Wuikinuxv Village of Kitat

Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h Village of Houpsitas

Kwakuitl Village of Tsax̱is

Dzawada’enuxw
Village of Ukwanalis

Project Leads

Dr. Evelyn Voyageur

Paul Willie

Dr. Joanna Fraser

Paul Willie Paul was called home in the final weeks of our project. He shared that he was registered as a First Nation person of the Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw from Kingcome. He also told us that this way of introducing himself is a result of the Indian Agent. Who he is and where he comes from is much more than that. He has held many traditional names as a leader within his community and beyond. His unique combination of talent, knowledge, skills, and experiences, along with his ability to bridge worlds, has been essential to the Learning Our Way Project since the first Field School in 2007. His legacy is carried on by all of us fortunate enough to have spent time with him and to have learned from him. His passing is a shock to us all. We continue to uphold his legacy to honor him and the work.

Dr. Evelyn Voyageur is a Kwakwaka’wakw Elder and a trailblazer in Indigenous health and nursing education. Beginning her career as a practical nurse, she earned her RN, advanced degrees, and a PhD in Psychology. For more than five decades, Evelyn has worked to champion cultural safety and Indigenous perspectives in healthcare.

She is a founding member of the Native and Inuit Nurses Association of BC and a past president of the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association. Evelyn is an Elder-in-Residence and faculty member at North Island College, mentoring future healthcare leaders to transform the way care is delivered. So Indigenous people have better access to respectful, culturally safe health care. Her vision promotes inclusivity and drives systemic change, ultimately improving healthcare services for everyone. Through community-based learning and curriculum innovation, she inspires nurses to embrace holistic care that honors emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental well-being.

Her contributions have earned national recognition, including the Indspire Award for Health and a Lifetime Achievement Award in nursing. Evelyn continues to lead change and uplift Indigenous wellness across Canada.

Dr. Joanna Fraser is a first-generation immigrant of European ancestry. She is grateful to live in the territories of the Wei Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum First Nations. Working as a nurse and nurse educator, she is honored and endeavors to be accountable for the gifts and learnings she has received from Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish peoples.

Joanna is dedicated to co-creating opportunities for wellness-oriented, Indigenous led and land-based learning experiences leading towards transformational change and healing in ourselves and our social systems.

She mentors educators, nurses, and healthcare leaders to challenge the status quo and create health care and education systems that ensure better access and respectful service for Indigenous people. “I believe real change happens when we listen deeply and learn together on the land.” Through collaboration and advocacy, Joanna strives to inspire systemic change rooted in respect, equity, and shared learning.

Heidi Deagle

Heidi Deagle attributes the development of her core values to her parents, Louise and Dr. George Deagle and to the Land and People of the Haida Nation, from her birthplace in Masset, British Columbia. At a very young age, Heidi learned respect for flora and fauna, and for the sea. She understood that humans were stewards, not only of the ecosystem, but also responsible for including, caring for and sharing with all members of the community. At totem pole raisings, potlaches and during times of both joy and grief, Heidi witnessed the power of culture, of hard-work, generosity, inclusion and compassion. Through a major life event in later childhood, Heidi also learned the effects of displacement, powerlessness and loss of family relationships. These experiences all contributed to Heidi's love for, and commitments to, equity, advocacy, social justice, Truth and Reconciliation and relational, ethical teaching, learning & leading.

After completing a degree in Cultural Anthropology, Heidi eventually discovered her passions and purpose in becoming a Registered Nurse. In over two decades as a nurse, Heidi has worked in a variety of roles, from acute mental health care in downtown Vancouver, BC, to diabetes education in Arviat, Nunavut, to public health nursing in Prince Rupert, BC. For the past 10 years, Heidi has been a Faculty member (instructor) in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at North Island College.

Heidi believes that our connections to the land & water, and to one another - through accepting, authentic and loving relationships, are the fundamental resources required for improving both human and planetary health. Immersive, community-based, Indigenous-led field schools in remote communities facilitate personal transformation, (re)connection and embodied learning. She believes that opportunities like field schools are the path to building understanding and relational capacities, and ultimately to improving healthcare experiences and outcomes for Indigenous peoples.