Imagining and enacting Métis informed anti-racist education: A local Prairie K to 12 flower beadwork framework

Authors

  • Carmen Gillies University of Saskatchewan
  • Nicole Mercereau University of Saskatchewan
  • Sheila Pocha Gabriel Dumont Institute

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.7487

Keywords:

Métis anti-racism, Canadian schools, Métis studies, critical race theory

Abstract

This article is based on findings from an anti-racist Métis/Michif partnership between the Gabriel Dumont Institute’s Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) and the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Education. The study took a local approach through a series of anti-racist knowledge exchanges amongst 16 urban and surrounding-area Prairie Métis teachers and teacher educators. Drawing from Métis teachers’ experiences, Métis studies, and critical race theory, the article disrupts Eurocentric conceptions of anti-racist education by centring Métis experiential knowledge. Through qualitative and Métis methods, data was collected from five workshops that revealed an initial Métis-informed anti-racist education (MIARE) K–12 flower beadwork framework. The framework demonstrates how specific experiences of K–12 racialization are transformed into anti-racism through Métis teachers’ intergenerational cultural knowledge protected by core Métis cultural values.

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Author Biographies

Carmen Gillies, University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Carmen Gillies is Métis and Norwegian/Chinese Canadian. She is an Assistant Professor in Educational Foundations at the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, where she specializes in critical race theory and teacher education. Her interdisciplinary research examines democratic decolonial anti-racism within local Canadian K to 12 education and diverse contexts.

Nicole Mercereau, University of Saskatchewan

Nicole Mercereau (B.Ed, M.Ed) is a Métis educator and PhD student whose research focuses on Métis education through anti-racist and anti-oppressive frameworks. Originally from Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, she is a graduate of the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program, a program that continues to shape her commitments to equity, relationality, and Métis self-determination in education. Nicole currently serves as a sessional lecturer with SUNTEP and works as a research assistant while pursuing her doctoral studies under the supervision of Dr. Carmen Gilles. Her work centers on supporting Métis students, challenging colonial structures in schooling, and advancing culturally grounded pedagogies that affirm Métis identity and community. Nicole’s academic and community practice is guided by principles of reciprocity, responsibility, and the belief that education can be a pathway toward social transformation for Métis learners and their communities.

Sheila Pocha, Gabriel Dumont Institute

Sheila Pocha is the Program Head and proud graduate of the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program at the University of Saskatchewan. She has taught in northern and urban settings and as a teacher education sessional lecturer. Her experience as a teacher, administrator, and community volunteer have contributed to her advocacy for anti-racist and anti-oppressive education. Sheila has served on several committees, including with the Awasis Special Subject Council with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, the Ministry of Education, and Saskatoon Public Schools. Sheila has had the honour and privilege of serving as a volunteer on the boards of the Saskatoon Pre-School Foundation, the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Station 20 West, Quint Development, the Batoche Shared Management Board, SaskCulture, and the University of Saskatchewan Senate.

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Published

2025-12-09

How to Cite

Gillies, C., Mercereau, N., & Pocha, S. (2025). Imagining and enacting Métis informed anti-racist education: A local Prairie K to 12 flower beadwork framework . Canadian Journal of Education Revue Canadienne De l’éducation, 48(3), 863–892. https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.7487

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 3 (2025): Autumn 2025 | Automne 2025

Section

Special Issue: Métis-specific Education

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