Embracing the Beauty of Colombia: A Heartfelt Journey with the Muisca People

 By Leslie Kirkness, 2nd year MDP Student

Colombia has a unique way of capturing the heart, and my recent adventure here has been extraordinary. From the moment I arrived, I was embraced by the warmth of its culture and the passion of the Muisca people. Sesquilé's breathtaking landscapes are a view and experience I had never seen prior to my arrival. Although the altitude and landscape made it difficult to walk and talk, we persevered. A highlight of my journey has been connecting with the Muisca community, where a calm lifestyle and enriched cultural practices are a way of life that unites the Indigenous people.

Making homemade envueltos       Photo by Rayna Daniels 

The Muisca People have been so generous in allowing us to attend the ceremonies and other cultural practices. Attending local ceremonies has allowed me to experience Colombia's vibrant culture and the Indigenous people whose traditional territory we reside in. The sense of belonging within this community is palpable; I’ve met talented traditional Indigenous people who work hard to keep the culture alive and resilient.

Collaborating with the local Indigenous people has further deepened my appreciation for my culture. I want to return home and work towards revitalizing our traditions for everyone to access. The inclusivity of the Muisca people is a practice that can be transferable across many Indigenous nations, and I know my community back home needs to have that inclusivity incorporated within the community for long-lasting sustainability and increased cultural transmission from one generation to another. As I navigate this beautiful country, I am grateful for the kindness of strangers who have become lifelong friends. I eagerly look forward to coming home and seeing my family; however, I am sad to be leaving the beautiful community, country, and people whom I have come to love.

Barichara

With love and gratitude from Colombia,  
Leslie

On a biocultural walk in Sesquilé

Finding My Way Back to Education at Gonzaga Middle School

By Britney Champagne, 2nd year MDP student

Taanshi! My name is Britney Champagne, and I am a Red River Métis woman completing my second and final field placement with the MDP program. I had the privilege of working with Gonzaga Middle School (GMS) in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas community.

Gonzaga Middle School (GMS) is an independent middle school serving students in Grades 6 to 8 in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas and North End communities. GMS takes a holistic approach to education, recognizing that student success extends beyond academics. The school combines academic programming with social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual supports while drawing from the Jesuit Nativity educational model and adapting it to meet the needs of the Winnipeg community. Through mentorship, enrichment programming, meals, transportation, extended programming, and its Graduate Support Program, GMS works to reduce barriers and support students throughout their educational journeys. What stood out to me most was the strong sense of community that exists between students, staff, graduates, and families.

During my placement, I worked with the Graduate Department as a researcher. My primary project involved exploring the experiences of GMS graduates after transitioning out of high school. I conducted interviews with graduates, analyzed themes from their experiences, and completed a qualitative report that will support GMS in reflecting on their graduate programming and identifying opportunities to continue strengthening their supports for future students.

Beyond my research role, I had the opportunity to become involved in the broader GMS community. I participated in school events, attended the Grade 8 graduation, connected with graduates and families, and facilitated dance enrichment with a group of Grade 8 girls where we learned a K-pop dance. These experiences allowed me to see the relationships and sense of belonging that GMS has intentionally built within its community.

This placement was especially meaningful because it helped me reconnect with my passion for education. As I completed my Bachelor of Education, I found myself questioning my place in the classroom and what direction I wanted my career to take. My experience at GMS reminded me why I chose education in the first place. Working with students, hearing their stories, and building relationships with them showed me that education is about much more than academics; it is about creating spaces where young people feel valued, supported, and encouraged.

I am incredibly grateful to the GMS community for welcoming me and allowing me to learn from their students, graduates, staff, and families. This placement strengthened my skills as a researcher and educator while reminding me of the importance of relationship-building, community engagement, and listening to the voices of those we work alongside.

 

Walking Beside Youth:My Experience with MKO’s Youth Justice Program

By Nowsheen Kamal, 2nd year MDP student

During the summer of 2025, I had the opportunity to work with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) in their Youth Justice Program. I first began learning about the program last fall as part of my Capstone project, and over time I realized how much it brought together the themes of my MDP journey—history, youth justice, structural racism, Indigenous ways of living, sustainability, biocultural conservation, and more. Above all, it allowed me to observe restorative justice in action.

