“I congratulate these researchers on their success in expanding the scope and impacts of their research programs,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “Through this funding, UM will continue to attract and support outstanding researchers equipped with the cutting-edge tools and facilities they need to tackle society’s most pressing challenges.”

JELF is a funding initiative by CFI that supports universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions across Canada. The program provides infrastructure funding to enhance the research capacity of institutions by assisting in acquiring state-of-the-art equipment and facilities necessary for world-leading research and innovation.

The UM recipients include:

Dr. Karen Alley

Dr. Karen Alley, assistant professor, Centre for Earth Observation Science, Environment and Geography: Imaging Inaccessible Ice: Glacier Monitoring at the Ice-Ocean Interface

Funding: $158,883

Predicting sea-level rise is difficult due to risks in observing ice crevasses and calving events where glaciers meet ocean waters. Alley seeks to use new automated vehicles and sonar imaging to close this gap. The project will train students and provide open data to support global climate science research.

Dr. Miguel Uyaguari-Diaz

Dr. Miguel Uyaguari-Diaz, assistant professor / Indigenous scholar, Microbiology: Promoting equitable access to safe water in First Nations and urban communities by assessing water safety and security

Funding: $114,578

Uyaguari seeks to identify pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in water facilities and aquatic environments surrounding First Nation communities of Manitoba. This infrastructure will provide new experimental tools enabling comparison with urban counterparts. Uyaguari’s long-term goal is to develop diagnostic tools to identify health risks and facilitate rapid pollution prevention.

Dr. Xiaopeng Gao

Dr. Xiaopeng Gao, assistant professor, Soil Science: Optimizing Soil Fertility Management for Better Grain Nutritional Quality

Funding: $160,000

Intensification of high-yield crops has resulted in depletion of micronutrients in cereal crops. Gao seeks to use this newly funded infrastructure to simulate climate change scenarios and provide multi-disciplinary training for highly qualified personnel. This research supports improved production of value-added grain products, bringing economic benefits to producers across Canada.

Dr. Cristina M. Rosell

Dr. Cristina M. Rosell, professor and department head, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences: Platform maximizing the value of co-products from plant-protein processing

Funding: $157,258

The production of high-purity protein concentrates also creates wasted nonprotein co-products. The Rosell lab seeks sustainably transform these co-products into a new generation of healthy cereal-based foods. This research will help to alleviate environmental and economic impacts and improve the circular economy of the plant protein industry in Canada.

Dr. Paul Marcogliese

Dr. Robert Beattie

Dr. Paul Marcogliese and Dr. Robert Beattie, assistant professors, Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Max Rady College of Medicine: Functional Integration of Neurogenetics in Development & Disease.

Funding: $345,000

More effective treatments are needed for nervous system disorders affecting movement. The Marcogliese and Beattie labs have found synergies with fly and mouse models to explore new diagnostic and treatment measures. To translate their findings, this funding provides high-resolution imaging tools that will directly benefit patients in Canada and beyond.

Dr. Asher Mendelson

Dr. Asher Mendelson, assistant professor, Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine: Microvascular Physiology, Exercise, and Muscle Research Facility for Studying Critical Illness

Funding: $156,670

Patients that survive ICU admission often have weakness in their muscles, which may be related to inadequate oxygen delivery by small blood vessels. To prevent long-term disability and improve our ability to monitor the microcirculation, Mendelson seeks to establish a new exercise research facility dedicated to recovery after critical illness.

For more information on the CFI-JELF fund, please visit Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

UM Alumni Book Club
Looking for some literary lustre? Read A Gentleman in Moscow with us. From New York Times bestselling author Amor Towles, and set in 1920s Russia, it tells the peculiar tale of Count Alexander Rostov, who is sentenced to house arrest in the luxurious grand Metropol Hotel. Join host Chancellor Anne Mahon and a network of over 800 UM alumni, friends and fellow book lovers to connect and discuss ideas, literature, lifelong learning and more. Everyone is welcome to join at any time. This program is generously sponsored by the UM Alumni Association.
Ongoing until March 10 | Free
Join

Three Minute Thesis (3MT^®) Heats
In three exciting heats, 35 grad student challengers from 16 different departments will be going head-to-head (virtually) as they consolidate their ideas and research discoveries in just three minutes using only a single slide. The winners of each heat will go on to the final, on April 7, for a chance to place in the top three for cash prizes.
March 2-4, varying time | Free
Event schedule

Education Graduate Student Research Symposium Keynote Address with Dr. Beyhan Farhadi
Dr. Beyhan Farhadi, a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ontario and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Education at York University will be speaking on the topic radical imagination, public education and organizing for freedom.

