Bio

Sharla received an Interdisciplinary PhD in Human Studies at Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario in 2016. In 2017 she relocated to Edmonton for a faculty position in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta where she teaches in the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program in northern Alberta First Nations contexts as well as the Elementary Education program on campus. Sharla is a member of the Loon Clan at Mnjikaning (Rama) First Nation in Ontario and works to stimulate and support grass-roots development of culture and language reclamation initiatives. Sharla has 25 years of extensive experience within the education and health sectors in First Nations and urban contexts. She demonstrates professional and personal commitment to community-based Aboriginal research in education that honors the voices of children, youth, families, Elders, and educators. She is very community-minded and her relationships within the Aboriginal community and professional milieu are well-developed and maintained in the Great Lakes region of Ontario and her network is steadily growing in Alberta. Sharla’s research and teaching experience is rich with community land-based learning approaches and applications for school and post secondary learning. Sharla is dedicated to reconciliation and believes that education about Aboriginal perspectives, histories, cultures and languages is key to building respectful relationships and for healing our relationship with Aki (Land) and each other. Ecological systems theory and Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing provide knowledge systems for understanding and working toward social transformation and reconciliation. The positive impacts of relationship-building, communication, and the creation of a kind, respectful and inclusive environment in the academy are key for making space for Indigenous scholars and culture-based language, thought and pedagogical approaches.

Contact

Dr. Sharla Mskokii Peltier
Assistant Professor
Dept. Elementary Education
Faculty of Education
University of Alberta
sharla.peltier@ualberta.ca