Ryerson Alumni - 2018 Summer - 10

GOULD STREET

Q&A
Elder Joanne Dallaire never
wavers from her truth

to increase the number of Indigenous faculty and staff, and to create
new opportunities for people to learn
Indigenous ways of knowing. So it
was a very profound, hopeful moment.
To wrap the president and provost
in a star blanket-that's something
that is very rarely done, and it's not
done easily.

Fast Facts
Role
Elder and Traditional
Counsellor
Presented
Eagle Staff in 2012

I've always been a person who knows
where I'm guided to. I was thinking,
"Boy, this is interesting-I would've
never thought I would be in this role."
But I knew I was there for a reason. I
know I have a strong voice; I know I'm
not afraid to confront difficult issues.

Given all the changes that have
occurred, is being an Elder a different
job than it was in 2005?

In some ways it's the same, but I'm
delivering the message to different
people in the university. Now, it's
grown to where I'm sitting in important meetings, where I'm seen as a person of my word, and can be a bigger
part of how the university is focusing
on Indigenous issues.
There's a saying, "Nothing about us,
without us." Decisions are often made
for groups of people without them ever
knowing about it. That certainly was
the history of our people, so being
involved on the inner-knowing is very
important.

What are you proudest of from your
time at Ryerson?

Since 2005, Joanne Dallaire -a Cree
Omushkego with ancestry from Attawapiskat, Ontario-has been a strong voice for
Indigenous Peoples on campus. As Ryerson's
campus Elder, Dallaire has helped incorporate Indigenous knowledge/methodologies
into the curriculum and overseen educational events. She has also been a mentor
to Indigenous students, continuing a threedecade career as an educator and advocate.
Dallaire is stepping back from her role as
traditional counsellor in Aboriginal Student
10

Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2018

Services, but will continue as Ryerson's
campus Elder.
RU

At a ceremony in January, the
university committed to implementing
the recommendations of the Truth
and Reconciliation Report at Ryerson
University. What did that ceremony
mean to you?

It represented a commitment from
the university to continue to improve
the quality of Indigenous education,

Given what Canada's education
system represents to Indigenous
communities, did you feel trepidation
when you started in your role on
campus a decade ago?

Never wavering from my truth. Sometimes it's easier not to say something,
and I'm very proud of myself that I
always stood on my truth.
I'm an extremely forgiving person,
but I cannot tolerate it if someone lies
to me. I don't care what your truth is-
if I ask you to tell me the truth, tell me
the truth. The truth has a ring to it, and
a lie has a ring to it. Once that happens,
it's very hard for me to trust that person again. If the truth is you hate my
guts, then that's okay! We don't have
to like each other, but I don't want you
to pretend. - Will Sloan

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALIA YOUSSEF, IMAGE ARTS '17

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