Christine Bird
I am an Anishinaabe, Nehiyaw woman and mother of five from the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba. Prior to attending my Master’s and PhD, I spent the last 26 years learning from our elders, cultural practitioners and medicine people; our songs, prayers and ceremonies. I have come to understand how important this way of life is for the future of our people and for our children. Since beginning this journey I have sought to understand and continue to learn all that I can about our relationship to the land, our ancestors, and to the spirit of all that gives us life. It is my hope to continue to articulate this understanding to our children and young people, connecting them in a spiritual way to an understanding of who they are; what their responsibilities are to the land and water; and how to uphold and protect all that is sacred to our people.
I completed my Master’s of Indigenous Governance in 2014. My research and community governance project was carried out with the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. My research critically examined how Indigenous peoples engage with cultural resurgence, language revitalization and land based praxis to strengthen nationhood and address the ongoing process of colonization.
I am currently completing my fourth year of my PhD program in Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. The purpose of my PhD research is to identify models of Indigenous governance: that respects Indigenous women’s ability to govern; is grounded in a sacred relationship with the land and water; and one that engages language and culture to guide the process. Focusing on three distinct land-based resurgence movements, including the Áse Ti Tewá:ton Program in the Onkwenhonwe (Mohawk) community of Akwesasne; Ochekwi-sipi Mino-yaw Program in the Nehiyawuk (Cree) community of Ochekwi-sipi (Fisher River Cree Nation) and the Hui Mālama ike Ala ‘Ūlili Program in the Kanaka community of Koholālele in Pa’auilo (Hilo, Hawaii), it is the intention of this research to understand how these communities are consciously and critically engaging ways that restore their sacred relationship to the land and water; the manner in which they are developing sustainable practices that restore traditional food and educational systems; and methods of developing the critical skills needed to address a contemporary colonial reality. Research will integrate existing scholarship, community-based practice and Indigenous knowledge to create an understanding of the traditional/ancestral governance practices that are being generated through these land-based resurgence movements. Through a comparative analysis, this research will seek to understand how each of these communities are using Indigenous language, culture and their relationship to the land as a foundation for restoring ancestral ways of thinking, being and doing, that underlie traditional governance models. The research will provide communities with strategies to move away from an external, violent, dependency-creating style of governance that is consistent with western political approaches to a system of Indigenous governance that upholds Indigenous traditions of agency, leadership, decision-making and diplomacy.
Supervisors: Dr. Noelani Goodyear-Ka'ōpua, Dr. Devi Dee Mucina
I completed my Master’s of Indigenous Governance in 2014. My research and community governance project was carried out with the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. My research critically examined how Indigenous peoples engage with cultural resurgence, language revitalization and land based praxis to strengthen nationhood and address the ongoing process of colonization.
I am currently completing my fourth year of my PhD program in Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. The purpose of my PhD research is to identify models of Indigenous governance: that respects Indigenous women’s ability to govern; is grounded in a sacred relationship with the land and water; and one that engages language and culture to guide the process. Focusing on three distinct land-based resurgence movements, including the Áse Ti Tewá:ton Program in the Onkwenhonwe (Mohawk) community of Akwesasne; Ochekwi-sipi Mino-yaw Program in the Nehiyawuk (Cree) community of Ochekwi-sipi (Fisher River Cree Nation) and the Hui Mālama ike Ala ‘Ūlili Program in the Kanaka community of Koholālele in Pa’auilo (Hilo, Hawaii), it is the intention of this research to understand how these communities are consciously and critically engaging ways that restore their sacred relationship to the land and water; the manner in which they are developing sustainable practices that restore traditional food and educational systems; and methods of developing the critical skills needed to address a contemporary colonial reality. Research will integrate existing scholarship, community-based practice and Indigenous knowledge to create an understanding of the traditional/ancestral governance practices that are being generated through these land-based resurgence movements. Through a comparative analysis, this research will seek to understand how each of these communities are using Indigenous language, culture and their relationship to the land as a foundation for restoring ancestral ways of thinking, being and doing, that underlie traditional governance models. The research will provide communities with strategies to move away from an external, violent, dependency-creating style of governance that is consistent with western political approaches to a system of Indigenous governance that upholds Indigenous traditions of agency, leadership, decision-making and diplomacy.
Supervisors: Dr. Noelani Goodyear-Ka'ōpua, Dr. Devi Dee Mucina
less
Uploads