The Indigenous Studies Program commends all of this year's award recipients.Ěý
Graduate Awards
Rathlyn Fellowship
Karen Martin (Education)
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Karen Martin, a Mi’gmaw student from Listuguj, is advancing her master’s in Education and Society by developing a Mi'gmaw Verb Conjugation Tool to support language revitalization. Her project focuses on documenting intransitive verbs for early language learning and involves creating a reference database to enhance Mi'gmaw language curricula. This builds on the foundational work of early educators and immersion programs for children as young as four.
Karen, who began her own language learning at eight and has been teaching Mi'gmaw since 2019, emphasizes the transformative impact of language on cultural identity and worldview. Her work not only supports the instruction of Mi'gmaw but also advocates for broader Canadian engagement in preserving Indigenous languages, promoting linguistic diversity as essential for community connection and cultural pride.
Dane Malenfant (Computer Science)
Dane Malenfant, a member of MĂ©tis Nation Saskatchewan, is advancing his master's in Computer Science with a focus on incorporating the principles of reciprocity into AI systems. This principle, central to Plains Indigenous cultures, embodies a tradition of balanced giving and receiving that Dane aims to translate into AI behavior.
His project reimagines traditional reciprocity in the context of reinforcement learning, challenging AI to adopt these cultural teachings through novel approaches to credit assignment problems in machine learning. Dane's research not only pushes the boundaries of AI technology but also aims to integrate Indigenous knowledge, foreseeing a future where such integration enhances language learning and economic opportunities for Indigenous communities.
Cheyenne Neszo (Law)
Cheyenne Neszo, a member of the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation near Prince George, British Columbia, specializes in class actions related to Indigenous rights and government negligence. She is also active in a language revitalization program for her Nation's dialect.
Cheyenne completed her law degree at Thompson Rivers University, clerked at the Federal Court of Canada, and worked at the Department of Justice. Currently, she is finalizing her Master of Laws thesis at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ on Indigenous tax laws. Her thesis critiques current policies like the income tax exemption under the Indian Act, arguing that while they seem to empower Indigenous Nations, they actually undermine sovereignty.
Neszo argues that Indigenous-specific tax laws are vital for reclaiming sovereignty and achieving reconciliation, stressing that the power to tax is essential to true sovereignty.
Wahéhshon Whitebean (Education)
Wahéhshon, a Wolf Clan member of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation at Kahnawà :ke, is the inaugural recipient of the Rathlyn Fellowship Award. As a mother, language advocate, and activist, she is pursuing a PhD in Educational Studies at McGill. Her work focuses on language and culture reclamation at the Kahnawà :ke Education Center, where she co-authored the education system’s first research policy and ethics code.
Her doctoral research addresses the impacts of Indian Day Schools on her community, collaborating with Elders and survivors to capture multigenerational stories. This work, which integrates Kanien’kéha language and decolonizing methodologies, aims to reframe this historical period through a strength-based, community-centered lens.
Caitlin Gilpin (Education)
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Caitlin Gilpin was born and raised in the Cree community of Wemindji, Quebec, on the east coast of James Bay, about 1,400 kilometres north of Montreal. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology, studying the concept of implicit theories of intelligence, based on the work of American psychologist and Stanford University professor Carol Dweck. During the three years she worked as a coordinator for a summer school for high school students in her community, Gilpin became convinced that intelligence isn’t something people are born with, but rather, that intelligence can be grown and nurtured.
“I noticed students who would find stuff hard, and would just make negative attributions and stop trying,” Gilpin said. “My theory is that people with a more malleable view of intelligence do better in school – not necessarily because they’re smarter, but because when they hit obstacles, they see them as opportunities to learn.”
Christopher Reid (Education)
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Christopher Reid of the Nisga’a nation, is completing a PhD in Educational Studies, focusing on urban Indigenous people’s experiences with land education, public schooling, and historical education. Reid is currently teaching a seminar dealing with Indigenous critiques of schooling and colonialism.
Reid is also involved with several education-oriented Indigenous community projects in Montreal, includingĚý, which helps Indigenous youth reconnect with their culture and heritage, andĚý, a five-year research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada which explores the benefits of land-based teachings for Indigenous young people. He also serves on the board of directors ofĚý, the city’s only public daycare centre, whose mission is to provide educational and cultural programs for First Nations, Inuit, and MĂ©tis children.
