CNC Embraces Indigenization

And hers is a big job: Guiding the College through truth and reconciliation while supporting students.

“I read a quote, almost 20 years ago, and it’s by James Youngblood Henderson and it said ‘Being an Indigenous student in a university is like looking into a still lake and not seeing your reflection.’ And that quote has stuck with me for almost two decades now. So I’m hoping that my work and my experience will shift that quote into something that allows Indigenous students to see themselves within these walls.”

Marlene Erickson has been the voice behind Indigenous education at the College for many years. Much has changed since those early days.

“When I first started working here back in the 1990s. We were in an agricultural area out on the front lawn of CNC. Gradually over the years, we’ve very much moved to Indigenous Education and the needs of Indigenous communities from the margins to the center of CNC.”

But this is the next generation of the college’s evolution on the journey through Truth and Reconciliation. And Dr. King hopes to achieve one goal above all else.

“I hope that the students also see that they inspire me, that the reason I’m here is because of them. I want them to succeed.”

by Cheryl Jahn

CNC Embraces Indigenization

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