Based in Winnipeg, the Youth Justice Program works in collaboration with Manitoba Justice to support Indigenous youth involved with the criminal justice system. The program reconnects youth with culture, language, and identity through ceremonies, community-based interventions, and reintegration supports with families and home communities. Starting with 50 youth—some incarcerated at the Manitoba Youth Centre, some on probation, others back in communities —the program also works alongside partners such as Selkirk Mental Hospital, Whistling Wind Action Therapy, social workers, probation officers, Reciprocal Consulting, and Marymound.

Over the last year, I have worked with six dedicated team members who put their minds and hearts into addressing issues rather than condemning the person. With them, I participated in a wide range of activities: sweat lodge ceremonies, pipe ceremonies, picnics in the park, pumpkin carving in the fall, bannock-making classes, lunches on day leaves, and board games with a youth at Selkirk Mental Hospital. I saw youth take part in drum-making, medicine pouch workshops using moose hide, and beading sessions with action therapists. I accompanied them to probation appointments, court hearings, and community reintegration meetings, while also helping with practical supports like obtaining SIN numbers, driver’s licenses, or birth certificates. Sometimes it was the smallest details—picking them up safely and on time without them having a phone, remembering their favorite pizza order, or encouraging a quieter youth without pushing their boundaries—that built trust and connection.

One of the strongest memories I carry is from a courtroom, where we sat in a half-circle with a youth before the judge. I watched as each supportive member spoke with voices that grew heavy with emotion—recalling the youth’s growth, recognizing their efforts, and expressing pride in how far they had come. Together, they strategized a path forward, showing that justice can be about collective care and accountability rather than punishment.

This summer, MKO’s Youth Justice Program taught me what healing through restorative justice truly looks like.

Feast After Ceremony – Every gathering ended with a shared feast. MKO staff always made sure the youth felt included, preparing food that reflected their preferences. These moments of eating together created space for connection, care, & laughter.

Developing a Comprehensive Health and Well-being Survey

By Bunmi Afolabi and Amber Balan

Hello!

I'm Bunmi Afolabi, and I’m Amber Balan. We are 2nd year MDP students. We completed our second field placement with the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation (SVDN) Health Centre, which involved developing and designing a comprehensive Health and Well-being Survey questionnaire that captures relevant information about the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation community members.

Our placement community is Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, the largest Dakota Nation in Canada and the only self-governing First Nation with recognized jurisdiction by Canada and Manitoba. On July 1st, 2014, SVDN was no longer a signatory to the Treaty [1]. This means the Indian Act ceased to apply to Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Lands and persons found on those lands.

We collaborated with the Health Centre staff team to design a survey questionnaire that includes questions relating to housing, nutrition, cultural safety, healthcare access, mental health, etc. This survey hopes to capture community-level information about the characteristics of the various demographics in SVDN and how the social determinants of health impact the quality of their lives and well-being.  To inform the design of the survey questionnaire, we conducted literature review to identify surveys carried out by other First Nations, Inuit, or Métis communities and Indigenous organizations. This has resulted in producing a draft survey with over 30 subsections. Each question has been reviewed and refined to ensure the language is simple, clear, concise, accurate, culturally appropriate, and relevant. 

This project is vital because the data obtained from the survey can be used to identify strengths and gaps while demonstrating the importance of developing and implementing programs and services that support every aspect of a community member's health and well-being. This will also support the community towards their goal of collecting, storing, and being stewards of their own data.

