Dr. Patricia Makokis: Understanding and Coming to Terms with Historic Trauma: It’s a lifelong journey

Join us in our MET anti-racism seminar series for our upcoming talk with Dr. Patricia Makokis. Dr. Patricia Makokis will share her path of personal and professional learning as a front line teacher – principal of a school where trauma rolled out daily. She will share why all educators should learn about trauma and become trauma informed if we wish to move towards reconcili-ACTION. How do we become more compassion centered schools and workplaces of learning? Why might this be important as Canada (all institutions) come to terms with the colonial history of Canada? We are all called into this work together. To change the future, I must look at ME first. How do I look at the hard truths of colonialism and the impacts of that historic trauma going forward? We do this one step at a time TOGETHER! Watch, www.treatywalk.com for one aspect of how we do this work together.

Dr. Makokis has been a front line teacher, a vice principal, a principal and for the last 25 years, and an educator at the post-secondary level. She has taught in both mainstream, (western) and tribal institutions of higher learning, and is currently teaching at the University of Alberta. Her doctoral research looked at why First Nations students dropped out of provincial high schools. This academic work took her on the path of learning and coming face to face with understanding historic trauma and the long term, intergenerational impacts of trauma.