- November 6, 2013
Please join the Department of Native Studies and University of Manitoba Press for an event celebrating the publication of education pioneer Verna Kirkness’ memoir, Creating Space: My Life and Work in Indigenous Education.
Date: Wednesday, November 6
Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Place: Main Foyer, Migizii Agamik
The event will feature a reading from Creating Space and a Q&A moderated by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair. Light refreshments will be served.
About the Book
Verna J. Kirkness grew up on the Fisher River Indian reserve in Manitoba. Her childhood dream to be a teacher set her on a lifelong journey in education as a teacher, counsellor, consultant, and professor.
As the first cross-cultural consultant for the Manitoba Department of Education Curriculum Branch she made Cree and Ojibway the languages of instruction in several Manitoba schools. In the early 1970s she became the first Education Director for the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs) and then Education Director for the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). She played a pivotal role in developing the education sections of Wahbung: Our Tomorrows, which transformed Manitoba education, and the landmark 1972 national policy of Indian Control of Indian Education. These two major works have shaped First Nations education in Canada for more than 40 years.
In the 1980s she became an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia where she was appointed Director of the Native Teacher Education Program, founded the Ts’‘Kel Graduate Program, and was a driving force behind the creation of the First Nations House of Learning. Honoured by community and country, Kirkness is a visionary who has inspired, and been inspired by, generations of students.
About the Author
Verna J. Kirkness is an associate professor emeritus at University of British Columbia. She is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of Indigenous education. She lives in Winnipeg.
