This summer, our students worked on a large variety of projects! They travelled up north with us, and came to our gatherings. They assisted us with documentary project’s, and assisted in organizing events, archiving and documentation, and communications. Read more below about what some of our summer students did:
KSENIYA ZAIKA
Originally from Belarus, Kseniya Zaika is an international scholar in global political history with a focus on marginalized national identities. She defended her Ph.D. in Political Science in Moscow with the expertise in Canadian Studies. Being a new comer to Canada, Kseniya is taking M.A. program in Native Studies at the University of Manitoba, which turned upside down her perspective on Canadian state and led to understand the structural similarities in assimilationist policies of Modernity. Kseniya worked with Wa Ni Ska Tan researchers and partners to compile, research, and prepare for National Energy Board hearings on the Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project.
BOBBIE MANG’ELI
Bobbie Mang’eli was a co-op student with us this summer. She worked on defining set goals and strategies for the existing Communication Strategy. She also reviewed transcripts and worked on the upcoming Voices of Resistance project and the upcoming Swan Lake First Nation’s community based monitoring project. The long term goal of the community monitoring project is to promote ‘capacity exchange’ where communities and researchers work together to share the knowledge each of the groups have, and to have the research done in communities driven by members of the communities who live in them, using their knowledge to identify environmental issues and monitor them scientifically. She is happy to have had all the opportunities to travel and see Manitoba but more importantly to meet people, interact with them and learn from them.
CARRINGTON HOUSER
Carrington Houser was a graduate student summer intern from Indiana University studying international studies and climate change. He mainly worked on developing and refining our interactive game that focuses on showing the effects of hydro development on Indigenous communities. He also worked on press releases, communication, outreach, and planning for David Bighetty’s walk for Granville Lake, as well as covering the NEB Hearings that took place in June. He is beyond grateful for the opportunity to have visited Canada, travel, and work alongside the people at Wa Ni Ska Tan. He is also grateful to have had the opportunity to interact with the Indigenous peoples of Manitoba to not only hear their stories, but also to learn about their practices and customs.
KATIE YEGOROV-CRATE
Katie was a summer student volunteer with Wa Ni Ska Tan and spent most of her time collaborating on the organization of David Bighetty’s awareness walk “Walk for Granville Lake”. She assisted in interviewing Bighetty and capturing film footage for the in-the-works documentary project “Voices of Resistance”. She also helped in writing letters to publicize Bighetty’s “Walk for Granville Lake” and helped at Wa Ni Ska Tan’s booth at the West Broadway Farmers’ Market. Additionally, Katie worked on culling through transcripts from Indigenous community gatherings, panels, and discussions Wa Ni Ska Tan has previously been involved in, selecting quotes and highlighting themes of resilience and resistance for the project.
Highlights of Katie’s summer were volunteering at and attending the 2018 Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit and traveling north to Thompson and Leaf Rapids.
