Patsy Paul Martin (Mi’kmaw Services Coordinator for CCRSB) and Gordon Pictou (Wi’kuom Cross Cultural Services CEO) partnered together in 2009 to offer teachers in NS the opportunity to come together and learn from some of the most influential Mi’kmaw speakers in Mi’kma’ki about important areas of Mi’kmaq history and culture. Teachers often express that they have difficulty in finding good resources about Mi’kmaw culture or to be able to know how authentic/accurate a resource is. Patsy and Gordon created the conference to help educators better integrate accurate inclusion of Mi’kmaw pespectives more often in more classrooms with more confidence.
Their goal has been to help teachers create a network of support for each other to continue to share resources, lessons, and important events on an on-going basis to make it easier to be more inclusive of Mi’kmaw culture, history and heritage everyday in more schools.
Anyone interested in presenting at the 2016 Conference is encouraged to contact either Gordon Pictou at gpictou@gmail.com or Patsy Paul Martin at paul-martinp@ccrsb.ca
Patsy Paul-Martin is the Coordinator of Mi’kmaw Services for the Chignecto Central Regional School Board, a Mi’kmaq language translator, author and proud mother and grandmother.
Gordon Pictou is the founder of Wi’kuom Cross Cultural Services where he helps to plan cultural events, offers sensitivity training, and coordinates Mi’kmaq centred projects. Gordon was the Program Director for the Glooscap Heritage Centre and Mi’kmaw Museum from 2009 to 2014 and a teacher with the Halifax Regional School Board from 2003 to 2009. He also taught Environmental Ethics for the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (University of Manitoba).