She’s talking about healing, community, and responsibility.

A proud member of Timiskaming First Nations, and a graduate of 91��ɫ’s Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) - Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program, McGill represents the sort of educator that leads from the front: grounded in lived experienced, guided by community, and deeply committed to change starting in the classroom.

Her path to teaching began not in a lecture hall, but an elementary school classroom.

While studying Social Services at Confederation College, McGill completed a placement at a local school where she was invited to speak with students about her Kokum’s experience at a residential school, using the national education initiative .

“I completely fell in love with the work,” McGill says. “I was welcomed into classrooms to talk about the history of my Kokum’s residential school.

“And I knew I wanted to continue working in education.”

When she learned about 91��ɫ’s B.Ed Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program, the fit felt immediate, and so she applied with intention, not just to become a teacher, but to learn within a community that embodied her vision.

“I wanted to learn from Indigenous educators who understood my values,” she says. “I wanted to be surrounded by peers committed to creating meaningful change in classrooms, moving beyond cultural inclusivity toward cultural advocacy and celebration.

“And that’s exactly what I got.”

For McGill, that commitment was on display daily at through the program.

She credits her professors -- Kiera Brandt, Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing, and Andrew McConnell -- for providing the foundation in both her pedagogy and in her identity as an educator.

“Their dedication to Indigenous-led, community-informed learning, and equity-driven teaching, has helped me thrive in my role as an educator, and truly enjoy the work I am doing.”

Today, McGill teaches at North Easthope Public School with the Avon Maitland District School Board, where her classroom now reflects the values she admired through the program– student-centered learning, cultural safety, and shared knowledge.

“The program better equipped me to deliver meaningful instruction in ways that are both positive and healing,” she says. “I also learned how to find reliable resources that center Indigenous voices, which has shaped how I approach learning and teaching across cultures.”

And perhaps most transformative of all was how Waaban reframed her understanding of just what it means to teach in the first place.

“It helped me understand my role as a facilitator of learning,” she says. “We may enter the profession with excitement about the material we teach, but it is just as important to be equipped to meet students where they are. I am not the sole source of knowledge in the room, and I love that. My job would be very boring if I were.”

That philosophy reflects where education in Ontario is heading, with a strong focus on equity, reconciliation, and student wellbeing.

For McGill, the impact of 91��ɫ’s B.Ed Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program extends beyond coursework. It’s a lifelong network of support.

“The small class size helped me feel supported through my courses. I am still in contact with my professors, I’m still in a book club with some of my peers from our cohort, and I know there are at least 20 people rooting for me in anything I do.”

To prospective students considering the program, her message is quite simple: “If you are open to it, you can gain so much from this program: spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.”

Waaban’s vision is realized in educators like Bailey. More than preparing teachers, it builds leaders serious about leading Ontario classrooms with integrity, care, and purpose.

Story by Dennis Bayazitov, special contributing

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The Waaban teacher education program in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Education is being given a reboot designed to ensure students feel comfortable in both Indigenous and university settings.

The accelerated 16-month program is offered every two years, and applications are open through mid-January for its 2026 cohort. Cohort members move through the program together, forming a community.

Assistant Professor John Hupfield, the program co-ordinator, emphasizes Waaban’s unique pathway toward a Bachelor of Education degree and Ontario teacher accreditation.

“We’re creating a conduit for Indigenous educators,” says Hupfield, an Anishinaabe educator and grass dancer from Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, Ont. “We’re creating an access point for mature learners and culture-based educators so they can get into the classroom. It’s a way of giving back to our Indigenous communities.”

The accelerated 16-month program doesn’t require its candidates to have any university experience or a teachable subject; the Faculty of Education team considers an applicant’s knowledges, experience and interest in sharing it. People with a passion for their culture, whether they create beadwork or ribbon skirts, dance in pow wows or serve as knowledge keepers for their First Nation, are encouraged to apply.

“The university education system wasn’t designed by Indigenous Peoples,” Hupfield says. “That construct didn’t exist in our communities, and the education system isn’t equipped to meet our needs. The Waaban program takes into consideration the unique needs of Indigenous students, rooted in history and factoring in the residential school experience and the resulting intergenerational trauma.”

At Waaban, however, students’ Indigenous backgrounds are considered valuable and important.

“It’s not traditional teacher education,” says Gabrielle Ayotte, a 2021 Waaban graduate, who is currently working on her PhD in Indigenous education at 91��ɫ. “The program implements oral knowledge, and the relationship between students and teachers is at the centre. We’re able to think about land and spirit and have opportunities to bring our own stories into the classroom. Our knowledges are not usually validated in the education system.”

Ayotte grew up in Montreal as a member of Garden River First Nation. She visited her community near Sault Ste. Marie each summer.

“My Indigenous identity was never discussed growing up,” Ayotte says, “but family and friends began to ask questions about residential schools [when news broke about the Joyce Echaquan tragedy] and our identities. I wanted to learn more about my identity and colonization, and Waaban seemed like the perfect program for me. It had all the elements I needed to learn about and grow.

“It provided a space where my classmates and I could breathe and didn’t have to explain what it means to be Indigenous. I found community there.”

