Selected Research and Publications

What happens when you create a culture of respect, trust, and innovation in school library spaces? Canadian School Libraries Journal: A Publication of Canadian School Libraries. Vol. 3 No. 2, Spring 2019.

We cannot overlook the narratives of Indigenous peoples we think about the delicate issue of truth and reconciliation in school libraries. In being of that change, consider what footprints you will make and how you will become partners in reconciliation so Indigenous peoples can feel valued in library spaces and their communities… Read more.

The Importance of Authenticity in Indigenous Children’s Literature. Write. The Magazine of the Writers Union of Canada. Vol. 45. No. 2. Fall 2017. 

Fostering Remembrance and Reconciliation Through an Arts-Based Response Spring 2016.

This paper presents the results of study about an urban high school in Ontario that performed a stage play that portrayed the legacy of the Indian residential schools in Canada. We wanted to know the impact this arts-based response had on teachers and students. From the data that we obtained from focus groups, we identify four learning outcomes of the legacy project: reflection on knowledge and identity; fact-finding through the processes of respecting memory; using the arts to remember; and broadening perspectives: remembrance (memory), reconciliation, and memorialization. Our research can assist educators and researchers to implement an arts-based model that honours and respects residential school survivors and their families. Read more. 

Supporting Urban Aboriginal Social Justice in Education: A Case Study of the Educational Leaders’ Roles, Responsibilities, and Relationships as Care Providers. 2013.

The purpose of this research study is to examine the educational leaders’ perceived role as they become caregivers (i.e. mentors and role models) in response to meeting the individualized needs of urban Aboriginal youth in the Canadian public and separate school systems. The qualitative study explored an ethic of care and sought to understand the leadership models in place that guide the decision-making processes to identify how the caregivers recognize and address issues that target social justice in terms of not just academics and culture, but also social and economic issues at the school level. Read more.

Building Community Pathways: Aboriginal Children’s Mental Health Project. IMPrint. The Hospital for Sick Children Infant Mental Health Promotion. January 2010. 

The Aboriginal Children’s Mental Health Project conducted a series of interviews to understand the needs of the Aboriginal community. One of the outcomes was a recommendations that a coordinated continuum mental health care model that is fully supported by an Aboriginal Patient Navigator be developed for Aboriginal children (ages 0-6) and their families and/or caregivers.