I am the daughter of Margerie Friedel (nee Cunningham) and Clifford Friedel of Duffield, AB. My Indigenous affiliation is with Region 4 of the Métis Nation of Alberta – the traditional, ancestral territory of my Métis [Cree/Iroquois] grandparents includes Manitow Sâkâhikan [Lac St. Anne] in central Alberta. As a matter of courtship, my grandfather Montrose Cunningham skated across this lake in winter to visit my grandmother Lily LaRocque. Located in the North Saskatchewan watershed, Manitow Sâkâhikan is marked by a long history of fishing, buffalo hunts, and summer gatherings. It remains an important place for Indigenous peoples today. I offer many thanks for the opportunity to work and live in Coast Salish territory - UBC's Vancouver campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral lands of the Musqueam (h-un-q-uh-mi-n-uhm speaking people).

While studying for an undergraduate Degree w/ Distinction in Commerce (University of Alberta, 1996), I worked as an administrator of college-level business programs for First Nation, Métis and Inuit women. This experience led to a MEd (1999) in First Nations Education (Department of Educational Policy Studies, U of A). My Masters thesis on Aboriginal parental involvement in an urban public school deals with how issues of power and conflict, related to a legacy of internal colonialism, creates barriers to the meaningful involvement of parents.

The outcomes of that study led me to wonder how, in the context of Canada's colonial history and globalizing present, Native children attending public schools might come to know who they are in ways that parents and Elders call for. As in the case of Aboriginal parental involvement, 'Indigenizing' the curriculum is a project that occurs in a context of ongoing colonial rule and deeply embedded power relations. As a counter to this and with the support of a SSHRC doctoral fellowship, I began working with community-based non-profit organizations to create non-formal learning initiatives for Indigenous youth, particularly in the realm of outdoor and place-based education. This work is central to my PhD (2009) dissertation (Indigenous Peoples Education, Department of Educational Policy Studies, U of A).

In October, 2010, I agreed to a three year appointment on the Board of Governors of the Rupertsland Institute, a newly established Métis education, training and research institution concerned with securing the aspirations of the Métis Nation of Alberta's 35,000 plus members. And in May, 2011, I was appointed as a council member for the Aboriginal Leadership and Management Program of the Banff Centre.

I am interested in critical perspectives on Aboriginal education policy and practice, First Nation and Métis experience in the realm of work and learning, and Indigenous conceptualizations of place and their import for teaching and learning. As part of this latter interest, I've engaged with community-based partners in the Lower Mainland and Haida Gwaii to create meaningful academic service learning experiences for graduate students. I have experience working with qualitative case studies, visual research methods, Indigenous epistemologies and critical race theory in qualitative research.