Closing in a Good Way

May 24

Oki niiksokiwa, niisto anistaa Mootoomiikamostakii. Hello friends and relatives, I am First Steals Woman of the Kainai First Nation (Blood Tribe). I sit here today to share with you some of the learnings from the Anitopisi Student Leadership Program.

Launched in 2020, Anitopisi is a co-curricular student leadership 2-year pilot program that is situated at the intersection of reconciliation and changemaking. Each year a student cohort is selected and guided through an assortment of learning experiences that challenge colonial norms, promote community well-being and increase leadership capacity through Indigenous practice and systems leadership.

With all the formal jargon aside, Anitopisi is a place where students can come in with their whole self and be met with care, food and laughter, while being provided with guidance to discover the uniqueness of who they are and their role in the community. Through Blackfoot teachings we teach students the importance of relationships, land and active citizenship. Each student walks away with something uniquely different and a foundation of knowledge to build upon. To better understand Anitopisi, you need to know who I am and my journey at MRU. I introduced myself above, but my english name is Latasha Calf Robe. I am from the Blood Tribe and have been a part of community, cultural and ceremonial activities my entire life. I’ve had the honour to learn from my relatives across Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy). I am a mother to 3 niitsitapi children and strive for the continuation of Nitsitapiisinni [our way of life of]. I am also one of the Program Leads in the Trico Changemakers Studio.

I started my journey at MRU in 2010 after being forced to leave my home on the Blood Reserve and took it upon myself to pursue a post-secondary education. At 17 years old I came to MRU where I struggled to find community and purpose within the brown cement walls that often felt hollow and lifeless. I walked into numerous classrooms where I was the only Indigenous student and felt the harmful glare from faculty and students who didn’t understand me or the knowledge I was bringing from my community. Many times I was made to feel as if I didn't belong or deserve to be here. As a student I wanted so desperately to see myself reflected in course content and on campus generally.

In my final year at MRU I took it upon myself to host a discussion series on campus where I brought in elders and knowledge keepers to share their expertise on campus. The Niitsitapi Discussion Group brought together over 200 students/staff/faculty over 6 sessions. Through everything, I finished what I set out to do and I walked the convocation stage with my two young children in tow.

It is through all these experiences that the Anitopisi Student Leadership Program came to be. I knew that the cultural and ceremonial knowledge that I was raised with needed to be present in academia; not just for my comfort or the belonging of Indigenous peoples, but for the betterment of education, relationships and society. In the Fall of 2018 I joined the Trico Changemakers Studio team to help design and create student changemaking programs. I was fortunate to join a team who loves ideas and were willing to take a chance on mine. Taking everything I had experienced and my understanding of Nitsitapiisinni, I wanted to create a student program that not only acknowledged Indigenous knowledge and history, but prioritized Indigenous teaching methods and practice.

With an idea, we approached the Calgary Foundation and they saw the potential in our idea too. With some financial support from the Calgary Foundation, the Studio was able to hire two Indigenous student interns and begin engagement with elders, students and the community. Myself and the students set out to answer some big questions and arrived with the following learnings:

MRU students, Indigenous and non-indigenous were eager for the opportunity to learn with and from Indigenous peoples.

Elders and the community wanted to support the creation of student learning opportunities in ways that respected niitsitapi teaching practices.
There was a need and urgency to create spaces and opportunities for Indigenous knowledge, peoples and ceremonies in spaces where it has been forcefully removed.

With intention, prayer and continual guidance, the Anitopisi Student Leadership Program was born and in early 2020 we received a Community Grant from the Calgary Foundation to run a two-year pilot program at MRU. Anitopisi was set to welcome in the first student cohort in Fall 2020 and throughout a 12-month period the cohort would be involved in ceremony, changemaking, reconciliation and community service learning. A beautiful, land and community based program was ready to take flight…. but, because every good story needs a plot twist, que the Covid-19 pandemic.

Looking back, I will admit that when the pandemic began I thought it was the end of Anitopisi. How could I run a community and land based program with no access to community and a “No Gathering” [even outdoors] order in place? But, if you know me you know that I don't give up that easily. As niitsitapi, our people have lived through numerous epidemics and genocidal acts while continuing our knowledge and practices, so with the support of the elders and advisory committee Anitopisi was adapted to be offered in an online space.

After years of dreaming, hoping, thinking, crying and praying, The Studio welcomed four female Indigenous Students into the inaugural Anitopisi Leadership cohort. On January 15, 2021 the Anitopisi student cohort, myself and Alvine Eagle Speaker (Siksika Nation Elder) met online for an opening blessing. Like many people, I hoped the pandemic would ease and we would be meeting in person sooner rather than later. We found ways to make it work and relationships started to blossom. Online, students learned to bead, hold tough conversations, engage in complexity theory and order lots of Skip The Dishes.

