District 11 Candidates - Prince Albert - Stony Rapids
[Postal codes beginning with S0J (and east of meridian 106), S6W, S6V, S6X]
Kona Guest
Jerri Hoback
Johnny Walker
Carol Lafond
Laura Burnouf
Kona Guest
My hometown is La Ronge, SK where I also completed my Bachelor of Education in 1996 at NORTEP (Northern Teacher Education Program). I greatly enjoyed my seven-month campus experience at U of S during this four-year program. After convocation I taught in Sandy Bay, SK from 1996-2000 in both the middle years and the high school. I had the opportunity of being the Vice-Principal in my final year at Hector Thiboutot School in Sandy Bay. I relocated to Denare Beach, SK and taught in Flin Flon, MB from 2000-2004. To get my teacher certification in Manitoba I had to take an additional university class. Fortunately Athabasca Online University offered the class and I also started taking their Graduate courses in Distance Education. First I completed my Graduate Diploma in Distance Education Technology in 2008 and then my Masters in Distance Education in 2009. When I moved back to La Ronge I began teaching online high school courses at edcentre.ca and I have been teaching here for the past nine years. I have my Competent Communicator and Competent Leader Certificates through Toastmasters. I have also been an STF (Saskatchewan Teachers; Federation) councilor, as well as a School Staff Liaison and School Staff Representative. Presently I am the LINC (Local Implementation Negotiation Committee) Chair for NATA (Northern Area Teachers’ Association).
Jerri Hoback
Since receiving her Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan Jerri had earned several designations including the Certified Management Accountant designation from the CMA Society of Alberta, and the Chartered Director designation from McMaster University.
Jerri has work as an accountant in a wide variety of industry sectors including oil and gas services, electronics manufacturing, and financial services. Currently she is working for the national accounting firm MNP LLP in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in assurance services.
Johnny Walker
A former University of Saskatchewan Senator elect for District 10 from July 2009 to 2012 Johnny Walker originates from the Northern community of Sandy Bay, SK and now resides in Prince Albert, SK. Johnny’s educational background consists of a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan. His other accomplishments include a chemical laboratory technician certificate from Northlands College, a security officer certificate from the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, a business certificate from SIAST Palliser campus and a certificate in indigenous business administration from the First Nation University of Canada. Johnny is currently the Corporate Executive Officer of the Prince Albert Grand Council and has filled this position since June 2007. Prior to that Johnny was part of the Senior Executive of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation as their Director of Post Secondary Education a position that he held for 7 years. Johnny currently sits on various boards, commissions and committees throughout the North. He enjoys volunteering his time to sports and recreation; his future aspirations include completing his Master’s degree in Business Administration. Johnny enjoys working with people and encourages everyone to pursue their dreams and goals and looks forward to working with the U of S leadership, local community leaders, but most importantly the U of S students, faculty, stakeholders and alumni.
Carol Lafond
Philosophy: "It's all about family" -my motto and centre of being. I am also a member of the Cree Nation (nehiyaw) - Muskeg Lake.
Personal
My family: dad- the late Albert Lafond and mom- the late Senator Alpha Lafond (nee Venne). Cree/Metis heritage. Sister to 5 siblings - 1 sister Judy {deceased) and 4 brothers, Robert, Allan, George, Dean. Mother of 4: 3 girls, Bonnie Leask (U of SK B.A '03 Double Honours Native Studies/Political Studies, Beverley (U of SK, B.A '99, LLB '02} & Kaila Lafond (SIAST - Professional Cooking, current) & son, William Leask (Augustana University College B.A. '03); kohkum to 3 granddaughters Bella, Ava & Hailie. I was raised on the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, attending the local school in Marcelin.
Formal Education
2006 Saskatoon Business College, Project Management Professional Certification
1984-88 University of Saskatchewan, Bachelor of Education, Major: Native Studies, Minor: English, Professional Minor: Library Science
1983-84 Kelsey Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences
- Library Technician Certificate
1960-72 Marcelin, SK - Primary/secondary school
Employment
2007-current Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Director, Health & Social Development
2005-2007 Saskatoon Tribal Council Health & Family Services, Policy Analyst/Researcher
2005 Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Director of Higher Leaming
2004-2005 Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies, Campus Director
1989-2004 Muskeg Lake Cree Nation- Post Secondary Counsellor
1987-89 Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre, Library Technician
Professional & Community Service
2010-current Heifer Canada, Board member (non-profit)
2004-2013 North West Regional College, North Battleford - Board of Governors, appointed by Government of Saskatchewan, Department of Learning.
2008-current Muskeg Lake Cree Nation Election Act Committee – voluntary Committee member
2000-2002 Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Post Secondary Technical Working Group (acting chair}; Special Advisory Group to FSIN Education Commission.
