Spirit Bear Virtual School launch

A member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Cindy Blackstock is honoured to serve as the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights and has published on topics relating to reconciliation, Indigenous theory, First Nations child welfare and human rights. A recipient of the SSHRC Gold Medal, Professor Blackstock was honoured to work with First Nations colleagues on a successful human rights challenge to Canada’s inequitable provision of child and family services and failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. This hard-fought litigation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of services being provided to First Nations children, youth, and families. Professor Blackstock is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Ambearrister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action. 

Nicholas Ng-A-Fook is a professor of curriculum theory at the University of Ottawa. He is the current Vice-Dean of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Education. As a curriculum theorist, he draws on different life-writing research methodologies to understand the ongoing systemic barriers for different communities inside and outside the contexts of schooling. He is actively engaged in addressing the 94 Calls to Action put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in partnership with local Algonquin First Nations, private, and public school communities.

Lisa Howell is an award-winning researcher and recent graduate of the Faculty of Education. Her work on the consequences of colonization and the goals of reconciliation earned her an award of recognition from the Canadian Association for Teacher Education (CATE). She emphasizes the importance of learning from Indigenous peoples, and argues that education must go beyond school curricula to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.