In this presentation, you will get insight into the promise and practice of public education, the contradictions of democratic governance under neoliberalism, and the potential of organizing for freedom.
March 3, 7 – 8:30 p.m. | Free
Event details

UM Café Scientifique: Feeding Baby
Join us as expert panelists discuss allergies, the feeding of infants and new approaches that use ‘active introduction’ rather than avoidance. “Feeding Baby: What, when and how to introduce foods,” moderated by Mae Santos, registered dietitian and master’s student from the Protudjer lab and featuring Dr. Jennifer Protudjer, assistant professor, pediatrics and child health, Max Rady College of Medicine; paediatric allergist and clinical immunologist Dr. Elana Lavine (UToronto/Queen’s); and Dr. Edmond S. Chan, clinical professor and head, division of allergy & immunology, UBC.
March 3, 7 p.m. | Free
Watch

Live on Middays
Desautels Faculty of Music
Middays are back! Every Monday in March you’ll have the opportunity to watch students perform on a livestream midday recital.
March 7, 12 p.m. | Free
Watch

Economic and Business Development at Naawi-Oodena: Canada’s Showcase Urban Reserve
James W. Burns Leadership Institute and Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) at the Asper School of Business
Want to know more about Naawi-Oodena, why this urban reserve is important and how it contributes to economic development? Then join us for the second event in the 2021-22 season of the Leader in Our Times: The Critical Issues Series for a leadership discussion with Tim Daniels and Whelan Sutherland [BComm(Hons)/06] from the Treaty One Development Corporation. This talk is hosted by Suzanne Gagnon, director, JWBLI and Peter Pomart, director, Indigenous Business Education Partners.
March 8, 4 p.m. | Free
Register

The Surveillant University: Remote Proctoring, AI and Human Rights
Faculty of Law Distinguished Visitors Lecture Series
Exam surveillance (also known as proctoring or invigilation) has traditionally been carried out by human proctors who supervise exams in a shared physical space, such as a classroom. Since March 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic drove learning online, leading to a significant boost in demand for remote proctoring services. Dr. Teresa Scassa, Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy and Full Professor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, explores the privacy and human right issues raised by remote proctoring. It proposes a necessity and proportionality approach to assess what place remote proctoring has in the university context.
March 8 | 12-1 p.m.| Free
Register 

Fireside Chat with Dragon Den’s, Michele Romanow
Join us for an exciting fireside chat with Dragon and tech titan entrepreneur, Michele Romanow. This event will take place virtually as part of our Stu Clark New Venture Championships, Graduate Edition. Learn more about Michele’s entrepreneurial journey and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
March 12, 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m. | Free
Register

Indigenous Scholars Speaker Series
The Indigenous Scholars Speaker Series highlights the research and expertise of Indigenous scholars, while providing new opportunities to learn about Indigenous perspectives and knowledges. In this talk, Anishinaabe assistant professor Dr. Amy Farrell will discuss Indigenous cultural conceptions of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
March 17, 12-1 p.m. | Free
Join Zoom event

Canada West Track and Field Championships
Come and cheer on the Bisons as the top track and field student-athletes in the Canada West conference return to the James Daly Fieldhouse for two days of competition and their right to move on to the U SPORTS Championships. Game day COVID-19 protocols in effect.
March 18-19 | Free for fans 12 and under
Tickets start at $10

VLFL Climate Series Webinar: Green Liver and Plant Gills 
Join Dr. Stephan Pflugmacher Lima, dean, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, as he discusses how simple plants can help sustainable water purification in this Virtual Learning for Life climate series webinar.
March 23, 1-2 p.m. | Free
Register

