader. The growth I have experienced is largely
due to the people—faculty, staff, students, and
education partners—with and for whom I have had
the privilege of working. It is here that I have come to
understand and think more deeply about treaties, the
treaty relationship, and what it means to be a treaty
person. It is here that I have been able to live my
commitment to anti-oppressive education alongside
so many amazing students and colleagues.
When I first arrived in Regina in 2004, even though
I had been a social studies teacher for several years
prior, I knew nothing about the numbered treaties
despite their foundational importance to the history
of this country. I had no understanding of their
contemporary relevance, nor was I able to consider
their significance for the future. It was former dean
Dr. Michael Tymchak who invited me to participate
in a research project exploring best practices in
treaty education. His generous invitation to me as a
beginning scholar was life changing and continues
My own daughters, who attend the public school
system in Regina, have benefitted from this
commitment and they are better people for it.
Recently, my 15-year-old participated in Treaty
4 the Next Generation, which was organized by
Regina Public teachers and attended by numerous
high school students. Two of our colleagues, Dr.
Mike Cappello and Dr. Anna-Leah King, gave the
opening address. My daughter spoke later about how
profoundly affected she and her peers were by Mike
and Anna-Leah’s invitation to think and do differently
as treaty people, and especially to engage in deep,
meaningful, and authentic forms of reconciliation.
You will see evidence of this invitation, this
commitment, to anti-oppressive education
highlighted in this issue of Education News. Stories
of faculty's and students’ decolonizing work abound,
from the second annual #TreatyEdCamp to the
inaugural Gender and Sexual Diversity Ed Camp and
from place-based learning in Lebret to the volunteer
work of students in ELNG 200.
At the UR Educators event we welcomed first year
students to the Faculty; all in attendance pledged
their commitment “to embrace the obligations
associated with the teaching profession…mindful
of the responsibility to a disciplined pursuit of
knowledge and skills, steadfast in the commitment
to unlearn oppressive and racist beliefs and values
of society, dedicated to creating a safe place for all
students and co-educators…to emulate the qualities
that support a socially just, equitable, and sustainable
society…to inspiring and transforming education for
all learners.”
I am so deeply proud to have been part of this
extraordinary Faculty. I offer my gratitude to each one
of you for inspiring me to be a better teacher, scholar,
leader, and person.
Education News | Page 3