911勛圖

Irina Borgos is a master���s of resource management student interested in advancing Indigenous sovereignty and agency through environmental and conservation work.

In May, Borgos seized the opportunity to join the Faculty of Environment���s new graduate field school in Sts���ailes, a month-long course that saw participants live on the land and learn from Sts���ailes knowledge holders first-hand.

���[The field school���s] goal of learning from being on the land was much aligned with my research interests and future goals,��� Borgos says. ���I wanted to learn directly from the people of Sts���ailes Nation.������

A key component of the field school is learning through oral storytelling, and she loved spending time outside, sitting on the grass for a few hours and listening to the guest speakers. ���It was a very different kind of ���lecture��� experience,��� she reflects. ���I found it really engaging.���

She was also taken by surprise when she, along with other students who identify as women, were welcomed to join a women-only sweat lodge ceremony.

���The ease with which we were brought into the ceremony felt natural and was very much appreciated. I was expecting to feel completely out of place, but I wasn���t,��� she shares.

To complete the course, students were required to take on a project of their choosing that would benefit the Sts���ailes community. For her project, Borgos worked on a report that paints a picture of the various food production and sovereignty-related initiatives, including one focused on community garden-style farming and food preservation, one incorporating traditional foods and plants into the local healthcare center, and one aiming to provide healthy options for a local cafeteria. With one convenient, comprehensive report, they can all be brought up to speed on one another, and as a result, be better positioned to spot and action opportunities.

After interviewing members of the three groups, Borgos compiled and organized the information they provided, ���summarizing the main elements, goals, and current status of each initiative,��� she explains. ���I also included potential places for each initiative to come together for funding opportunities and capacity sharing.���

Borgos says that both the field school and her experience talking to people in Sts���ailes about food and land ���and all the community interactions in between���, made a huge and lasting impression:

���The people of Sts���ailes were not only incredibly generous with their time and knowledge, but also inspiring in how to care for the world (people, animals, plants, etc.) around us.���