2000 Personal Injury Protection Plan (PIPP) Review, committee member, appointed by Government of Saskatchewan.
1998-2000 Saskatchewan Teachers Federation, Special Council; Saskatchewan Guidance and Counselling Association, Zone 6 representative.
1994-1996 Indian & Metis Education Advisory Council (IMEAC), appointed by Saskatchewan School of Trustees Association.
1993-1999 Saskatchewan Judicial Appointments Review Committee, appointed by Minister of Justice, Province of Saskatchewan.
1987-1989 SIAST - Kelsey Advisory Board for Library Technician Training Program.
2010-2011 Muskeg Lake - Education Committee
2006-2010 College of Medicine interviews for students
2004-2007 Muskeg Lake - Justice Committee (appointed by Chief & Council).
2000-2003 Muskeg Lake Cree Nation - Housing Committee Member.
1997-2000 Saskatchewan Valley School Division, Board Member
1997-2000 Saskatchewan Abilities Council, Director.
1991-1997 Blaine Lake School Division, Board Member (Board disestablished; amalgamated Saskatchewan Valley School, January, 1997).
1997-1999 Muskeg Lake Cree Nation - Health Committee Member.
1996-2001 Muskeg Lake Cree Nation - Economic Development Committee Member
1993-1999 Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) Board Member, Appointed by the Government of Saskatchewan.
1993-1999 Saskatchewan Judicial Appointments Review Committee, Appointed by the Minister of Justice, Province of Saskatchewan.
1994-1998 Tri-Media Productions and Blue Hills Productions "nikiskisinan: We Remember Them". Technical Assistant I Assist Producers Documentary: MLCN Veterans.
1992-1995 Marcelin Community Club - President
Interests
Include: Golf, curling, photography, creating scrapbooks, reading, travel (foreign & domestic) and being a grandparent.
Laura Burnouf
My name is Laura Burnouf and was born to my Metis parents- Alexandre Burnouf and Germaine Morin Burnouf in 1958 at Ile-a-la Crosse, Saskatchewan. For the first ten years of my life we resided beside the Beaver River on the mission hill alongside the Beauval Indian Residential School. After this we moved to our homestead, Riverside Ranch, a few miles north upstream from the mission hill. My father raised cattle and small farm animals such as chickens and pigs and also worked full time as a mechanical engineer at the residential school. He was a skilled worker with a grade eight education and self-taught in mechanics and carpentry. My mother worked hard and stayed home to take care of the family, the cattle and the day to day operations of the ranch. Together they raised nine children and two grandchildren
Cree was my first language until the age of seven when I began grade one. There was no such thing as preschool and from the time that I started school I was immersed in the English language and began to develop a love for reading. In fourth grade, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and in sixth grade I was helping the grade 2 teacher, Sister Simard in writing comprehension questions for her class. I would handwrite the questions for the reading assignment on the blackboard. The hobbies and past times that I preferred were usually independent and I challenged myself to figure out how things work in the world and also taught myself to play guitar and piano.
My father spoke with the missionaries in French but he believed that it was more important for us to learn the Cree language. I feel so blessed and fortunate that he made this decision because it really helps me see issues in different perspectives. This perspective will add to and help me in the decisions and the collaboration that are needed to act as University senate.
As you will see my early beginnings have influenced my life and if they were any different, the path that I have taken up until now would have a much different outcome. I believe that if a child is nurtured and guided to follow their strengths and are given the tools needed to nurture their talents then success is highly likely. Education is one of the greatest tools that could be given to a people.
Northern Saskatchewan did not have a high school by the time I was ready to begin grade 12. I applied to study at the Ursuline Academy School in Bruno. It was tough and it was my love for music that pulled me through. The weekend that my father was supposed to pick me up to take me home is the week that I realized that I could take music lessons. I joined the choir and enrolled in lessons. I felt such a joy being involved in something like this that I ended up staying at the school for the entire year and completed grade 12.
The next year in the fall of 1977 I enrolled in the first year regular B.Ed. program at the University of Saskatchewan. I joined the Quance chorus at the Education department at the University of Saskatchewan and enrolled in music as my major. The University of Saskatchewan’s regular program was very challenging and ended up not making the grade in the English and science area. No matter how hard I worked- my mark would always be below 50. I could not understand the multiple choice exams in the science area and my writing style was not accepted as the norm. Luckily I heard about the Indian Teacher Education program and I begged to have a second chance and the Director of the Indian Teacher Education Program spoke on my behalf and subsequently was able to continue on to the next year. I succeeded and got the 3 year standard A certificate in 1979. After working as a laborer for 3 years I went back to the University of Saskatchewan and earned the Bachelor of Education degree in 1985. I have continued to work in the education field since then and would not have it any other way.
