IndigeSTEAM led our first Mentors Leadership Dialogue and
Retreat at the Fairmont Banff Springs on April 11 and 12, 2019. We brought
together a group of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics educators,
mentors, industry professionals, parents and community members, both Indigenous
and non-Indigenous, to explore how to support Indigenous youth in STEAM better.
For the workshop, I had set the intention to be 20 – 40 people, Indigenous and
non-Indigenous, sharing together the best way to reach and support Indigenous
youth from Kindergarten to Grade 12, through post-secondary and beyond. The
questions I was asking myself, and I was often asked by others, “How can we
help support youth that often are isolated in a class of non-Indigenous
people?” “How can we engage and inspire children in a culturally appropriate
and relevant way?” “How do we do better”?
I decided a year prior to host this event when I was at the
Banff Springs hotel. The event was going to be a workshop retreat and a
separate Masquerade Ball to raise funds. It was initially set for November 12,
and by October 1, we had not sold one ticket. I had signed a contract that
committed us to a significant spend based on number estimates. The ball was
meant to be separate from the retreat. It was meant to be a post-retreat event
and celebration where we could share with a wider community what we had gained
from the retreat and raise funds for the youth that we serve at IndigeSTEAM. I
wanted to invite my vast network in the Energy industry to come and hear the beautiful
things that could happen when many diverse Indigenous people were invited to
contribute our beautiful, articulate, strong and resilient voices to the table
when talking about STEM. We have been innovators and inventors for thousands of
years!
I should interject with the complex history I have with the
oil and gas industry, Eurocentric views, the “well to do” and even political
perspectives. I was an “oil patch brat” before I even knew about my
Indigeneity. My dad travelled the world, working on offshore platforms and
desert facilities in Southeast Asia and Kuwait. I grew up thinking that if you
work hard, and pay your dues, you can earn a great living and the world was
your oyster. My dad was a Scottish-Canadian farm boy from Camrose, Alberta. He
grew up working hard. He instilled that work ethic in me. When I first entered
the oil and gas industry, I never questioned if I belonged. I was Mickey’s
daughter. Oil and gas legacy, oil patch kid. I did not self identify as
Indigenous, even though I had already found my birth mom. I didn’t think I had
a right to. I didn’t feel like I had earned it. “Earning it” to me wasn’t the
Western construct of paying your dues. It had nothing to do with money or
schooling or seniority. It had to do with the heart. It wasn’t until I was
ready to listen and learn. To hear. To feel. Since I began to self-identify as
First Nations, I have spent the past 10 years being one of only a few
Indigenous people invited to share space in a non-Indigenous led room,
building, surrounded by non-Indigenous people. I have felt tokenized at times,
pressured to perform, scared my words would cause someone to assume “all
Indigenous people” thought like I did. I have challenged my own
“white-presenting privilege”. I have challenged my belief systems, my lenses,
and my perspectives.
I have spent 10 years gingerly stepping into Indigenous led
spaces, often as the only oil sands/oil and gas or pipeline engineer or
technologist. Afraid of being called a sell-out, or worse, not “Indian”*
enough. In those Indigenous led spaces, I discovered community. Unconditional
acceptance wherever you were at in the world…wherever you are on your journey.
Regardless of your flaws, your ignorance, your mistakes, your humanness. I
started to get to know my beautiful birth mother, my star, my Elder, the light
that called me home to me.
I wanted to host an event that was Indigenous-led, that
welcomed all people who wanted to listen. I had envisioned a fun, playful room
of people in table top led workshop style. Post it notes, giant sheets of
paper, collaborating and developing strategies to support Indigenous people in
STEM. It didn’t look like that was going to happen. By October 15, I was
panicking and thinking that maybe I could tap into my RRSPs, pay the money and
renew my vows with my husband. I was getting panic attacks again for the first
time in a long time. On October 17, my father passed away… The world stopped.
My daddy. My hero. The man I followed into the oil and gas industry. The man I
always so desperately wanted the approval of. Suddenly he was gone. My heart
was breaking. I could not imagine a world without him in it. He was my
champion, willing to fight the world for what he felt was best for me.
The Fairmont Banff Springs was so compassionate and
gracious. They gave me the time to do what I needed to do and allowed us to
reschedule the event. I was granted a reprieve to figure out what I was going
to do, but first I had to grieve. And yet I didn’t. I still had several
speaking engagements booked. I kept going. Head down, chin up, tears flowing
with karaoke when I couldn’t take it. And along the way, at every conference I
spoke at, at every event I attended, I met someone new. Someone who held me in
spirit, who listened and who allowed me to grieve when it popped up no matter
how hard I tried to push it down. If you are reading this and we met in Prince
George, Ottawa, Kananaskis, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Montreal, Calgary, or Banff
between October 17 and today, thank you. You have helped me get through these
past 6 months.
Last week, the event happened. My vision of 20 – 40 people
happened. The diversity in the room happened. Beautiful Indigenous and
non-Indigenous souls came together and shared and learned and held space for
one another as we started a journey of reconciliation in STEM. I am humbled and
grateful that Elders Reg and Rose opened the conference in such a beautiful
way, spending the morning with us in circle and teaching. I am humbled that the
participants allowed us to “ditch the schedule” by the second day to allow the
day to unfold as it was meant to. I am humbled that my mother, Rev. Vivian
Seegers, led the Talking Circle the second day and said later that we led it
together. Thank you to our sponsors, Nutrien
, Shell
, Stantec,
Schlumberger
, and Oxford
Inspections,
for your support. Thank
you to Elders Reg and Rose Crowshoe and Elder Rev. Vivian Seegers for leading
us in teachings that started us off in a good way and set the tone for the long
term work we want to do. Thank you to everyone that co- created this story
together. I cannot wait to share it with the world. If you are interested in
being notified when the position paper is completed, please let us know! In the
future, we will be hosting a live retreat twice a year and monthly Virtual
Talking Circles for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in STEAM to connect
and work towards reconciliation together. We hope you will join us!
All my relations,
Deanna Burgart, Indigeneer™
* You will hear the term “Indian” still used in the US, but
notice it is in self-identification… Native American people referring to Indian
Country, for example. Non-Indigenous people are advised to avoid using the term
“Indian” to refer to Indigenous people.
Seven Sacred Anishinabek Teachings:
Courage
Love
Integrity
Humility
Honesty
Respect
Truth
www.indigesteam.ca
http://www.maramatanga.co.nz/person/dr-kepa