Co-Curricular-Making’s Lessons: Education Conceived as Hopeful Journeys of Humane Becoming 
Faculty of Education
Hear from Dr. Margaret Macintrye Latta, professor and director of the Okanagan School of Education, UBC, as delivers the Joan Irvine Lecture. She will speak on the capacities to foster and sustain diverse learner/learning spaces, how to invest in co-curricular-making that is genuinely inclusive and attentive to equity, and how they are core professional capacities for educators to embody. Students and communities need to gain these habits and practices too. This presentation is an opportunity to reflect on the seriousness of what has happened in the name of education and the lived consequences of ignoring curricular enactment’s multiplicities manifesting through humane becoming.
March 24, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. | Free
Register

U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship
Cheer on the Bisons as they welcome the country’s top USPORTS teams to the Investors Group Athletic Centre to compete for the national title. This is the first time the Bisons have hosted the event since 1976. Get your tickets today! Game day COVID-19 protocols in effect.
March 25-27 | Free for fans 12 and under
Tickets start at $10

Virtual 2S Talking Circles
2SLGBTQQIA+, allies, students, staff, faculty and community are welcome to join the Two-Spirit (2S) Virtual Talking Circle with Elder Charlotte Nolin.
March 28, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Free
Learn more

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
UM Theatre Program
Arcadia is respected as Tom Stoppard’s finest play. Stoppard deftly combines a witty debate of challenging ideas with an attempt to solve a murder mystery involving some well-known historical figures.
March 30 – April 3, varying times | Free
Watch

For more events: University of Manitoba events calendar

What: 2022 Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference
When: June 14 – 16, 2022
Where: University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus – the conference will be held in person (pending public health restrictions) 

Many North Americans, including Indigenous peoples, aren’t aware of the rich Indigenous scientific legacy and the value of the application of two-eyed seeing to modern science today.

Through interactive sessions with world-renowned speakers, cross-pollination of ideas, and approaches, the conference aims to raise the profile of Indigenous STEM science. Indigenous scientific accomplishments that rivaled those of the rest of the world will be explored among other topics.

Official Conference Website

Please visit the conference website for more details. 

Register

Online registration begins on February 1, 2022, via Eventbrite.

Registration costs:
Professor/Scientist/Business Professionals/Members of Government – $300.00
Students & Post Doctoral Fellows – $100.00.

Sponsored by

With generous support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Philosophical outlook

Originally from Saskatchewan, Kruse was born in Moose Jaw, raised in Regina, and after travelling between Banff and Ottawa as a young adult, settled in Calgary for six years, attending Mount Royal College while working as a residential framer. He completed an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at the University of Winnipeg before starting law school at the University of Manitoba at the age of 31.

“My first inspiration for law came from watching Matlock with my grandfather” he said. “In high school I was able to take a Law class which furthered my interest. During my undergrad I focused a lot on Political Philosophy and the history of ideas which included many texts on the law. During my time at UW I was the philosophy student group coordinator. Though my role I was introduced to the Legal Help Centre and was one of the first volunteers there. I met with Justice Suche and the Honourable Murray Sinclair who were both inspirations and gave me a strong sense of the need for access to justice.”

Experiential learning

Coming from such a philosophical and theoretical background, he made a point of focusing on the practical aspects of law while at Robson Hall. “During the first week of law school it became clear that criminal defence work was what I wanted to focus on as I wanted to engage with the Charter, access to justice, and the Indigenous community,” he recalled. “I was able to work with the ULC [University Law Centre] and was a student supervisor in my third year. The law clinic connected me with Legal Aid lawyers who continue to be my mentors today.”

“The Indigenous professors here at the time were strong mentors for me as well,” said Kruse. “Brenda Gunn taught me Constitutional law, Aimée Craft taught me Gender and Law and a directed reading on Sentencing. Wendy Whitecloud taught me Aboriginal rights and title.”

“Robson Hall was the first time in my education where I was presented with a decolonial history of Canada which impacted me personally and helped solidify my own identity within Canada.”

After articling at Legal Aid Manitoba and being called to the Manitoba Bar, Kruse practiced as an associate at Rees Dyck Rogala law offices where he found his desire to assist Indigenous people involved in the Justice system to be in conflict with the business side of law, especially when his clients were often on Legal Aid certificates. “Legal Aid tariffs have not been raised since 2008 so making a living wage was difficult,” he explained. “I enjoy the court room and drafting complex legal arguments. I have appeared in the Court of Appeal four times and enjoy the back and forth with the Bench. I have also enjoyed making charter applications and those cases which rely on detailed factums.”