By Fall 2021, we were back on campus (kind of), just as the cohort began mapping the disproportionate suicide rates amongst Indigenous youth in Canada. During this process the cohort practiced humility and care and learned about the impacts colonial violence has had on Indigenous communities. They saw the need for systemic change that centers Indigenous views on health, kinship and life. In partnership with the Iniskim Center, the cohort curated and distributed culturally appropriate mental kits for Indigenous students living on campus for their community impact project. The kits celebrated the success of students and provided tools for joy and connection within them. I watched in awe as the students gathered medicines, and curated gifts, items and joy into each bag.

***2021 Cohort Collaborative Art Piece***

I am forever grateful to the students who were brave enough to join me in year Year 1. I stumbled many times and found my voice as a facilitator and teacher. Together, we brought ceremony and laughter into the quiet halls of MRU. The lasting impact of the 2021 cohort is the deeper connection to self, community and culture that arose within Sam and Santana, who undoubtedly will continue to change family and community cycles. With the support of communtiy elders, Year 1 of Anitopisi came to a close in ceremony in December 2021.

Going back to my earlier question, how do you run a community and land based program in the middle of a pandemic? What I’ve learned is - don’t. Learning and leadership lives in the community, community is built around food and ceremony and juggling back and forth between online/in-person was a hot mess to say the least. It was clear that it was time to pause, reflect and return to the initial program vision of Anitopisi.

With the learnings and confidence from year 1, we paused and adjusted the second cohort to be 8-months in length, invited six students into the cohort and began in Fall 2022. In contrast to year one, the second cohort was diverse in language, gender, age, ethno-cultural background and academic disciplines. Little did they know that in a few short months they would build relationships with one another that would transform how they saw themselves and the world around them. With the ability to gather in person, we were able to start in ceremony and invite Indigenous community members back to campus.

The cohort was given the opportunity to see and experience the beauty of land with trips to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Blackfoot Crossing and Buffalo Rocks Tipi Camp. They stood in blizzards (literally), dove deep into their own family legacies, sewed, shared meals and stories. They held and asked big questions all while learning about Blackfoot triumphs, hardships and life. In no time, students were looking at the complexity of the world around them and tearing apart the colonial structures that have hindered us all, from violence, media misrepresentation, to substance abuse.

The community impact project changed course many times and in the end, two themes arose; land and children. Initially we were to support a First Nation Middle School in the creation of a mental health and cultural wellness day. Unfortunately, this was not able to come to fruition and the cohort learned quickly about the complexities of working in Indigenous communities and the care that is needed to hold relationships. Pivoting, the cohort supported the creation of child and family care kits for the Awo Taan Healing Lodge for families fleeing violence and supported a community feed on the Blood Reserve.

On May 28, 2023 the 2nd year cohort gathered for the last time, again in ceremony. Each was asked to create and share a creative arts expression that represented something they learned and will carry forward. Each student shared their vulnerabilities, aspirations and commitments to move forward in a good way. For some, connection to culture and identity stood center, others a renewed commitment to individual and family wellness, and for some stepping into their calling for community based leadership. Each different, each beautiful and each full of life.

Over the past few years I have been able to work alongside members of my community and invite them into the Studio to share the vastness of their knowledge with students. At times I would think to myself about how Indigenous peoples were not allowed into institutions like this. I would think about the banning of ceremonies and the harm that residential schools have had across North America. So many colonial systems have tried to remove Indigenous knowledge, culture and identities in an attempt to make us hollow and lifeless. And so with every curve ball that was thrown over the past few years, I remembered all the hard work it took to get here and those moments became an opportunity to learn and try something different.

I may not have been able to change all of MRU, but I was able to support eight students in their journey of belonging, reconciliation and changemaking - and that's close enough for me. While the Anitopisi 2-year pilot program comes to an end, the lasting impact of the Anitopisi Leadership Program will live and flourish within eight students who completed and helped build the program, each of whom will carry and transfer their knowledge and skills back into their communities. Watching students build their sense of belonging and understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities to the people and land around them is truly a gift. I hope that in reading this you also see the value and importance of programs and shared learning opportunities such as this.

For myself, this has been a process of affirmation. If I could go back in time, I would tell my 17 year old self, ‘they may not understand you and where you come from, but your community, ancestors and children are standing with you. Our knowledge is valued and valuable now and always.’ I leave this two year pilot with a deeper understanding of who I am and increased confidence to exert Indigenous knowledge into changemaking and western spaces. I have nothing but gratitude for those who taught me, the students who were brave enough to join Anitopisi and the communities who have carried their Indigenous knowledge across generations. I still have many questions, but what I do know is that our ways, our knowledge, Indigenous knowledge, deserves to live in all the spaces that they tried to remove it from.

I’ll close with my sincere gratitude for all experiences and people who were a part of this journey. To my elders, community and the students, kitsiikakomimmo [I love you]. Lastly, to my Studio team and the Calgary Foundation - a heart filled thank you for all your support.