Ensuring the Future of Métis Wellbeing through Digital Means and Heart-Work

Authors

  • Yvonne Poitras Pratt University of Calgary
  • Billie-Jo Grant Wild Rose School Division

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.7489

Keywords:

Métis, equity, Indigenous education, settler-colonialism, assimilation, digital advocacy

Abstract

As Métis educators working in Alberta, we have long advocated for the meaningful inclusion of Métis perspectives and relational ways in educational spaces. We take up this work of advocacy and critical scholarship to honour our ancestors and ensure that the next generations of Métis are firmly rooted in their identity and empowered with confidence to assert their presence. Despite our efforts and those of many dedicated others who see the need for equity and inclusion in Indigenous education, our attempts to interrupt dominant settler-colonial logics have only been marginally successful. This article explores how a lack of knowingness around the Métis, flawed notions of racial purity, and assumptions of full assimilation of the Métis have resulted in ongoing injustices against the Métis. We share how we have worked to rectify these inequities through digital means alongside the prioritization of traditional Métis values that include respect, relational ways, and reciprocity.

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Author Biographies

Yvonne Poitras Pratt, University of Calgary

Yvonne Poitras Pratt (Otipemisiwak Métis Government citizen) is a Full Professor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Her Indigenous roots trace back to the 1600s and more recently to the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in northern Alberta. Her 2020 book, Digital Storytelling in Indigenous Education: A Decolonizing Journey for a Metis Community, explores digital storytelling as a form of decolonizing. As an award-winning educator and researcher, Yvonne has published extensively on Métis education, reconciliation, decolonizing, and arts-based education. The 2023 best-seller Truth and Reconciliation through Education: Stories of Decolonizing Practices shares stories from alumni who have taken up the TRC Calls to Action. Yvonne was appointed a UCalgary Research Excellence Chair (2023-2028) in Transdisciplinary Studies in recognition of her positive impact on practitioners and leaders in education, and authentic community engagement supporting marginalized and underserved communities in Alberta.

Billie-Jo Grant, Wild Rose School Division

Billie-Jo Grant is a proud Métis woman and citizen of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. With ancestral roots in the Pruden, Beaudry, and Fraser lines of northern Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Fort Chipewyan, her work is grounded in the relational responsibilities and histories carried by her family. Her academic and professional journey has centred on reclaiming identity, addressing imposed silences, and advancing Métis perspectives within educational systems. Billie-Jo’s scholarship and leadership focus on integrating Métis ways of knowing through relational, community-engaged practice. She contributed to the development and co-publication of foundational Métis educational resources used across Alberta, supporting a more accurate and culturally grounded understanding of Métis presence and futurities. Her work is committed to centering Indigenous voices in ways that uphold their integrity, complexity, and depth. As Director of Indigenous Education with Wild Rose School Division, she emphasizes Wâhkôhtowin—kinship, reciprocity, and collective responsibility—while walking alongside educators, Elders, and communities to foster inclusive learning environments.

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Published

2025-12-09

How to Cite

Poitras Pratt, Y., & Grant, B.-J. (2025). Ensuring the Future of Métis Wellbeing through Digital Means and Heart-Work. Canadian Journal of Education Revue Canadienne De l’éducation, 48(3), 807–837. https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.7489

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Section

Special Issue: Métis-specific Education