His position as Indigenous Student Support Coordinator at the Faculty of Law will allow him to maintain a small practice of Indigenous clients so he may continue to bring Indigenous perspectives and legal practices into the court room as a Saulteaux (Muscowpetung First Nation) Indigenous person, in hopes of furthering Restorative Justice in Canada. With this practical experience, he also hopes to assist with expanding the Faculty’s clinical offerings.

Indigenizing Law’s curriculum

Significantly Indigenizing curricula in Canada has become an area of research expertise for Kruse, since beginning his professional legal career. He has studied and written extensively on the subject, including co-authoring the article Educating in the Seventh Fire: Debwewin, Mino-bimaadiziwin, and Ecological Justicealong with Nicolas Tanchuk, and Robert Hamilton published in 2020 in the University of Illinois journal, Educational Theory. Marc has helped to redesign, implement and teach courses on Indigenous People and the Law for the Department of Political Science at the University of Winnipeg, where he taught an Indigenous course requirement since 2016.

“I focus on the relationship between philosophical ethics, political philosophy, and law,” he said, describing his particular area of research focus. “I am especially interested in ways educational institutions can ameliorate or exacerbate legal problems for Indigenous peoples. I have published work on the moral foundations of professional ethics and work on Indigenous educational ethics. Through the Yellowhead Institute I also took part in a comprehensive study of Canadian Injunction cases in relation to [First Nations].”

“I want to amplify indigenous theory and place it in dialogue with the history of ideas taught in philosophy, education, and law departments around the world.”

Dean of Law Richard Jochelson added, “Marc brings a unique perspective to the school because he has a deep understanding and history of Indigenizing post-secondary curriculum, has significant practice experience, and is also an alum who harbours a deep appreciation for political philosophy.”

Jochelson emphasised that Kruse’s role at the Faculty is critical but also unique. “It is rare to find an individual who is able to support students but also develop educational content. We are fortunate to have hired Marc,” Jochelson said.

Currently, as Indigenous Student Support Coordinator, Kruse’s first area of focus will be in addressing the needs of Indigenous students including helping with funding, tutors, and organizing the Kawaskimhon Moot team. Next will be Indigenizing the Juris Doctor program curriculum by assisting professors with their course content and developing new Indigenous courses. “We have two committees focused on the [Truth and Reconciliation] calls to action which I lead,” he said, describing the Faculty’s newly-struck TRC Action Committee’s two branches of mentorship/pathways, and curriculum change. “This committee is formed of students, faculty, and practicing lawyers who are volunteering to assist with community engagement and curriculum development.”

Kruse will guide the committee in creating pathways both into (recruitment and admissions) and out of law school (articling, employment) for the Faculty’s Indigenous students. Finally, he plans to encourage community engagement.

Coming full circle

Eventually, Kruse will also teach some of the new Indigenous courses in development at the Faculty. When he does, students can expect a teaching style that encourages group discussion and student engagement. “I tend to have shorter lectures with additional guest speakers or video content to support a variety of learning styles,” he said.

As an alumnus of Robson Hall, Kruse is happy to share some words of encouragement for current law students: “I am sure students hear this from a lot of people but they really need to follow their passion. Practicing law can be very difficult for a variety of reasons: long hours, meticulous review of complex legal documents, reviewing criminal disclosure and working though client’s trauma, etc. To persevere through these difficulties, you must have a passion for the work you are doing to stay focused and motivated.”

A member of the Mohawk nation with an affiliation with the Kahnawake (near Montreal), he firmly believes that engaging with the rich cultural history that surrounds us can help us appreciate the places we call home. UM Today sat down with Dr. Rice to learn more about his journey that led him to his role as professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management. 
 
UM Today: What was your early education journey like? 
 
Dr. Brian Rice: I went to a public school in Montreal, and there was very little Indigenous content taught at that time. The history was very negative when it came to Mohawk people. I think part of it was an adversarial situation between the French and the Mohawk. What people don’t understand about the history, Kahnawake Mohawks in particular, were in relationship with the French and not with the English. The history can get misconstrued. There are a lot of misconceptions but over time, these details are being corrected.  
 
