It’s been a heck of a year. I’m not gonna lie. it was difficult to be inspired to post here while spending some 18 months at home teaching and meeting remotely through the Covid-19 pandemic.

I was so pleased to get back to the classroom this fall and we’ve been hearing from our students that they are too. As student Roberta Godin shared, “you can’t build relationships online”. So true. And building relationships is central to our pedagogical approach at Merchants Corner, in Winnipeg’s North End on Treaty One territory and the heartland of the Métis.

The pandemic isn’t over yet, but we are safely back in our beloved space, safely masked and double vaxxed. And as Kathy Mallett and i describe in this article in The conversation, we are learning more about why Merchants Corner is so important as we respond to Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.