Graduate profiles
J a d e L a F o n ta i n e First Nations and endangered languages
I am so grateful I had the opportunity to graduate with an FNEL degree. The skills I acquired during my time at UBC have informed and inspired my decisions with my master’s thesis. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with Kahnawà:ke Education Center for this project, as well as receiving numerous awards since I started my graduate degree. Separate from my thesis, I was recently accepted for a second research project with Mitacs; Efficacy of Online Tools for Indigenous Language Acquisition! I am happy with the knowledge I gained from the FNEL program, as I believe I would not have been set up for success with my work to the same degree with a different Major. Language revitalization is so important to me, and I can’t wait to apply all these experiences from my bachelors and masters to my future PhD!
S y d n ey H a m i lto n First Nations and Indigenous Studies
My identity and background is complex, shaped through generations of strong Indigenous women. My life is a very small portion of others' stories.
My name is Sydney Hamilton. I grew up on Treaty 7 territory; however, my ancestry is from the Lac la Biche area of Alberta. I was raised in a small city just outside of Calgary with a predominantly white population that I found was no different than the large portion of Canadians, who are uneducated on Indigenous peoples. As a visibly white individual in a small city, me being Métis was scrutinized and dictated by others. Over time this constant question led me to doubt who and what I was. Not to sound cheesy, but I chose First Nations and Indigenous Studies because it felt like a community. My best memories of FNIS always contain the type of laughter that can only be found amongst friends. FNIS was where I truly came to understand myself as a Métis woman and what that meant. It is a place where questions weren’t shunned but inspired. Lived realities were taken as fact not fiction. The professors were guides rather than authorities. The colonial systems that surround us weren’t accepted but rejected. It was a place of learning, in so many renditions of the term.
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