MEET SOME OF THE STUDENTS

Shanna Peltier Shanna Peltier, 20, is from Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island. In the Indigenous Undergraduate Summer Research Scholars (IUSRS) program at McMaster, she is working with Prof. Karen Balcom researching transnational adoptions after the Second World War.

To touch on the indigenous aspect of the program, they’re looking at Indian child welfare and the Sixties Scoop in Canada — a period of mass adoptions of indigenous children into non-indigenous homes.

Outside the IUSRS program, Peltier is majoring in psychology and women’s studies at Laurentian University in Sudbury.

Brandon Gaudette Brandon Gaudette, 24, of Pic Mobert First Nation in northwestern Ontario, is working with Prof. Karen Bird on a pilot study to better understand indigenous conceptions of citizenship.

Gaudette says he feels it’s important they brought indigenous teachings and culture into modern research, and even says he wants to continue on this path.

Outside of the IUSRS program, he studies Law and Justice at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie.

Brittany Lickers Brittany Lickers, 23, is from Six Nations. In the IUSRS program, she is working with Prof. Chelsea Gabel on a photo voice project with an Inuit community in St. Lewis, Labrador.

“I’m working on a newsletter right now that will be distributed in St. Lewis to get the community involved . . . We’re going to do a photo exhibit and once that’s all done, we’re going to do a report that will also be distributed to the community.”

Lickers stressed how important she thinks it is for indigenous students to see other indigenous students who have gone out and left their communities and were able to pursue a university education.

Lickers is a third-year gerontology student at McMaster and is doing an indigenous studies minor.

Evan Jamieson-Eckel Evan JamiesonEckel, 23, of Waterford, Ont., is spending the summer working with engineers making apps to teach kids about engineering. His role is to find the appropriate Mohawk words for the engineers to use on the apps.

Jamieson-Eckel praised the McMaster program for the doors it opens. “It gives you the chance to see if you really want to do this . . . or it can show you that, hey, this is not my thing. It’s a stepping stone that helps indigenous students succeed, and we need more things that help us succeed.”

Outside of IUSRS, Jamieson-Eckel is a fourth-year indigenous studies student at McMaster.

Stephanie Morningstar Stephanie Morningstar, 40, is from Six Nations but grew up in Buffalo.

As part of the IUSRS program, she is looking at indigenous approaches to alternative dispute resolution and child welfare cases.

Like the other students, Morningstar agrees that adding an indigenous aspect to the research is very important.

“When it comes to indigenous issues, we’ve been silenced for so long that it’s only been in the past decade or two that we’ve really been able to find our voices within research and have our indigenous ideologies recognized as something that is valid.”

Morningstar is currently a McMaster student and is working on a research project in Six Nations.