Dr. Nancy Stevens
Associate Professor – First Nations Studies

I am excited to be at UNBC and I extend my gratitude - mussi cho/nia:wen ko'ha - to this land and the Lheidleh T'enneh.  I am deeply grateful to have the privilege of being a guest to this place and space.  I have come from Nipissing University (North Bay, Ontario) where I started in 2020.  I completed my PhD in Indigenous Studies at Trent University just before the lock downs started in the Covid-19 pandemic.  I completed an MEd in Adult Education – Indigenous Specialization at OISE/University of Toronto, and a BA in Social Development Studies – Social Work stream through the University of Waterloo's distance education option.  This lengthy learning journey was kicked off by completing a 3-year diploma in Native Child & Family Studies at Confederation College in Thunder Bay. 

My biggest accomplishment, however, is that I am a parent of 4 amazing humans who survived the many challenges of growing up with a mom who worked full-time and went to school, hoping to make a better life for them and a better world in the small ways that I could do.  And I am a proud grandma of 2 young men who are creative and energetic people.

I grew up in Guelph, Ontario, but I have spent most adulthood working in non-profits as a counsellor and program coordinator with Indigenous mental health and women’s services in Ontario (Parry Sound, North Bay, and Peterborough regions), and in the Yukon (Old Crow, Watson Lake). At the same time, I was teaching as a part-time post-secondary instructor in Indigenous social work and human service programs in various institutions.

My roots are Kaien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and European descent.  My Kaien’kehá:ka ancestors, as women, were disconnected from Six Nations because Confederation and the subsequent Indian Act did not recognize women as citizens of their own nations, except in their relationships to either father or husband.  As an adoptee, I have been long interested in the intersections of identity, trauma, and healing.  And while I didn't grow up connected to my ancestral Mohawk culture, as a helper and student, I have been heavily influenced by Anishinaabe teachings.  These have framed my helping and teaching practices over the years.  I am looking forward to seeing how I might contribute to First Nations Studies and the broader UNBC and regional community.