I am fortunate to have had the opportunity of working for nearly a decade (1984-1993) in Dene, Inuit, and Cree communities of northern Canada. On immigrating to Canada in 1984, my first job was as principal of the school in Black Lake, a Dene community in northern Saskatchewan. I was honoured to be principal as this school made the transition from Federal to local control, although my subsequent work (both experiential and theoretical) has led me to conclude that ‘local control of education’ is a misnomer (see my publications, especially “Reversing the spirit of delegitimation” [1997]). I then studied at the University of Saskatchewan prior to accepting the role of principal at two schools in Pangnirtung, Baffin Island (now Nunavut).  On leaving the Arctic I became Superintendent of Schools for the Lac La Ronge Cree Nation, Saskatchewan, which at the time was the largest First Nations school jurisdiction in western Canada, a position I relinquished only to pursue my PhD.  My interest in Aboriginal / indigenous education has continued throughout my career, most recently with an investigation of the psychosocial needs of a community impacted by the 2013 Alberta floods.

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