Ben Geboe (Social Work)
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Ben Geboe is doing his PhD (c.) thesis interviewing Canadian Indigenous nurses and physicians working with Indigenous community members. Findings will inform health care education programs about challenges and experiences of Indigenous health care professionals. Ben is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and has distant relatives in the Dakota in Manitoba. He is a social worker with many years of experience working with substance using and mentally ill homeless people and Native people in New York City. He is currently attending Ď㽶ĘÓƵ School of Social work and splits his time between NYC and Montreal. He works as the Native student coordinator of Indigenous Access McGill (IAM) program to promote Indigenous social work student admissions. He is descended from the Wakakdiduta family (Red Lightning) and is also part Miami and Cheyenne Arapahoe on his father’s side. His mother is Norwegian descent. Ben is very active in Two Spirit community events and social justice advocacy for Indigenous sovereignty.
Meghan Eaker (School of Nursing)
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Meghan Eaker is a nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) of mixed Cree and European ancestry. She is a member of the Woodland Cree First Nation and grew up in amiskwachiy waskahikhan (Edmonton, AB). She worked as a child psychiatric Nurse at the Montreal Children’s Hospital after completing her Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BScN) at McGill in 2016 and is currently a Masters of Nursing student. In her Nursing career she is passionate about improving health care for indigenous people. Her research focuses on developing the capacity of Indigeous nursing, specifically supporting the education of Inuit Nurses.
Joel Grant (Engineering)
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Joel Grant is a member of the MĂ©tis Nation of Alberta and has recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Materials Engineering at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ. While at McGill, he has been an active student research assistant and the president of the Materials Engineering Undergraduate Society. Joel is the 2018/2019 academic year Vice President of the McGill Chapter of the Canadian Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (CaISES). He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. His research is focused on the study of Canada, namely, investigating the environmental effects of micro- and nanoplastic accumulation in Canadian climates.
Undergraduate Awards
Indigenous Community Engagement Award
Carlee Kawinehta Loft
My name is Carlee Kawinehta Loft. I am a motivated and community-minded, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman. My father’s family comes Kahnawake and Akwesasne. I completed a BA in Psychology with minors in Behavioural Science and Indigenous Studies. During my four years at McGill I had the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful community of Indigenous students and staff, for which I am forever grateful. In my own way I was able to give back to said community, through volunteer work with the First Peoples’ House, as well as positions such as Indigenous Student Alliance Co-President and the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner. I would like to thank the many Indigenous students who have inspired me and made my work possible, each of which deserved this award just as much – much of my work wouldn’t have been possible without them.
I am thankful to be receiving the Indigenous Community Engagement Award; I am thankful because it is incredibly important that other students see this kind of community work being recognized, because it is not easy to do, and seeing this kind of support can go a long way.
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Outstanding Paper in Indigenous StudiesĚý
Marion Daigle (Gender, Sexuality, Feminist & Social Justice; Indigenous Studies)
Marion Daigle is a U3 student graduating with a Gender, Sexuality, Feminist and Social Justice Studies major and an Indigenous Studies minor. I wish the best for the Indigenous Studies program and its continuation!
Sit Back, Relax, Enjoy the Music, And...: Listening to Indigenous Artists as Multifacted Action for Settler Audiences
Paper Abstract:ĚýWhat does listening to Indigenous artists entail for non-Indigenous followers? In the Canadian context of Indigenous artists’ rising popularity with mainstream audiences, such as A Tribe Called Red and Tanya Tagaq to only name a couple, my paper seeks to involve settlers such as myself in complicating the act of listening to Indigenous artists. How does music work differently depending on the listener’s positionality? What are the possible ramifications of settlers dancing carelessly at A Tribe Called Red concert? From my own white settler standpoint, I question the innocence of such events. I argue that the act of listening can become an active and uncomfortable activity for settlers that may contribute to disrupt our indifference to the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous lands and peoples.
Denzel Sutherland-Wilson (Anthropology)
My name is Denzel Sutherland-Wilson, I am from the Gitxsan nation in Northern British Columbia. I have just completed my Bachelor degree in Anthropology and returned home to my home in Anspayawx. I am a member of the fireweed clan and hope to use my skills I have gained at McGill to strengthen my house of Tsibasa while being conscious to keep knowledge where it belongs.
Wilp Sim' Maay: House of the Huckleberry
Paper Abstract: My paper is a project proposal for a program which would take Gitxsan youth huckleberry picking to teach them about traditional food as well as governance and environmental stewardship. In order to do this properly, research was conducted on the nature of huckleberry patch management by burning, which was prohibited by the BC government and has resulted in a generational gap. This also aims to show and strengthen the intimate and finely tuned relationship Gitxsan have with their food sources. This paper was prepared for the course Indigenous food sovereignty with Gabrielle Doreen, which helped me a generate a plan which could be implemented in my own community to improve food sovereignty.
