Join us in congratulating SLIS student (and LISSA president 2020-2021) Kaia MacLeod on her receipt of a George A. Strait Minority Scholarship & Fellowship from the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).
Kaia is an urban member of the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and is enrolled as a full-time graduate student in our MLIS program accredited by the American Library Association. In Kaia's critical role as an Indigenous Intern for the University of Alberta Libraries she demonstrates significant contributions to Indigenous populations. Kaia is highly engaged with our university's First Peoples House and the incarcerated women at Buffalo Sage Wellness House to help reduce barriers for new students' access to our campus libraries - and much more. Kaia's intention is to inspire and help not only Indigenous students to have access to more opportunities, but also more broadly to help institutions to evolve their systems to advance their reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. She recently contributed a chapter to a forthcoming book entitled Residencies Revisited. Her contribution unpacks her personal experience as an Indigenous Intern working at the University of Alberta Libraries while being an MLIS student.
"Pedagogy at SLIS is designed to encourage students to explore academic citizenship, community engagement and volunteerism, experiential learning and professional development in ways that complement the inevitable limits to any formal curriculum," said SLIS chair Toni Samek. "Kaia is on a very positive trajectory!"