2020 Undergraduate Summer Student Stipend Winners

I am currently in my  second year of my Baccalauréat ès arts with a major in French Language and a minor in Native Studies at the University of Alberta in the Faculté St. Jean. I am from Medicine Hat, Alberta, my family came from a Métis community in Western Manitoba where a large majority of my family still resides. I received my Métis Nation of Alberta card in 2012 and has since  made learning and better understanding the Métis Identity a priority. I enjoy spending time outdoors with an interest in plants and the environment, such as the way plants grow, the regions, the seasons and the changes. Through this I have become more aware of the medicinal qualities of plants and their value to health and wellness. Throughout my education in Native Studies, I have come to learn how my interest in medicinal plants are embedded in Métis Identity. This has become a key part of my Métis Identity and is one of the reasons for the choice of this project.

I grew up in Prince George, British Columbia, come from Cree, Ojibway, and Metis descendence, and I am adopted as a Blackfoot. I was given the sacred name of Apiskonakii (Far Shooter) by Elder Miksika'am, and was told I "will always aim far and I will always hit my targets." Mohkinstis (Calgary, Alberta), has been my home for about 10 years, and I envision myself working in Indigenous Health here in Treaty 7. A lot of my personal and research experience has moved me towards mental health, and more recently working in anti-racism spaces. I think about myself as a mostly an urban indigenous person living in a settler center. I'm also a Hiphop Emcee who goes by the name MC GoodMedicine (because I believe that our words can be good medicine), and have been working with youth through Hiphop to decolonize our minds. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the support of my family, kin, and partner, and as much as this is my story, they are the relational ties that make my narrative worthwhile.

Louis Crowshoe is an Indigenous U of C student from Piikani Nation. Using his experience in broadcasting, Louis is experimenting with various forms of media to communicate Indigenous ways of knowing. Over the summer, Louis plans to work with the Department of Family Medicine to research new methods interrupting toxic stress in Indigenous youth populations. Louis hopes to apply the skills that he will learn from the Interrupting Toxic Stress project to his goal of bringing Indigenous teachings to a wider audience.

Valerie N. Fox  is Cree Metis from Imperial Mills in Northeastern Alberta, Canada.  She is a fourth-year student studying International Indigenous Studies at the University of Calgary.  Valerie’s interdisciplinary degree has allowed her to pursue her passion as a promoter, and advocate of Indigenous peoples, health, wellness and education.  She is a current mentor for the UCalgary Campus Mental Health Strategy, publicizing her message on the importance of connecting to community.  Her professional goals are to further develop her research skills by implementing Indigenous methodologies and to continue working in the field of Indigenous Health and Wellness research.  She has a reverence for Mother Earth and loves exploring and hiking in the Canadian Rockies.

My name is Erik Morgan, I am a member of the Métis nation of Alberta. I am 22 years old and taking a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge. Over the summer, I will be investigating how a brain structure called the Hippocampus acquires spatial and emotional memories across its axis of the brain. In this project, I will be using a laser microscope to look at fluorescently labelled cells in respective brain areas and quantifying the data. I am looking forward to working with AIM-HI on this scientific adventure! 

I am a Bigstone Cree Nation member and a student of traditional environmental knowledge from Elders and land users in my community. I am an Eco-Canada Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources (BEAHR) graduate, a Natural Resources Technology transfer diploma (the first two years of an undergraduate degree) student from Portage College, and a certified trapper. I have worked for my Nation for 12 years as an environmental officer, during which time I collaborated with Alberta Environment and Parks on a community-based water study in Bigstone Cree Nation territory. I am fluent in my language, sakaw nehiyawewin. When not at work, I am an active hunter, as is my family, who speaks our language and continues to mostly live off the land and prefers bush food

Nitisîyihkâhson Shailley Peacock ahpo Amopiyesîs Iskwew, nîya nîstanaw nîstosap nititahtopiponân ekwa Maskêkosihk ohci nîya. Nehiyaw Iskwew.  Ekiskinohamâkosiyân itasi kihcikiskinohamâtow’kamikohk University of Alberta. My name is Shailley Peacock or Hummingbird Woman, I am 23 years old and I am from Enoch Cree Nation. I am a Cree woman. I study at the University of Alberta. I am currently in my third year of my Bachelor of Arts Native Studies degree alongside the Aboriginal Governance and Partnership and Community Linguist Certificate. My greatest source of inspiration comes from my brother Alex, he has autism and is non-verbal. I have witnessed my brother be treated differently because of his condition and ethnicity; I one day hope to change this. I am continuously taking steps towards creating a better world for Alex and others like him through my education and opportunities such as this. Aiy hiy ninanâskomon (Thank you, I am grateful)

My name is Shayla Scott, I have just graduated from Western University Medical Biophysics (BSc). I am of Inuit, Métis, and European descent from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. I love getting involved with my community through volunteer work with various group organizations/clubs including the Boys and Girls Club and the Ronald McDonald House. My goal is to gain experience in health sciences to pursue a career in healthcare. Outside of academics, I enjoy jogging outdoors with my Jack Russell, painting, and doing ballet barre.

Joshua White is currently in his final year of study in the Health and Physical Education degree at Mount Royal University. He will be graduating from the degree in June 2020 holding status on the President’s Honor Roll (GPA>3.75/4.0) throughout the entirety of the degree program. Throughout his undergraduate degree Josh has received over $10,000 in scholarships based upon his academic achievements.

Outside of academics Josh has been working in the strength and conditioning industry for four and a half years and is the owner of a private training studio called Alchemy Fitness. Josh is an active member in the National Strength and Conditioning Association, holding the NSCA-CPT certification. Josh utilizes evidence-based training methodologies to elicit physiological responses from his clients. His passion for the exercise sciences is evident in both is professional and academic pursuits.

Josh’s research interests include exercise physiology, biomechanics, and the application of new technologies in the exercise sciences. As a member of the Qualipu First Nation, Josh realizes he could make an impact in academia as an indigenous researcher and is continually striving for both academic and professional excellence

Shelley Wiart is a member of the North Slave Metis Alliance, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Shelley is currently finishing her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts program in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Athabasca University. She is the co-founder of an Indigenous focused holistic health program, Women Warriors (www.womenwarriors.club). Last summer she was the recipient of the Hotıì ts'eeda (NWT SPOR Support Unit) Research Capacity Development Program and the AIM-HI Undergrad Summer Student Stipend for her Indigenous women’s health research project, Digital Storytelling as an Indigenous Women’s Health Advocacy Tool: Empowering Indigenous Women to Frame Their Health Stories. She published an academic article from this research, Decolonizing Health Care: Indigenous Digital Storytelling as Pedagogical Tool for Cultural Safety in Health Care Settings in Northern Public Affairs Magazine. Shelley is also an avid writer and was awarded the Sally Manning Award for Indigenous Creative Non-Fiction (2020) in Up Here magazine. She has also earned a spot as part of Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. Shelley’s current research is an extension of her digital storytelling project and will explore how this Indigenous health research has shaped the participants health stories, and explore the significance of including participants in Indigenous knowledge translation.