Trent University Indigenous Studies Ph.D. candidate Tasha Beeds is the recipient of a $105,000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Ms. Beeds, who has been supported by the Indigenous Studies Department and Trent University, is grateful for the national recognition she is receiving for her work.

With the scholarship in place, Ms. Beeds is secured as a Ph.D. candidate at Trent for the next four years.  Without concern for how she will finance her Ph.D., Ms. Beeds can now focus on completing her study of violence in Indigenous women’s lives through the exploration of Cree consciousness and the âtayôhkêwina (Sacred Stories).

“It’s very important and encouraging to know that issues pertinent to Indigenous people and women in Canada are considered valuable research perspectives,” said Ms. Beeds. “It means much to me that SSHRC believes in the work I am doing.”

Drawing on her Master’s thesis she completed in Indigenous Studies at Trent, Ms. Beeds’ work tackles ideology and issues that hit close to home. Of nêhiyaw (Cree)-Métis and Caribbean ancestry, Ms. Beeds grew up in mistawâsis (Big Child First Nations), atâhk-akohp (Star Blanket First Nations), and nêwo-nâkîwin (Mont Nebo), Saskatchewan. She is inspired by the people of her community, some of whom are former students of the First Nations University of Canada, where Ms. Beeds taught Indigenous studies and English for seven years.

“My research is very close to me, and this drives me – my sense of responsibility to my community,” Ms. Beeds said. “I know that the work I am doing, the framework I am creating, will be applied to community initiatives. Knowing that I can make a difference to something so close to me is very powerful.”

Ms. Beeds points out that her study of violence and Indigenous women is an examination of the resiliency of Indigenous people, their culture and their perseverance, and not an account of victimized women. “I want to emphasize that Cree people are resilient and strong. The answers to issues troubling my people today are present in our narratives and traditions. We have a responsibility to bring those answers forth. Our culture is composed of long intellectual traditions, but how those traditions can guide us in contemporary time is a consideration that isn’t often examined academically.

“Indigenous scholarship is exploding right now,” she adds. “Indigenous studies at Trent is so vibrant. We can offer insight to many different disciplines. Much like the nature of Trent, Indigenous Studies is very interdisciplinary.”

Ms. Beeds said that her experience at Trent has been powerful, and that she is honoured to study in the Indigenous Studies Ph.D. program, the only one of its kind in Canada. “I couldn’t do this work anywhere else, and feel so fortunate to be doing it. The support from faculty and my peers is phenomenal,” she says. “There is a strong emphasis placed on Indigenous knowledge and intellectual tradition and we are encouraged to explore our cultural backgrounds.”

Posted on Tuesday, October 4, 2011.