Deanna Burgart is an adoptee and a member of the Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation in Northern Saskatchewan. She found her birth mother in 1997 and started down the journey of reconnecting with her First Nations roots (Cree/Dene). As someone that had been raised in a non-Indigenous family, the journey was difficult and she often struggled with identity and her right to claim Indigeneity. In 2007, when she left her job in oil and gas to return to school to pursue her engineering degree, Deanna began that path of reconnection. It was through the Lakehead University Native Student Association, and her counselling with the Aboriginal counsellor in University, that she found the courage to start. She found herself facing a great deal of her own fear and self-doubt when stepping into Indigenous spaces. Fear of offending, fear of her own ignorance, and yet she persisted, and learned, and made mistakes, and grew. It was through this process, she learned the truth of the history of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. She learned about residential schools, of which she is a survivor of the intergenerational effects. She learned about the quality of living in many remote communities, and the inequities with mainstream Canada. She learned how many First Nations were without many of the necessities of life such as clean, sustainable energy, food security and clean drinking water. She learned of the crises with Indigenous youth. She is committed to being part of the solution, and helping others to do the same.
In 2008, she had her first opportunity to reach out to Indigenous youth. She was applying for a scholarship with the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation, an engineering scholarship for Aboriginal Women. A requirement of this scholarship was that she present to Indigenous high school youth on the theme of “An Engineers Duty to Society”. Her first presentation, Engineering our Water, was when she first coined the term “Indigeneer” in 2008. She spoke of the water crises in First Nations, and invited the youth to consider that by pursuing a career in engineering, they could be part of the solution.
She was so inspired by that experience, she continued to speak to youth – and still does today. She was a mentor with the Association of Professional Engineering and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) Aboriginal mentoring program, a mentor with Indspire, Rivers to Success, a mentor with Power to Choose, a Aboriginal science camp. She is now the co-founder of
IndigeSTEAMwhere she connects Indigenous STEM professionals with students and youth for co-mentoring and community. She is an advisor on the Canadian Indigenous Advisory Council to AISES, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, who hosted the first Canadian National Conference in February 2018 for Indigenous STEM students and professionals in Calgary, Alberta, (.caISES). Deanna also serves on the Indigenous advisory committee to United Way in Calgary, and is a mentor with the Junior Achievement – Indigenous outreach program. She also runs mentoring circles for Indigenous women in entrepreneurship and energy.
Giving back to the community and paying forward all the rich mentoring opportunities Deanna has been granted is the focus of her volunteer time. Please consider supporting the initiatives that help promote diversity and inclusion in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
IndigeSTEAM
– Indigenous youth outreach programming including supports for Indigenous mentors, women and community connections. IndigeSTEAM is a non-profit organization in Alberta and includes the Global Association for Indigeneering Alliance (Indigenous STEM professional’s network), First Light (Community Connections) and Power to Choose (Indigenous youth science programming).