In those days, I lacked any knowledge that might make me more of aware of a broader perspective of the world. What got me really involved, more than anything else, was after spending roughly eight years using alcohol and smoking cigarettes, I decided to change my life in 1981. My world opened and that included furthering my education and other opportunities. I wouldn’t have had those opportunities if I hadn’t cleaned up. That is my life experience. I am 40 years sober and since that time, I’ve learned so much and none of that would have occurred if I didn’t change my lifestyle. I applied myself to do things I never thought I was able to before.  
 
What was it like to graduate from an all-Indigenous doctoral program? 
 
The program was for Native Americans and Aboriginal Canadians (what they called us back in the day). We studied in the Redwood Forest. We stayed in cabins and by the second year, we transformed into a global Indigenous program. That’s when global Indigeneity came into my life. We went to different places in the world to learn with Elders and their teachings. We went from a localized North American program to a more global one during my studies.  
 
I’ve never stopped travelling since the program. Even now, I prefer to travel and stay in Indigenous areas and I want to exchange stories and dialogues on colonization and how it affects us. There is a language we all have that may be different verbally, but it is the language of culture. We can all relate on that. The importance of land and environment being a key part of that.  
 
I also did a walk through my own territory, a 650-mile walk, to earn the right to write my dissertation. My all-Indigenous doctoral committee and an Elder helped me with this. I started by travelling by car with the Elder to all of the cultural sites of our people and mapping my route. I said to the Elder, “I will walk that journey, and have a different perspective to write the dissertation.” It took me about a month to complete the walk. This was later turned into a book called The Rotinonshonni: A Traditional Iroquoian History Through the Eyes of Teharonhia:wako and Sawiskera. 
 
What are some things you’ve learned about global Indigenous peoples?  
 
We all have that common issue of development, colonization, western education coming into our cultures and it’s how we approach these challenges that can help us retain our cultures. As we know, we are going through revitalization here in Canada, and there are cultures that are learning from this revitalization.  
 
Even if you lose the most integral thing in your culture, which is the ability to self-sustain, you can still find ways to retain your cultural teachings in new forms. That’s part of our evolution here in Canada, and a lot of people will never go back to the traditional life they may have experienced, but instead find new ways, based on old ways, to ensure our kids aren’t under-developed in their cultural understanding. The values, perspectives and teaching remain. We ensure they still serve us in the life that we lead today. 
 
Your research has taken you all over the world. What led you to UM in Winnipeg?  
 
If things have gone differently, I may have gone back to my own traditional territory and facilitated more of those journeys I did for my dissertation. What I do here at UM is still very much in line with that type of work. We can talk history and culture as we experience walking through the lands right here in the city.

This is my home and it’s been my home for 25 years now. Even though it is not my traditional territory, I must learn and understand the history that is here. I have embraced this land as a person who has come from elsewhere. I won’t be leaving it anytime soon. I embrace the history and the culture, and I know my people did come out here during the Fur Trade, and some people stayed here. I feel like a contemporary version of that. 
 
Tell us about how you decided to focus on land-based education. 
 
The big part was my walk for my dissertation. As far as I am concerned, that was my introduction to land-based education. Being on the land and learning about the cultural teachings that go with that, and participating with others in that process, is how I’ve come to understand land-based education.  
 
One of the things that is important in land-based education is physical health. We experience a lot of issues with health, and I’ve learned if we’re not being physically active while we’re learning, we have lost a big portion of what it means to learn from the land. The Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management offers me those two opportunities to learn from the land, but also practice health and fitness.  
 
Any upcoming projects you’re working on? 
 
I will be inviting my faculty to do a reclamation walk and explore campus and this land before we begin our school year. For me, this is important work. As this is the place we work, we have to understand that we have Métis and First Nations history here, we have animals that roam the campus and we have a main wetlands area here. I am going to be doing a reclamation of the campus from the effects of COVID-19 for me and my colleagues.  
 
What advice do you have for Indigenous students interested in land-based education? 
 
Land-based education, right now, may not be exactly the same as it was when their ancestors were doing the education. There is no one set way to incorporate land-based learning. I want to see a lot more experiential learning for more students. Land-based learning ties us back to our culture and the land and the places we come from or come to, and if you get the opportunity to do these things, take them up! If you’re rural, take them up with Elders and help create programs in your communities by taking your community’s lead.  
 
