Nipissing hires Chair of Indigenous Education
Dr. Cindy Peltier brings a passion for community health, teaching and learning and a strong connection to Nipissing University to her new role as the university’s Chair of Indigenous Education.
A recent graduate of the interdisciplinary doctoral program in Rural and Northern Health at Laurentian University, Dr. Peltier has previously heldseveral roles in Indigenous education as an educator, principal and researcher in Anishinaabe communities. Her dissertation examined the cancer experiences of Anishinaabe people, exploring an Anishinaabe understanding of health and how Indigenous healing assists in achieving Minobimaadiziwin, or the Good Life.
Her experience and understanding are a perfect fit for the role of Chair of Indigenous Education, where she will take a leadership role in placing Indigenous knowledge as an integral part of post-secondary scholarship and research.
Dr. Peltier’s family roots come from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory and Nipissing First Nation. Her father, the late Henry Lewis, and mother, Lynda Lewis were both graduates of Nipissing University and long-time Anishinaabe educators in Wikwemikong who passed their passion for teaching, learning and community leadership to their daughter.
“I am looking forward to commencing my new role as the Chair of Indigenous Education at Nipissing University. As an Indigenous educator and researcher, I am committed to our learners and to the wider Nipissing community. With the new government's stated commitments to Indigenous communities, I believe it is an opportune time to place Indigenous knowledge as an integral part of scholarship and research in all post-secondary institutions. I see my position as both a challenge and an opportunity to participate in this long-awaited endeavour,” said Dr. Peltier.
“Indigenous knowledge needs to take its rightful place as a legitimate source of scholarship on equal footing with Western theory and thought. It is my goal to work collaboratively with Nipissing’s faculty and administration to transform student programming, experiences, and strategic directions to exceed the needs and expectations of Nipissing's students. In doing so, I believe that my own research interests and contributions can dovetail with the current challenge of Canadian universities to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action for improvement in the lives of all Indigenous peoples.”
Dr. Peltier will begin her role on July 1, 2016.