2022 Recipients

Roy Weasel Fat

An honorary Doctor of Laws will be conferred on Roy Weasel Fat in recognition of his leadership and dedication to developing post-secondary education grounded in Traditional Indigenous Knowledge.

Weasel Fat is currently the president of Red Crow Community College, located on Blood Tribe territory in Stand Off, Alta. In various roles with the college dating back to 1994, he has been instrumental in promoting the role of Traditional Blackfoot Knowledge in education for Blackfoot learners.

This work builds on Weasel Fat’s own early experiences with education. He learned the Blackfoot language before he learned English, and recalls his grandmother sharing Traditional Knowledge through stories. But his experience in settler-run schools was one in which he felt Blackfoot Knowledge and culture was ignored.

“There was really nothing in the curriculum that taught about Indigenous people. It was always studying other cultures, rather than our own culture,” he said. “So that’s what Indigenous education is about. It’s to reclaim our identity as Blackfoot People and learning our language, so we can make better sense of our Blackfoot culture and identity.”

His work as Red Crow Community College president has included tireless efforts to secure funding to develop a new campus. When it opens in fall 2022, there will be room for up to 900 learners to get post-secondary education that’s rooted in Blackfoot culture.

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