Verna J. Kirkness - Creating Space

Creating Space

MY LIFE AND WORK IN INDIGENOUS EDUCATION

VERNA J. KIRKNESS

University of Manitoba Press

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Canada R3T 2M5

uofmpress.ca

Verna J. Kirkness 2013

Printed in Canada

Text printed on chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper

16 15 14 131 2 3 4 5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database and retrieval system in Canada, without the prior written permission of the University of Manitoba Press, or, in the case of photocopying or any other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca, or call 1-800-893-5777.

Cover and interior design by Jessica Koroscil

Cover photo by Ian McCausland

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Kirkness, Verna J., 1935

Creating space : my life and work in Indigenous education / Verna J.

Kirkness.

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-88755-743-9 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-88755-444-5 (PDF e-book)

ISBN 978-0-88755-445-2 (ePub e-book)

1. Kirkness, Verna J., 1935. 2. Indian educatorsCanadaBiography. 3. Aboriginal Canadian teachersBiography. 4. Native peoplesEducationCanadaHistory. I.Title.

LA2325.K57A3 2013 370.92 C2013-903499-4 C2013-903500-1

The University of Manitoba Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for its publication program provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage, Tourism, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the Manitoba Book Publishing Tax Credit.

CONTENTS

BY CAROLYN KENNY

My Family

My Teaching Career

Beyond Teaching

Working Provincially and Nationally

The University of British Columbia

Retirement

Leaving Vancouver

Upon Reflection

: AWARDS AND HONOURS

: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

: ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Photographs follow chapters 3 and 6

FOLLOWING CHAPTER 3

1. Verna, with her grandmother Mary Ann, great-aunt Nancy, and cousins, Fisher River, Manitoba, c. 1937. Photo courtesy of Pat Beyer.

2. Verna and classmates, Fisher River School, c. 194445.

3. Verna and classmates, Fisher River School, c. 194546.

4. Senior students at Fisher River School, c. 1948.

5. A typical log house at Fisher River, c. 1945. Photo courtesy of Julia Spence.

6. Fishing boats at Fisher River, c. 1945. Photo courtesy of Julia Spence.

7. Teachers and parents at Fisher River, c. 1950. Photo courtesy of Pat Beyer.

8. Grade 10 girls at the Teulon Residence, c. 1951.

9. Vernas first class at Reedy Creek School, 195455.

10. Vernas second class at Bellhampton School, 195556.

11. Verna, with roommate Bev, studying on the lawn at normal school, Winnipeg, 1957.

12. Dorothy Fahner and Verna (with fur coats), teachers at Fisher River School, with mothers of schoolchildren, 1958.

13. Vernas grade 3, 4, and 5 class, Fisher River School, 1958.

14. Vernas grade 7 class, Birtle Indian Residential School, 196061.

15. Vernas grade 3 class at Norway House, 19611962.

FOLLOWING CHAPTER 6

16. Verna, with sister Darlene, mom, dad, and brother Reggie, 1961.

17. Vernas grandfather, Jim Kirkness, at 90 years of age, 1961.

18. Travelling by bush plane in northern Manitoba, c. 1966.

19. Rossville Indian Residential School staff, Norway House, 196263.

20. Travelling from Norway House to Grand Rapids, 1963. Photo courtesy of Dorothy (ne Fahner) McKay.

21. Pat McManus and Verna in Japan, 1967. Photo courtesy of Pat McManus.

22. Visiting the kindergarten class at Pelican Rapids School, Manitoba, c. 1969.

23. Jim and Verna travelling in Texas, c. 1969.

24. Verna and Clive Linklater at National Indian Brotherhood workshop, 1975.

25. Travelling in Egypt, 1978.

26. The Native Indian Teacher Education Program staff, c. 1984.

27. First Tskel grads, Ethel Gardner, Francis Johnson, Shirley Myran, UBC, 1987.

28. At the second World Indigenous Peoples Conference in New Zealand, 1990.

29. Verna with her uncle Jim at age 76 and nephew David, c. 1987.

30. Sailing in Desolation Sound, c. 1995. Photo courtesy of Peg Klesner.

31. Vernas mentors and friends Ruth (Bette) and Dr. Ahab Spence, with friend Carolyn Kenny, c. 1998.

32. Leaving Vancouver party, with Tom Berger and George Ing, 1999.

33. Cutting the cedar rope at the grand opening of the First Nations Longhouse at UBC, May 1993.

34. Retirement party at UBC, with Elder Minnie Croft, Mrs. Baker, Elder Simon Baker, Elder Vince Stogan, and President David Strangway, 1993.

35. Receiving the Order of Canada, Ottawa, 1999. Photo by Sgt. Christian Coulombe.

36. Receiving the Order of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 2007. Photo by Tracey Goncalves.

Unless otherwise noted, photographs are used by courtesy of the author.

I AM MOST INDEBTED TO CAROLYN KENNY for her faith in me and her constant encouragement to get this book done. It has been several years in the making and there were many times that I wanted to give up on it, and each time she managed to get me back to the drawing board. She is the reason that I have finally completed it and it will be out there for all who are interested in Aboriginal education and the life of a Cree woman. Thank you, Carolyn, you are a dear sister.

I am thankful to my friend, Pat McManus, who has journeyed with me much of the way in Aboriginal education, for helping me remember certain experiences that we shared, for reading drafts of this book and assuring me that it is a story that should be told. Without her encouragement and assistance, the completion of the book would have been more difficult.

Another person so essential to this effort is Cory Whitney, who provided me with the technical assistance I required. I know very little about computers. I thank him for his patience and willingness to come to my rescue so many times over the years that I have been working on this book.

A number of the photos shown came from the collection of the late Julia Spence (McGill). Im thankful for her love and support. I also want to thank Patricia Beyer, Dorothy (Fahner) McKay, Pat McManus, and Peg Klesner for contributing to the photo section.

IN MID NOVEMBER the residents of Fisher River Cree Nation in Manitoba begin to feel the chilly breezes as they sweep down from the far north. Prairie grasses, birch and pine trees, and white poplars bend and sway from new winds that carry a message of winter to come. Skies are clear Manitoba being the place with the clearest blue skies year round in all of Canada. However, great grey owls and peregrine falcons know, just like the people on the reserve, that snowy blizzards will soon be travelling on the open landscape.

On just such an anticipatory day in November, one of Manitobas favourite Native daughters was born. Verna Jane Kirkness was born on November 20th, 1935. Destined to be a world traveller who carried a message of hope, enthusiasm, tenacity, integrity, and renewal, Verna Jane would not disappoint.

In this book you will learn another story a story that is indeed in context of a life lived with sacrifice, honour, dedication, vision, and intelligence. It is also a story of joys and sorrows, challenges and misgivings, burning questions, successes and failures. It is the story of a Cree womans experience of becoming a leader and following the guidance of her intuition and her Creator a momentum that propelled her as a visionary.