Chilliwack resident awarded Lieutenant Governor’s medal

“I like to create space where questions can happen,” Doell said. “As the educational system moves towards implementing Indigenous practices and ideas into its curriculum, I often noticed gaps in understanding. If I can help clarify or help establish understanding and promote exploration of Indigenous ideas, and help to create a space where questions are happily and thoroughly answered, why wouldn’t I?”

Doell is Cree and a member of the Waterhen First Nation Band in Saskatchewan. She was adopted and raised in a non-Indigenous family along with two adopted brothers who shared her Cree heritage, according to the UFV news profile.

As a child she was raised alongside the people of the Katzie First Nation people in Langley and learned about Stó:lō culture through Indigenous-focused programs in school.

“The Indigenous programs in my schools and community were very strong in teaching us the culture of the Stolo,” she says. “I was selected to participate in many leadership and cultural conferences, activities and programs. I feel as though my life experience has given me a broad understanding of the world.”

Doell previously worked as an Aboriginal cultural facilitator in the Surrey School District, and then an Aboriginal education assistant for the Chilliwack School District.

“This further cultivated my relationships with the Indigenous community and lit a fire inside of me to learn and teach the youth. As a cultural presenter my job entailed just that, creating engaging presentations and implementing cultural teachings. I found that I could effectively articulate what I had learned to students and family members and talk about the hard topics in a meaningful and helpful way. At UFV, I continued this practice with my teachers and fellow classmates, promoting healing and inclusion. I believe that understanding our collective past ensures empathy in the present and creates opportunity for the future.”

After working for more than a decade, Doell enrolled in UFV’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program with the end goal of becoming a teacher. Now that she’s graduating, she’s contemplating other career options as well, but may return to earn her teaching qualification. While taking the BFA program, she focused on sculpting, painting, and photography. She says that it’s an honour to receive the Lieutenant Governor’s medal.

“I am honoured that my way of interacting has been recognized and that my expression has made a positive impact on the community around me.”

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack resident awarded Lieutenant Governor’s medal

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