Project: Indigenous Spiritual Biography as the Matrix for Reconciliation

By Shane Patterson, 1st year MDP student

Hau mitakiyapi, iyuha chante waste nape chiyuzapi-Greeting my relatives, I greet you all with a heartfelt handshake. My name is Shane Patterson and I come from the original lands of the Ihanktowan Oyate also known as the Yankton Dakota reservation. I am part of the Seven Council Fires of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota speaking people. Our Ihanktowan Tribe are known as the ‘People of the End Village’ identified as the band that stood at the eastern doorway in the camp. I have resided in Canada for the last 20 plus years obtaining dual citizenship in 2010. I was adopted by my tanke Katherine Whitecloud and into the Whitecloud tiwahe through a hunka ceremony. This hunka ceremony spiritually and culturally connects to the community of Wipazoka Wakpa also known as Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

This year I connected with Dr. Mark Ruml building a relationship with him as a mentor while in the MDP program. Dr. Ruml has given me the opportunity to work on a research project titled ‘Indigenous Spiritual Biography as the Matrix for Truth and Reconciliation.

This project examines spiritual biographies and teachings of Indigenous healers as well as spiritual leaders as part of the matrix for reconciliation. It focuses on documenting the spiritual biographies of well-known Indigenous healers and spiritual leaders. Throughout the summer, Dr. Ruml and I have been conducting video interviews healers and spiritual leaders within Winnipeg and southern Manitoba. The project goal is to interview 100 healers and spiritual leaders. Some activities I have been involved with are: scheduling interviews, collaborating, and facilitating interviews, transcribing, presentations, networking, taking ethics training, and attending sundances. These activities provided insight on the usage of audio and video equipment that were required for usage of the project.

Shane and Mark Ruml

This research grew out of a book project that the late Don Daniels, from Long Plain First Nation, and Dr. Ruml were collaborating on: "Don Daniels: The Life and Teachings of an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) Healer." This research project examines the spiritual biography and teachings of Indigenous healers and spiritual leaders. Documenting the spiritual biography of well-known Indigenous healers, spiritual leaders, and those who have embraced Indigenous spirituality is an act of reconciliation itself. It values their life story and the significant contributions that they have made to the survival of their people and to Canadian society.

The project uses an Indigenous advisory circle to ensure that the research is conducted in a culturally respectfully approach. This project has been thoroughly rewarding and enriching especially listening to Indigenous knowledge keepers who have doing amazing and wonderful work at the community level. I will continue being apart of interviews, being apart of the Indigenous Advisory Circle, and supporting the research project with the continued guidance of Dr. Ruml.

 

Natural Farming in India

By Katherine Rempel, 2nd year MDP student

VIKASA office

My name is Katherine Rempel and this year I completed my international field placement with VIKASA in Visakhapatnam, India.  VIKASA is a Natural Resources Management organization with a focus on agriculture and horticulture-based interventions to sustain and strengthen the livelihoods of tribal farming communities in Andhra Pradesh.  They are working to develop a social order that values the real significance of environment protection, social justice, women empowerment and moves towards sustainable development with offices in Visakhapatnam and Araku Valley.  I had the opportunity to visit both office sites while working in a hybrid environment.  At VIKASA I worked under Dr. Kiran who supervised my placement and guided me for each of the projects I worked on. 

My role at this field placement was to work with the team and independently on two project streams that involved building meaningful relationships, developing a case study on recent success stories, and developing content for updating the organizational website.

The first project is called Graduating Maa Thota farmers into Natural farmers in the Paderu Region - A case study on natural farming. The case study documents the history of the “green revolution” in India and shows how VIKASA’s work has improved productivity of major crops cultivation and processing methods, developed natural pest control alternatives, initiated gravity-based irrigation methods, and provided training and outreach in tribal communities.

Kate with VIKASA team members and farmers from the Araku Valley

Developing content for updating the organizational website had many different components.  I worked on turning productivity and processing methods into infographics, I developed multiple slide shows to showcase the work done and projects completed over the years and turned data sheets into graphics and charts to visually represent the results.  To complete this work, I converted the list of projects over the years into a living excel file that can track impacts, developments, and outcomes.

I am grateful for the experience of conducting my field placement at VIKASA.  I walked away with many skills such as time management, organizational development, and the opportunity of working in tribal communities.  Getting to experience firsthand what it’s like to live and work in a completely different environment and culture was a life changing.  I look forward to being able to apply this knowledge and understanding to my work in the future.