Our Team
Dr. Anita Lafferty (PhD)
Founder and Director
I am Anita Lafferty, Dene Cree and a citizen of Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation. I am a consultant with a deep passion for education and a strong commitment to nurturing relationships, fostering connections, and embracing the principles of reciprocity, community, and holistic visions.
My journey is guided by the wisdom of my Dene Cree ancestors and relations. Having earned a Ph.D. in Education, my position as an educator empowers me to produce transformative insights and solutions by incorporating perspectives from both Eurocentric and Indigenous frameworks in education. My objective is to honor and uphold the traditions and values of Indigenous communities, centring Indigenous perspectives, while actively building bridges of understanding and collaboration with a range of stake and rights holders.
Education is more than just a profession—it's a lifelong dedication to the growth and well-being of individuals and communities. My approach is rooted in a holistic vision, where every aspect of a person's journey is considered, and where the connections between knowledge, culture, and well-being are acknowledged and celebrated.
In every endeavor, I aim to build bridges of understanding, to share knowledge, and to create spaces where learning and growth can flourish. I believe in the power of education to transform lives and communities, and I am here to listen and carry forward the visions and goals you have on your own unique educational journey.
mahsi cho [thank you] for joining me on this path of discovery and growth. Together, we can build a brighter future through the values of relationship, respect, reciprocity, and community vision.
Sydney Krill (MA)
Senior Curriculum Developer
I am Sydney, a settler who grew up living on Treaty 7 Territory, in what is now called Calgary, Alberta. I was almost twenty years old when I learned about the history of this land, the Indigenous nations who have always governed it, and the historical and ongoing violence enacted by the Canadian state against Indigenous peoples and their ways of knowing and being.
In 2019, I graduated with a masters degree in Political Science that focused on Indigenous-settler relationships, gender and treaty. Learning the truth about this historical and ongoing injustice transformed the way I understood myself and my place in the world, and gave me the language and knowledge to do the necessary work of reconciliation in my own life and in the world around me. This is why I believe education is so important and has become the foundation of my career. I hope to assist other non-Indigenous people in their education journey as part of a broader goal of building a respectful nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous nations and the Canadian state.
Another part of this journey is using my own education as a means to assist and support the education and liberation movements of Indigenous communities on their own terms. Since 2020, I have worked at the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning as a Curriculum Developer and Researcher. Dechinta provides university-accredited, Indigenous-led land-based programming that aims to support the self-determination of Northern communities and foster cultural revitalization and land reconnection through education. At Dechinta, I work to create diverse resources for students, the community, and for the public that are informed by the brilliant land-based work happening in the North.