A #PresentingACCUTE Interview

With the upcoming 2025 ACCUTE Conference at George Brown College from 30th May- June 2nd, we have been having interviews with some of the presenters in conversation with Gladwell Pamba, ACCUTE’s Coordination and Communications Assistant. Our first interview series of #PresentingACCUTE kicks off with Kristine & Lloyd who will present a joint paper. Kristine Kowalchuk is an Adjunct Professor with the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. She teaches full-time at NAIT. Lloyd Cardinal is a Nehiyaw and Metis man originally from Beaver Lake Nation and Wolf Lake. He is a traditional drummer and knowledge keeper.

Tell us a little bit about what you’ll be focusing on in your presentation.

We’ll be talking about Wolf Lake, one of the original twelve Métis Settlements in Alberta, and the rescinding of the land by the province in 1960.

How did you come to work on this?

We came to the work as Lloyd’s family is from this area and his mosum (grandfather) was the one person who refused to leave. He bought his land and had a trapline north of the lake. So did his brothers, and they continued their traditional way of life. Today, Lloyd’s uncle still lives there. This story has still not been fully told publicly. We (Lloyd and Kristine) met through advocacy related to the land and Indigenous rights and are now working together on a number of projects, including writing and sharing this story.

What have you been reading lately that you can recommend to your ACCUTE colleagues?

We have just begun reading Jesse Thistle’s book From the Ashes together. It is about a Métis man who loses his connection to the land and his people’s way of life, and gets lost in the city in addictions and homelessness. Lloyd had the opportunity to meet Jesse at educational conferences and Jesse told Lloyd, “you and me, we have the same story.”

What do you love to do when you’re not researching, teaching, or studying literature?

Kristine: I love to run and bike in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, and I also chair the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition. I feel that my writing, research, teaching, and hobbies are all intertwined.

Lloyd: I sing and drum at pow wows and at ceremonies. I stay connected to my community in an urban context.