Willie Poll
Charlottetown,
Prince-Edward-Island
Métis
Willie began working with Indigenous youth right out of university in remote communities and her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. Today she works as an educator with the Moose Hide Campaign, developing resources for educators about how to talk to youth about the challenging topic of gendered based violence and MMIWG2S.
Through her teaching experiences across Turtle Island, Willie began to understand the barriers and challenges faced by Indigenous youth in an education system that was not made for them to succeed. While she has seen changes in the curriculum, she continues to advocate for Indigenous and to help other educators understand their perspective.
“I’m learning every day from Indigenous youth. They’re involved in the land back movement, and they’re involved in environmental protection and they’re putting in so much work to fix our society. They have so much passion and they have no idea like how powerful and how much their knowledge is worth and how incredible they truly are”
For Willie, pride comes from seeing the youth she has worked with build their lives and thrive. She remains in contact with former students and celebrates their success. She believes that building a better future for Indigenous youth, and for society, needs to be reciprocal, and she will continue working to build a more inclusive education setting for Indigenous youth.
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