IGOV Student Blogs

Madeline Burns

My name is Madeline Burns (she/they); I am a Métis guest and master’s student in Indigenous Governance on Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̲SÁNEĆ territory. My research interests include Indigenous Feminism, Relationality, Queer Theory, and the complexities of Sovereignty.

I chose the Indigenous Governance program due to its reputation and globally recognized name for building community relationships and producing brilliant scholars. This program has offered me the opportunity to unlearn and relearn, bridge theory and practice, and gain knowledge from leading academics such as Dr. Gina Starblanket and Dr. Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark.

It’s hard to narrow my experience to a single favourite moment. However, my top three moments in IGOV include:

• travelling to Red River to attend a Prairie Indigenous Relationality Network conference;
• getting to do land-based coursework;
• building a community with amazing peers in my cohort. 

Jeannie Paul

Tansi, Jeannie Paul nitisiyihkâson niya Nehiyaw iskwew Kipohtakaw Treaty Six Territory ohci niya. I am a visitor and graduate student at the University of Victoria's School of Indigenous Governance, located on Lekwungen territory.

I chose IGOV because I felt I needed to follow my desire for research and focus on spaces to endure, protect and implement from our understandings, particularly towards Nêhiyaw and Indigenous ways of knowing. To do that, I knew I had come to the School of Indigenous Governance as its passion for theory and research aligned with me.

My favourite moments in the program were connecting and challenging the discourse of knowledge, which fuelled my passion for knowledge, particularly engaging themes in conversations with our powerful and intelligent professors.

The moments I appreciated the most were:

• building good relationships with the faculty and my peers;
• enduring the moments that allowed me to explore knowledge;
• further building confidence in Indigenous research and methodology.