SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Julie ROCK, Katshishkutamatshesht | Professor of Indigenous Realities and Social Intervention in the Department of Psychoeducation and Social Work at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), and Doctoral Candidate in Education, UQ Network—UQAC. Her thesis project focuses on the study of cultural safety practices to support school retention and success of Indigenous students in a vocational training program, First Nations component.

Sükran Tipi is a doctoral researcher in linguistic anthropology in the Anthropology Department at Université Laval. Passionate about Indigenous languages and the knowledge systems they contain, Şükran Tipi is particularly interested in the linguistic expression of the multidimensional relationship of Indigenous groups with the territory. Involved until recently as a professional in the accompaniment of Indigenous students, first at the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite and then at the UQO Indigenous Liaison Office, she takes an experiential look at the ontological and epistemological challenges of the decolonization of post-secondary education environments.

 

Jessie Lepage is a Master of Education student and a lecturer at Université de Sherbrooke. Pekuakamiulnuatsh from Mashteuiatsh, she has made it her personal mission to actively participate in the decolonization of education, health, and social services environments through various conferences in different organizations. For over five years, she has also fulfilled this mission by teaching at Université de Sherbrooke in the Faculties of Education and Sciences, Humanities, and Arts. She has taught courses such as Perspectives autochtones en éducation and Introduction aux enjeux autochtones contemporains. Her research project is focused on the academic careers of groups of indigenous students in vocational training relocated to indigenous communities. She is also interested in cultural security and indigenous pedagogy.

Nicole Audy, now retired, spent 31 years with the Attikamek Nation Council in Education and in program design. For a dozen years, she held the position of Interim Director of Educational, Linguistic and Cultural Services for the Atikamekw. In particular, she supervised the Bachelor of Education project for the Atikamekw of Wemotaci and Manawan, with 17 graduates of the program now employed in Wemotaci and Manawan elementary schools. She participated in the first edition of the PAAFP Convention in 2014 · She was a member of the Pedagogical Council of the Centre Nikanite of UQAC for about ten years and is part of the project uniting Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, and UQTR for the training of university teachers in teaching. Following this collaboration, the document Reconnaître et valoriser les langues autochtones (Recognizing and Valuing Indigenous Languages) (2021) was produced by the UQTR team (Corina Borri-Anadon, Karine Gélinas, Eve Lemaire and Nicol Audy).

Natasha Blanchet-Cohen is a professor in the Department of Applied Humanities at Concordia University and co-holder of the Chaire-réseau de recherche sur la jeunesse de Québec (Indigenous component). For over 25 years, Natasha has been engaged in partnership research to support the expression and commitment of young people. Her approach combines research, intervention, and the co-construction of knowledge. Her research interests revolve around youth agency, as well as young people’s perspectives on education and culturally safe and rights-based services and approaches.

Constance Lavoie is a full professor in the Faculty of Education at Université de Sherbrooke and a regular researcher at the Centre de recherche sur l’enseignement et l’apprentissage (CREA). She has been working on the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in language didactics from school to university for 15 years. Her work focuses on the didactic transposition of Indigenous oral heritage in schools. She supported the creation of teaching practicums in Indigenous communities and developed the course Perspectives autochtones en éducation offered at Université de Sherbrooke. 

Jean-Luc Ratel is a professor in the Department of Education at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC). His research focuses on the foundations of learning, the sociology of education, Indigenous education, and intercultural and inclusive education. He is involved in several collaborative research projects in Indigenous communities in Quebec and Nunavut. His work has included research on educational success and post-secondary studies among First Nations and Inuit communities, as well as the development of teaching activities related to history education for the Naskapi and language teaching for the Innu. He has also published several articles related to these projects and co-edited the second edition of The collective work “Ethnocultural, Religious, and Linguistic Diversity in Education: Theory and Practice” (Fides). 

Marco Bacon, a member of the Pekuakamiulniuatsh Nation, holds a bachelor’s degree in arts education and a master’s degree in arts (transmission component) from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. He worked for several years in the field of education for the Conseil des Montagnais du Lac-Saint-Jean. From September 2009 to June 2019, he held the position of Director of the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite (CPNN) at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), where his main responsibility was to ensure the link between First Nations communities and the university in areas related to teaching and research. He is now Director of Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Mr. Bacon is actively involved in several initiatives aimed at ensuring quality education for First Nations people, as well as their overall health and well-being, with a view to self-determination. 

Boutheina Harbaoui is a research and planification officer with the Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples à UQAM. After her doctoral studies, she pursued a ten-year academic career as a teacher-researcher. She has presented conferences and training workshops in the field of Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. As part of her current research and planning work, she is involved in the administrative and/or strategic implementation of decolonization, indigenization, and reconciliation initiatives with Indigenous peoples in the university environment.

Véronique Basile Hébert is an Atikamekw theatre artist from the community of Wemotaci. A doctoral candidate in theatre research-creation, focusing on Nitaskinan/Kitaskino, the ancestral territory of the Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok, she holds a bachelor's degree in theatre from the University of Ottawa and a master's degree in dramaturgy on shamanism in the work of Jovette Marchessault. A participant in the training program of the Indigenous theatre company Ondinnok, in collaboration with the National Theatre School of Canada, she was also one of the creators of the street theatre for the Festival Présence Autochtone in Montreal. A professor in the Department of Literary Studies at UQAM, she also contributed to the development of the microprogram in Indigenous Studies at UQTR. In her practice, she prioritizes the production of intergenerational and multilingual works within Indigenous communities and has also collaborated with various theatre companies. Drawing inspiration from Nature and her culture, she writes, directs, and performs her shows with artists from diverse backgrounds. Her theatre is socially engaged, reflecting her concerns as an Indigenous person, a mother, and a Two-Spirit artist.

Fabienne Eliott

Fabienne Elliott has been an advisor in the First Nations and Inuit Relations Branch at the Ministry of Higher Education since 2022. She previously taught for twelve years at the Kiuna Institution, as well as at the CEGEPs of Trois-Rivières and Victoriaville. She completed master's and doctoral coursework in management science, specializing in management, at HEC Montréal, where she focused on organizational theories.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Marco Bacon, Director, Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Ouiza Outoudert, Executive Secretary, Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Sarah Boucenna, Information officer, Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Boutheina Harbaoui, Research and Planning Officer, Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Livia Vitenti, Reception advisor, Bureau des relations pour les Premiers Peuples, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Ginette Tremblay, Translator, trad. a., OTTIAQ 

Maud Harvey, Linguistic Reviser