Kate Binesigichidaakwe McDonald

BA Indigenous Languages and Certificate in Teaching Indigenous Languages for Vitality
Autumn 2024 Valedictorian

When Kate first attended UWinnipeg, she was right out of high school and was working on a degree in English and Political Science. But life had other plans for her.

She left school just two credits away from her degree, and began the work of motherhood, connecting with her own birth mother, and writing her first book, Carving My Name.

Through the years, her University career became more distant, but her work in language reclamation & revitalization ultimately brought her back to school. She listened to Elders and first speakers talk about the importance of languages, and how people need to pick up the work they had started to keep moving the Anishinaabemowin language forward.

Kate is graduating with a 4-year Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Languages and a certificate in Teaching Indigenous Languages for Vitality.

Kate teaches Anishinaabemowin through Wii Chiiwaakanak, where she first started her language learning journey in community classes.

She received a research grant for her project, Gidinwewin Gimiininaanaanig Odaanikoobijiganaginaan, which looks at how to pass on Anishinaabe Gikendaasowin/Ways of Knowing to future generations of language learners who may not have the opportunity to sit with first language speakers.

She also helped found an Anishinaabemowin language non-profit, Gaagige Ganawendamaang Anishinaabemowin. The non-profit will pilot an Anishinaabemowin immersion project in 2025 through a partnership with Dr. Shelley Tulloch and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant through UWinnipeg.

Kate is proud to be the first in her family to receive a university degree. She plans to continue her work in language reclamation - learning and teaching Anishinaabemowin, recording first speakers of Anishinaabemowin, and creating resources for future learners.

The University is proud to honour Kate Binesigichidaakwe McDonald as valedictorian.