Indigenous Alumni

Joseph A. Dandurand – Poet; Director, Kwantlen Cultural CentreA black and white portrait of Joseph A. Dandurand.

General Arts and Science (Theatre/Performing Arts), Class of 1990

Joseph Dandurand’s calendar has never been so full.

At first light, you might find the Kwantlen First Nation writer working on a film script, short stories or poems. Later in the day, he could be teaching storytelling to children in one of three different school districts or attending to his duties as the Heritage/Lands Officer, researcher and archeologist for his people. And thanks to Zoom, on any given day he might be giving virtual readings of his widely admired poetry to audiences near and far.

Read more here.

The Entrepreneurial Drive of Chef Marie-Cecile Kakgoosh Nottaway-Wawatie A portrait of Chef Marie-Cecile Kakgoosh Nottaway-Wawatie.

From growing up on the land, to being recently featured in the New York Times, Marie-Cecile Kakgoosh Nottaway-Wawatie comes from a long line of strong Anishinaabe First Nations women. From growing up on the land, to being recently featured in the New York Times, Marie-Cecile Kakgoosh Nottaway-Wawatie comes from a long line of strong Anishinàbe First Nations women. As the founder and owner of the successful Wawatay Catering, Cezin, as she is known, runs her business from the First Nations community of Kitigan Zibi. Wawatay Catering specializes in Anishinàbe cuisine with a modern twist, inspired by recipes from her family. Learn more about her story, here.

Elaine Kicknosway is Dedicated to Community Service

A portrait of Elaine Kicknosway.

Elaine graduated from the Early Childhood Education program from Algonquin College in 1989, and has built up a 25-year career of dedicated community service since then. She has shown consistent involvement and leadership

of not-for-profit indigenous organizations, including the National Indigenous Survivors of Child Welfare Network, the Minwashin Lodge Aboriginal Women’s Support Centre and the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa. Read her full feature, here.

Crystal Martin-Lapenskie Advocates for Inuit Youth Crystal Martin-Lapenskie standing in the middle of a studio filming.

Crystal Martin-Lapenskie knows the hardships faced by Inuit communities. She was raised in Sanirajak in Nunavut, splitting her teenage years between Canada’s Artic region and the Ottawa Valley. Now as the President of the National Inuit Youth Council she has a powerful voice as an advocate for young people who often struggle to have access to the necessities of life. Read more, here.

Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow is on a mission to change Indigenous lives for the better.A portrait of Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow.

Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow is on a mission to change Indigenous lives for the better.

A member of the Ojibway Band from Whitefish River First Nation in northern Ontario, Marsolais-Nahwegahbow is the founder of Ottawa-based Birch Bark Coffee Company, a firm that sources its fair trade, organic beans from Indigenous farmers in Central and South America. It is one of three companies in Canada that has SPP certification, indicating that the coffee is produced by small independent farmers supporting their families and communities with their product. Learn about his story, here.

AC Alumnus Advocates for Affordable Housing for Indigenous People

The Algonquin College Marc Maracle attended in 1979 was in many ways the same college that presented him with an honorary degree four decades later. But in at least one way, today’s Algonquin has profoundly changed, he says.

Algonquin remains as great a place to learn as it was when he studied Architecture Technology and Mechanical Systems from 1979 to 1983, says Maracle, Executive Director of the Gignul Non-Profit Housing Corporation. But now it is also a welcoming place for students of diverse backgrounds, and an institution conscious of the values inherent in its name. Read more about Marc’s journey, here.

Walking Together: Social Service Worker grad gives back to his Indigenous community

When Kane Odjick-Dumont left his community in western Quebec to attend Algonquin College two-and-a-half-hours away, it was so he could help his community when he went back.

But as it turned out, not everything of value learned during his two-year Social Service Worker program was taught in the classroom. Odjick-Dumont’s experience with Algonquin’s Mamidosewin Centre, whose goal is to support and empower Indigenous students, left him with a deeper sense of his culture than he had when he arrived.

“Here at the Mamidosewin Centre, it was kind of like a community within the college,” says Odjick-Dumont, who says he became more involved in student life because of what the centre offered. That made him more successful in his studies, he says. “Algonquin College giving a centre like this to Indigenous people is so awesome.” Learn more, here.