Guiding the Journey: Indigenous Educator Awards
November 19-21, 2025 | Winnipeg, MB
The Guiding the Journey (GTJ) Awards recognize Indigenous educators, one Indigenous organization, and one non-Indigenous educator who have made valuable contributions to community-based education and who honour the principles of Indigenous knowledge.
GTJ Award recipients receive a complimentary ticket to the 2025 National Gathering for Indigenous Education, a gift of $1,000 to be used towards classroom needs, and an expense-paid trip to the awards ceremony in Winnipeg, MB, November 19-21, 2025.
Call for Nominations
To nominate an educator or organization for a Guiding the Journey Award, visit our How to Nominate page to determine the eligibility of the nominee and complete the Online Nomination Form.
The deadline to nominate is Friday, July 18, 2025 @ 11:59 PM PT.
2024 Guiding the Journey Recipients
Etienna Moostoos-Lafferty
Indigenous Educator Award
Etienna Moostoos-Lafferty (wapikihewiskwew) is a member of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta. Etienna prides herself in providing exceptional educational opportunities for Indigenous youth which includes working alongside teachers to enhance their confidence and capacity in teaching Indigenous content. Etienna has worked for both public and federal school systems throughout Alberta and now works at the post-secondary level in pre-service teacher education. Currently, Etienna is a PhD student in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta and is researching Alberta highways as a foundation for relational divide. Etienna’s biggest accomplishment in teaching has been educating her young daughter and instilling in her nehiyaw (Cree) tradition, language, and natural law.
Nahanni Olson
Indigenous Educator Award
Nahanni Olson is a proud member of Onion Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 territory. She has been an educator and advocate for Indigenous student success in urban settings and core neighbourhood school communities for the last 16 years, and currently is the Director of the BIRM Program through a partnership with the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatoon Public Schools. Nahanni strives to serve community and family in the spirit of kisewâtisiwin, tapahtêyimisowin, ekwa sâkihitowin. Nahanni shares three children with her husband Michael, and gives thanks to her parents and siblings for their lifetime of support and encouragement.
Charlene Smoke
Indigenous Educator Award
Charlene Smoke, a member of Alderville First Nation, is a dedicated educator at Meadowridge School. With a strong academic foundation in Indigenous Studies, Education, and a Master’s in Educational Leadership, she brings over a decade of experience in teaching and educational leadership. As a First Nations business owner, Charlene also promotes Indigenous art and culture through her company, Indigenous Kanata, supporting artists from across Turtle Island. Her work is deeply rooted in her commitment to truth, reconciliation, and fostering connections to Indigenous history and knowledge.
Krista Umble
Indigenous Educator Award
Krista Umble is a proud Métis mom, coach, educator and volunteer from Northern Alberta. Krista has created numerous initiatives within the Grande Prairie Public School Division to support Teacher Quality Standards and the TRC Calls to Action. She has led over sixty Blanket Exercises and is an active community member planning local Round Dances, Powwows, and Métis Kitchen Parties. Before working in education, Krista was an entrepreneur, an advocate for Residential School Survivors, and a board member for the local women’s shelter. Known in the school community as Auntie Krista, she is passionate about empowering youth to stretch their resiliency, to be proud of who they are, and to be rooted in connection through volunteerism and life-long learning while incorporating Indigenous Ways of Knowing.
Laurie Dunn
Partner in Indigenous Education
In 2002, Laurie Dunn graduated from Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario with a BA/BEd. She has been teaching for over 20 years and has experience in both the secondary and elementary divisions. For the last 15 years, Laurie has been teaching at the N’Swakamok Alternative School which is housed in the Friendship Centre located in Sudbury, Ontario. She is committed to assisting Indigenous youth and adults to re-engage with the education system, as well as to achieve their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. She also stays connected with students after they have graduated in order to provide continued support, assist them with their post-secondary courses, and encourage them to stay on a positive path.
Blue Thunderbird Land-Based Teachings and Learning Centre
Organization
Ozhaawashkwaa Animikii-Bineshi Aki Onji Kinimaagae’ Inun (Aki Centre) was established in 2017 and centres Indigenous Education through land-based education at their Centre and throughout the Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg, MB. Rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, Aki Centre fosters reconciliation by braiding land-based education, ecological restoration, and community stewardship together for the Seven Oaks School Division learners (K-12 and mature students), educators and staff, and the extended community. The centre resides on 50 acres of land that was once a degraded farm. Aki Centre staff restored the land and nurtured it by bringing it back to its origins, a grassland, which has become home again for wildlife and includes gardens with traditional food and medicines, walking trails, a sweat lodge, tipi, and storytelling and interpretive signage led by Indigenous voices. Each day, students visit the Centre to engage in holistic, land-based education where the land is their teacher. This past year, Aki Centre reached a milestone and had 5,000 students and educators visit the site.
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding Guiding the Journey: Indigenous Educator Awards, please contact us at educatorawards@indspire.ca or visit our FAQ page.
