Aboriginal Education Research Forum

Cultural Celebration

 

Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Niigaanwewidom James Sinclair is Anishinaabe and originally from St. Peter's (Little Peguis) Indian Reserve.

His critical and creative work has been translated into several languages and can be found in the pages of The Guardian, Prairie Fire, Canadian Literature, The Goose, Urban NDN, Canadian Dimension, and The Winnipeg Free Press. He is the co-editor (with Warren Cariou) of the recently-published Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water (Highwater Press, 2012) and has an upcoming collection of essays and books he is co-editing with a collective of Anishinaabeg scholars and writers entitled Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories (Michigan State University Press, 2013). 

 In 2009, he co-edited (with Renate Eigenbrod) a double-issue of The Canadian Journal of Native Studies (#29.1&2) focusing on "Responsible, Ethical, and Indigenous-Centred Literary Criticisms of Indigenous Literatures." A former high-school drama and language arts teacher at Ecole Kelvin High School, Niigaan is currently a faculty member at the University of Manitoba in the Department of Native Studies.  He is also a very proud father. 

Niji Mahkwa Students

The Niji Mahkwa Singers are elementary students from Niji Mahkwa School. As part of the cultural curriculum students hear and are taught sacred prayer songs. Interested students practice and can take part when the singers are asked to sing at events such as these.