Hupfield says that Waaban “tries to create educators better equipped to meet the specific needs of Indigenous students. One of the ways we do that is by helping teaching candidates foster their own sense of identity and understand the values they carry and the teachings they know. I want to equip them to take on a leadership role.”

Waaban classes have generally been held at the Urban Indigenous Education Centre (UIEC) in Toronto’s East End, but this year, the 91��ɫ campus will host the classes throughout the summer. Hupfield is eager to see 91��ɫ build stronger ties between the university and local Indigenous communities.

“There are lots of opportunities for the program to grow and for 91��ɫ to have meaningful relationships with the Anishinaabe Nation and other First Nations,” Hupfield says.

“91��ɫ will once again be hosting the winter Pow Wow on campus, and it is an opportunity for Indigenous people to see themselves on campus and consider it as a place for culture-based gatherings.”

UIEC also has a major benefit as a classroom space; it is located next to Wandering Spirit School (Kâpapâmahchakwêw), a K-12 Toronto District School Board school that “provides Indigenous children with an opportunity to learn about Anishinaabe cultural traditions in a nurturing, caring environment.”

Laurie LaBrecque, who graduated from Waaban’s first cohort, teaches land-based learning and physical education at Wandering Spirit School. A member of Dokis First Nation situated along Ontario’s French River, LaBrecque, who grew up in Toronto, says “Waaban changed my life.”

“I grew up in a white, middle-class environment and saw myself as white, even though I knew my culture. My grandfather was a residential school survivor who grew up on a trapline, and I went to Pow Wows with my aunt. But I struggled at university, and graduation felt very far away.”

A friend who taught at Wandering Spirit School encouraged her to consider Waaban, given that she had always enjoyed working with children.

“I look at people talking about Indigenous pedagogy and a lot of them have no classroom experience,” says LaBrecque, who is now working on a master’s degree at the University of Toronto. “I believe the biggest change I can make is in the classroom.

“Education was used as a weapon of violence against Indigenous people. The only way to make change is to have people with lived experience involved in the system.”

As Waaban graduate Ayotte says,

“The media frame us as broken people, but we are reframing that.”

The Waaban program is an important piece of that puzzle.

To learn more about the Waaban teacher education program or to apply, visit /edu/students/waaban/

Article by Elaine Smith, special contributing writer

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In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Report, the Faculty in collaboration with the Toronto District School Board Indigenous Education Centre offers admission to a special cohort of students who will complete the Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree with a focus on Indigenous worldviews. Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education will educate a new generation of teachers prepared to address the needs of First Nation, Métis and Inuit students, families and communities. Waaban will be grounded in Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy and will include teachings from Indigenous Elders, educators, and community leaders.

For more information, please visit /edu/students/waaban/.

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This month’s "Meet a Grad Student" profile features Ixchel Bennett, a 2nd year student in the Indigenous Education PhD Cohort. Ixchel is interested in Indigenous teacher education programs that support communities in obtaining a Bachelor of Education degree and becoming OCT (Ontario College of Teachers) certified. “Representation in schooling is important, having a space where you are heard and understood is important, having the opportunities to explore who you are and where you are from is equally important for future generations,” Bennett says.

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91��ɫ became an ideal partner for delivering such programs, since, said Dion, Toronto has one of the largest concentrations of Indigenous people in Canada.

��ü��é����󲹳�, which translates from Lenâpé as "make good tracks," offers Indigenous students four different opportunities to connect with Indigenous knowledge, history and culture, each serving a different purpose. There is a course for high-school students; Waaban, an Indigenous teacher education program; a master’s degree cohort in Urban Indigenous education; and an Indigenous PhD cohort. Each course or program incorporates Indigenous principles of community, culture, collaboration and ceremony, and many are taught away from the 91��ɫ campus at the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) Urban Indigenous Education Centre.

“Together the programs help to fulfill one of the calls to action set forth in the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation report. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action #10 addresses the role of education in contributing to new and better relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada,” said Dion. “Reconciliation requires sustained public education and dialogue, including youth engagement, about the history and legacy of residential schools, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, as well as the historical and contemporary contributions of Aboriginal Peoples to Canadian society.”

Susan Dion

The secondary school course, which offers participants both a high-school credit and a university credit upon completion, was the first component of ��ü��é����󲹳� to come to life. It grew out of Dion’s work on a report she researched for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in 2010, Decolonizing Our Schools. She co-teaches the course, called Indigenous People, Identity and Education, with a secondary school teacher each winter. It is open to Indigenous students and allies from across the TDSB.

“This is a way to create a pathway to higher education for Indigenous students,” Dion said. “The course brings them together and supports them in getting through high school successfully while introducing them to the idea of university and giving them an understanding of what the experience is like.”

Each of the degree programs admits cohorts of students.

“Many Indigenous students will tell you that being the only Indigenous student in a class is not so great because you end up doing a lot of teaching about your history and your experiences,” Dion said. “My goal is for the students not to be the only Indigenous person in the room, so they can share learning experiences. Learning is not done in isolation or just in relation to course content. These students come to it with similar questions and background knowledge.”

