Education News Fall2015/Winter 2016 | Page 9

PEACE BUILDER AWARD
INAUGURAL INDIGENOUS SCHOLAR AT NIPISSING UNIVERSITY

PEACE BUILDER AWARD

Photo credit : Dr . Vianne Timmons
Shauneen Pete receiving the Peace Builder Award at the Intercultural Dialogue Institute ’ s 4th Annual Friendship Dinner on March 15 , 2016 .
Dr . Shauneen Pete , Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education , and Indigenization Lead for the University of Regina , was honoured as the recipient of the 2016 Peace Builder Award presented on March 15 by the Regina Intercultural Dialogue Institute at its 4th Annual Friendship Dinner .
Shauneen ’ s advocacy for indigenization , reconciliation , and Aboriginal education were acknowledged as critical to educating generations of peace builders . She spoke eloquently about our shared responsibilities to live out the TRC Calls to Action , to be in ethical relation with Indigenous peoples of this land , and to work collectively toward a better future .

INAUGURAL INDIGENOUS SCHOLAR AT NIPISSING UNIVERSITY

Dr . Shauneen Pete , Executive Lead : Indigenization at the University of Regina and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education was the inaugural Indigenous Scholar in Residence at Nipissing University from January 25-29 , 2016 .
“ It was an honour for me to be asked to be the inaugural Indigenous scholar at Nipissing and to be able to meet with the students , faculty and staff who are engaged in Indigenization within their university community ,” says Pete . “ In addition to participating in a variety of events , workshops and discussions , I was delighted to be able to deliver the keynote address for Nipissing ’ s Centre for Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Arts and Sciences .”
Titled , Unraveling Community in Indigenous Community-University Research Collaborations , Pete ’ s address identified Indigenous communities as complex places with often integrated and complicated social justice issues . Pete emphasized that these communities can provide researchers new opportunities for relationship building and the possibility for innovative research collaborations by addressing the questions : Where do we begin ? How do we initiate culturally respectful relationships ? What are our roles as university researchers ?
“ I was also thrilled to join former U of R colleague Dr . Spy Dénommé-Welch , Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education at Brock University , earlier this month to speak about the need to create and nurture pedagogically responsive and inclusive spaces for Indigenous knowledge systems ,” says Pete .
“ We provided two lectures as part of Brock ’ s Distinguished Speaker series . The first was with 250 undergraduate Education students at the Hamilton Campus , which was also live-streamed to the St . Catharines campus . The second was in the evening with a diverse group of faculty , staff and graduate students .
“ These opportunities speak to the growing interest in the Indigenization of higher education across the country and the University of Regina ’ s leadership in this area .”
From University of Regina , Feature Stories By Everett Dorma
Faculty of Education Education News Fall 2015 / Winter 2016 Page 9