I taught for ten years, 1985 until 1995 in the Elementary school system in both the Federal and Provincial school systems. I began at the Red Earth First Nations School and then went to Canoe Narrows School which was close to my home town. Shortly after I moved to Pierceland and taught at the Big Island Lake School for three years. I was longing to move closer to home and wanted to try teaching at the Provincial school system so I got hired at the Ducharme School in La Loche and taught there for two years. After this I transferred to the Pinehouse School and stayed for 4 years. I was involved in various activities at these schools and worked with community members and organizations on different projects such as drug and alcohol awareness and HIV awareness projects for the grade 5’s. I also initiated and planned school trips to various places such as Batoche, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Drumheller. I don’t know how I managed this all considering I had two young boys to raise on my own. Together as a team we worked it out and I am so grateful for my immediate family for their support.
I then applied to work as faculty advisor and instructor at the Northern Teacher Education Program at La Ronge in 1995. I was called for an interview and much to my surprise got the position. I really didn’t know what to make of it at the time. This was a huge challenge and teaching both young adults and mature adult University students was intimidating. I was pushed right into teaching and other duties and doubted my abilities at first. The mentor that worked alongside me encouraged and guided me and eventually my confidence started to build and I never looked back. I have been with this position for eighteen years.
These past years have not only been challenging and humiliating but fun, inspiring, and exciting. It proved to me that hard work, perseverance and trust pays off. All these years I have been teaching the non-fluent Cree course. For many years I also taught the Cross cultural Educational Foundations course to the third year preservice teachers. They were surprised to realize how prejudices form and how important it is to know the concept of cultural relativity. They were informed of the injustices that happened to other groups of people and that they, Aboriginals, were not alone in this continuing journey to self determination. I walked them through processes of empowerment and decolonization exercises and strategies that they in turn could help their own students overcome the academic and social obstacles in their lives.
I went back for more training and took courses in 1999 because I wanted to upgrade my skills in learning the best practices in second language acquisition. I had been involved in music prior to this but wanted to look into more training in the languages field. I became very interested in linguistics and received high marks in the introductory linguistic courses offered online. I got accepted at the University of Arizona for a 4 week intensive course in second language learning. I became even more interested in working in this area so when Dr. Heather Blair invited me to the Canadian Indigenous language and literacy development institute the following summer in 2000 I gladly accepted. I took training every summer until 2005 when I completed requirements for a Master’s degree in Elementary Education through the University of Alberta. I did my project on a Cree immersion day camp. I made recommendations for best practices and did a review on the This is one area that I could advise the University of Saskatchewan to work towards together with grassroots people and communities. It is so important to connect language with culture as it helps empower people and ensures future successes.
Two years ago in 2010, I wanted to teach indigenous studies courses and I was approved to teach two first level courses and I have certainly been more educated and informed in this area. I know the importance of reading, research and being informed and I teach these skills to the students. I start them off with the basic understandings and continue to challenge them in order that they may advance academically at a steady pace.
Throughout the past 18 years I volunteer at the surrounding schools in the La Ronge area by facilitating workshops in teaching Cree music and games. I have also facilitated Cree language workshops in conferences such as Awasis, the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network, First Nations Language Keeper’s conference and the Arizona Indian Language Development institute.
In the fall of 2009 I had the opportunity to sit on the Kikinahk Friendship center board Board of Directors in La Ronge. “Kikinahk” in Cree means our home. I was appointed by the Metis Local that I am a part of. I didn’t realize the important work that friendship centers have done all these years and I have been able to connect my students to these services. It has taken me awhile to learn about the friendship center movement and I continue to work as a team in a number of initiatives that we are working on. I prefer to work with the youth and feel it is important to involve them in decision making and keep them informed of opportunities.
My other involvement in community work is with the women’s group in La Ronge and each year we plan a gala to coincide with International women’s day. We recognize these ladies for their accomplishments in various areas. We also designate an award for female youth.
I have published articles online in the area of global education and am editor of our local newsletter. I often write about the events and take photos. I am also chair of the technology committee and a major project that we are presently working on involves a study on how we can put the best practices to work.
In closing I would like to acknowledge my children Colin, Marlon and Alex and my three granddaughters as they have been the reason that I continue to work in the education field. They have not followed their mother’s footsteps but have gone on to train in the technical field. Raising them as a single mother has been challenging but I am proud to say that I have knowledge and experience in this area. I am able to show empathy to those that are faced with the same challenge. No matter what the obstacles may be I believe that living the best life is attainable to everyone in this world. Supports need to be in place and measures to attain one’s goals need to be planned out but in the Cree worldview a person is never guaranteed anything. Success is earned through hard work and perseverance.
I hope to be a part of the Senate for the University of Saskatchewan. I want to commend the University of Saskatchewan for reaching out to promote and include aboriginal northern students into the programs in various creative ways.