Waaban is an Anishinaabeg word for “It is tomorrow.” Waaban provides students with both a BEd and Ontario teaching certificate in an intensive, 16-month program. Students graduate with an understanding of Indigenous worldviews and Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies, including a good grasp of colonialism and its impact on Indigenous Peoples, particularly their experiences within education systems. As teachers, they will provide much-needed perspectives to students.

“There is a huge knowledge gap on the part of teachers,” said Dion. “They know very little about Indigenous knowledge, history or culture.”

��ü��é����󲹳� students gather with Professor Susan Dion

Many of the students do their practicums at the Wandering Spirit School, co-located at the Urban Indigenous Education Centre.

“It’s wonderful seeing a group of Indigenous candidates in the teacher education program who have an Indigenous focus,” said Tanya Senk, principal of the Wandering Spirit School, who is Cree/Métis/Saulteaux. “It’s much needed because they are really underrepresented. Our Indigenous students from across the Greater Toronto Area have an opportunity to make connections and see themselves reflected in the staffing.”

Ixchel Bennett, a former primary school teacher who is now Waaban’s practicum facilitator and a teacher in the program, said, “I find the program successful because the administrators and teachers welcome Indigenous knowledges and constructive feedback and they engage in courageous conversations about colonialism and racism, decolonizing and integrating Indigenous content.”

Bennett says their specialized knowledge has allowed them to become acknowledged as leaders, something that isn’t common among teacher candidates.

“They feel appreciated and heard, with a lot of knowledge they can share,” she said.

Dion notes that the program “reflects a community approach to education, as well as an Indigenous worldview. They are using their gifts to serve the community and the community takes care of them.”

She created the master’s cohort to provide students access to a graduate school program with an Indigenous focus and the PhD program grew out of graduates from the master’s program who wanted to continue learning or move into academia.

Bennett, who is Nahua/Zapoteca, was one of the graduates of the first master’s degree cohort in Urban Indigenous Education and is now part of the initial PhD cohort. Dion supervises all of the PhD students and both graduate programs have “Indigenous worldviews threaded through them.”

Gregory Querel, a Métis education policy analyst for the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, is pursuing a PhD part-time and is grateful for the opportunity Dion has made possible.

“We need more like her,” he said. “She is plugged in at the TDSB and at provincial levels and is able to bring her academic work to the forefront of policy. These educational programs are definitely needed. At any one time, four or five people in our organization are doing their master’s degrees. To be able to draw on their education and experience is invaluable in developing our long-term goals.”

Bennett is also very appreciative of the opportunities ��ü��é����󲹳� offers.

“Thanks to Professor Dion’s leadership and vision, all of this is happening,” Bennett said.

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer to Innovatus

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Waaban is an Anishinabe (Ojibwa) word meaning it is tomorrow. It signifies commitment to a holistic program of teaching and learning that acknowledges the impacts of colonialism, and draws on the wisdom of ancestral teachings and contemporary leaders to put Indigenous futures into Indigenous hands. Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education includes attention to contemporary urban, rural and reserve perspectives and teachings from a diversity of nations. Students are introduced to cultural and community resources and have opportunities to learn from and with Indigenous educators.

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Students in the Waaban cohort of Ixchel Bennett’s “Inclusion, Disability and Education” course had the opportunity to research various exceptionalities through an Indigenous lens. The students referred to their own Indigenous teachings and to Dr. Pamela Toulouse article: .

As the students were conducting their research, they were asked to critically analyze the terminology used to describe each exceptionality by the Ministry of Education and other medical organizations. The guiding questions that they followed were:

• How are we meeting the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical needs of special education students?
• How are we critically analyzing the language we use to describe special education students?
• What are teachers’ attitudes toward special education students?

Students Johannah Brown and Jennifer Hunter presented on the exceptionality Deaf and Hard of Hearing. “Many of the resources for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students on the Ontario College of Teachers website are not up to date,” said Brown. “We also noticed that the Ministry of Education does not use the definition of deafness that the Deaf Community has put forth. Rather than seeing deafness as an impairment, the cultural model of deafness focuses on the shared language and culture of the Deaf community.”

Brown and Hunter chose to focus on this definition because they believe that self-determination is one of the most important things when working with any community. Connected to this is the importance of forming relationships with Deaf students and their families. Relationships are fundamental to making sure students feel safe and included in the classroom

The students noted preferred teaching strategies included on the  Ontario Teachers Federation’s special education , and found the very helpful. Jamie McIntyre, a student in the Waaban cohort shared, “If we relate the recommended teaching strategies in these resources to our four-directions worldview, where the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being of students are considered, there is a special emphasis on mental and physical interventions.”

As students were researching resources, they paid close attention to community organizations that focused on supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit parents/guardians. One organization was the . Students Julia Hill and Amber Smith chose this organization because they focus on providing services to First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families in culturally sensitive and culturally safe ways.

Indigenous worldviews believe that every child has a gift to offer to the world. It is the role and responsibility of teachers to highlight each student’s gifts. As well, holistic education serves all students because it meets the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being of students.

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