Facilitator 

This program will be delivered by Mylan Tootoosis, a PhD Student at the University of Saskatchewan and Certified Life Skills Coach. At the age of 16 Mylan moved to the City of Saskatoon to attend High school at Mount Royal Collegiate. After graduating in 2005 he attended the University of Saskatchewan for one academic year, disheartened by the experience he decided to take Red Echo Associates Life Skill Coach Training Program and became a Certified Life Skills Coach. He then decided to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts where he participated in the Associated Student Government(ASG) as Treasurer, Vice President and President. He graduated from IAIA in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Liberal Studies. He then moved to Victoria, BC and attend the Masters of Arts in Indigenous Governance Program and completed his Masters in 2013. He is currently a PhD Student at the University of Saskatchewan where he has gained experience teaching and tutoring university students, he was also active with the USASK Graduate Student Association. 

Mylan contributes much of his academic achievements to the skills he received from his Life Skills Coach Training and has become a life long learner of practical skills that benefit personal growth and social change. He wishes to help Indigenous Students obtain the skills necessary to hack the academic systems and become successful in life. Drawing on his unique experiences and perspectives, he has created some amazing university preparation programs designed specifically for Indigenous students. One of which is this Intensive Three-Day Indigenous School House.  

Click here for more information on Mylan Tootoosis.

2018 Q&A Session Professors and Scholars

Katie Leimomi Kamelamela PhD Candidate, UH Mānoa

Katie Leimomi Kamelamela holds a BA & MA in Botany, as well as a BA in Hawaiian Studies, from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Her research is concerned with the collection of Non-Timber Forest Products throughout Hawaii in order to support the formation of Community Based Sustainable Forestry Areas. Her dissertation focuses on historical and contemporary plant gathering practices in the Hawaiian Islands with case study highlights of imu (underground ovens) lifestyle ways, a preliminary assessment of economic and cultural value of plants gathered in State managed Forest Reserves with understandings of online and physical market values for native and other gathered plant resources from our forests. Other projects include contributions to the Kapapala Koa Canoe Forest Cultural working group as well as supporting the Hui Malama Ola Na Iwi Native Hawaiian Healing project as a consortium member on Hawaii Island.

Daryl Lucero M.A

Daryl Lucero is from Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico, USA. He is an alumni of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He also has his Masters of Arts in Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria. He is currently an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Indigenous Liberal Studies at IAIA where he teaches classes on Traditional and Contemporary Pueblo Architecture. 

Dr. renée holt

renée holt is a Dine/Nimiipuu mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, friend, and daughter of Mother Earth. Her area of research focuses on reclaiming Indigenous education, feminism, and methodologies through research that works in reclaiming language, and decolonizing practices grounded in land, language, and culture. As a teacher educator, who works with pre and in-service teachers, she is a Project Director and Principal Investigator for a Native Teacher Preparation program, Titooqan Cuukweneewit using culturally sustaining pedagogies at Washington State University, College of Education Department of Teaching and Learning.

renée earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science/History from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho and her Master of Art in History with an emphasis in American Indian Western history from the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho and currently lives in Pullman, WA with her three children.

Dr. Tasha Hubbard 

Tasha Hubbard teaches indigenous literatures, as well as classes in first-year English as part of the Aboriginal Student Achievement Program. Her current film and academic work focuses on Indigenous creative representation of the Buffalo and on recovering historic Indigenous stories. She is an award-winning documentary filmmaker; her solo writing/directing project TWO WORLDS COLLIDING (2004) won a Canada Award at the Geminis and a Golden Sheaf Award. Her film BIRTH OF A FAMILY (2016) screened at Hot Docs.