Graduate work in particular has to be centered on something within yourself, because you have something you can hold onto. The journey has more meaning that way. We have a beautiful area and a historically rich city with so much in it.  

Boyer is the 2020 recipient of the Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in the Creative Works category, in recognition of her innovation and excellence. UM Today caught up with her recently to learn more about her and her creative activities.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your research.

I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Treaty 4 territory, and grew up between the city and my grandparents farm in Grenfell, Sask. I grew up with no real understanding of our Métis identity from my dad’s side, but rather came to know it later in life. I spent a lot of time and effort learning about the histories that I didn’t grow up knowing, which can be seen throughout my art practice. I employ history, in concert with my family’s story, and my own life experiences to speak to a contemporary experience of being Settler and Métis. As an added layer to this personal exploration, I also navigate Queer discourses and seek a visual language that embodies all of these intersections. I reflect on time in a way that layers the past and the present. And I enjoy methods that are repetitive, such as beading, which pairs with larger wood installations that use the carpentry skills that are passed down from my dad.

Why is this research important?

This research is important because it adds to the current understanding of Métis material discourses. Our iconography is important but then there are many other parts to being Métis as well. It is important not to be centrally located during a window of history. Further to that, I want to make art that reflects what I didn’t see growing up.

What does the Rh Award mean to you?

The Rh Award means that I can navigate freely through material explorations, and work more effectively. This opportunity also gives a unique visibility to my ideas amongst an academic community to which I am newly part of. In receiving the award, there is also validation of craft and textile-based practices that have for so long existed on the periphery of contemporary art.

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

I hope to continue pushing new ideas forward and new ways of seeing and working with materials. In this way I am hopeful that the field of contemporary art continues to expand inclusivity. Additionally, I hope to be present to support emerging artists as they push these boundaries.

What about you would people find surprising?

Most people find it surprising that I wake up early and bead every day but it is not only a material practice but an embodied sense of self and a ritual that brings me peace and solace.

 “It took me a long time to situate myself within culture,” she tells UM Today. Learning more about her Métis background is connected to her art practice, she says, because “each work is a gateway to support and disseminate history while allowing me to give back some of what I have learned so far.” 

Additionally, Boyer’s mother passed away just as she began her post-secondary education, compounding her search for identity with grief. While the hands-on aspect of her studio-based course helped her with the grieving process, Boyer recalls struggling with the reading and writing components of her course work. “For a long time after graduating, I genuinely believed that I was not good at either of these things,” she explains. 

Boyer carried this doubt into her master of fine arts at the University of Manitoba. It wasn’t until she was introduced to the idea of applying narrative storytelling to her practice that she finally began to excel.  

“Using storytelling devices worked in harmony with the way I thought about my work,” she says. “The learning experience really concretized the want to provide emerging artists with the fullest range of possibilities for communicating their ideas.”  

Although Boyer has been an assistant professor at UM since 2018, she has always considered herself an artist first. Throughout her practice, she finds herself drawn to two disciplines that support one another: woodworking and beading. “Working within both a large–scale and small– scale medium allows me to contemplate multiple modes of thought and process simultaneously,” she says. 

Upon further describing her art practice, she explains: “Architecture in my work, both human–made and environmental or natural, conveys immediate temporal experiences and predicts the future, through cloud–gazing, wind, light, and more. These forces tether us to experiences of our most present now, and in reflection of geological and historical timelines, bring us closer to knowing and understanding ourselves.  

“I am often embedding, linking, folding and inlaying disparate materials as an effort to bridge, embody and own my Métis and settler experiences, a lens that simultaneously requires language of both resistance and penitence.” 

While Boyer believes the resurgence of Indigenous inclusion in the arts has made space for us to name and locate ourselves in the world and further our understanding of cultural identity, she believes there is still room for growth. Next, she says the art world needs to broaden our understanding of range of aesthetics.  

“As it stands, there is still a very strong urge to consider western aesthetics as the goal,” she says. “Indigenous artists are already using the digital realm, ephemeral modes of making and experiencing, and crafting in really innovative ways that bring critical dialogue forward.” 

Boyer remains committed to incorporating her identity into her work both artistically and professionally. “At this stage in my life, I have the extreme privilege of passing along what I have learned to others as an educator.”  

“The more I know as an artist, the more I can pass on as an educator.”