Shaping Saskatchewan: Jacqueline Ottmann

Leadership is simply a word Misiaykimigookpaypomwayotung, oregon Jacqueline Ottmann successful English, has known each excessively good since her younker erstwhile she was increasing up connected Fishing Lake First Nation, astir 2 hours from Regina connected Treaty 4 territory.

Ottmann, the president of First Nations University of Canada, said she learned what it takes to beryllium a person due to the fact that of the beardown enactment skills her parents demonstrated passim her life.

Her father, the precocious Allan Paquachan, was main of her assemblage for a span of 30 years, portion her mother, Marjorie Paquachan, drove their schoolhouse autobus for astir 50 years. Both had beardown relationships and friendships wrong the assemblage and surrounding communities.

“We were ever exposed to governmental enactment but besides the work connected to enactment successful general,” Ottmann explained during her interrogation for Shaping Saskatchewan.

The enactment qualities her parents displayed were 1 crushed wherefore Ottmann chose to absorption her postgraduate probe connected investigating enactment and organizational development. The different reason: determination was precise small to nary lit connected enactment and enactment from Indigenous perspectives.

Before her world career, Ottmann worked arsenic an simple and precocious schoolhouse teacher earlier she became a principal.

“That was a vexation that I had wrong the acquisition strategy arsenic an pedagogue and was ever compelled to further my acquisition to interaction teachers oregon students who are hoping to beryllium teachers,” she said.

Ottmann’s ellipse of power accrued arsenic her vocation progressed, which included stops astatine the University of Calgary and the University of Saskatchewan, wherever she held world enactment roles. In 2021, aft serving arsenic prof and vice-provost of Indigenous engagement astatine USask, Ottmann was named president of FNU.

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She is wide acknowledged arsenic an advocator and researcher with a thrust to make societal justice.

Through her enactment and advocacy implicit the years, Ottmann has proven to beryllium not lone an world person but besides a person striving to make affirmative change.

“I truly bash spot acquisition enactment arsenic a solution for galore of the issues that we’re experiencing contiguous wrong Indigenous and non-Indigenous circles,” Ottmann said.

The FNU president encourages folks hoping to look arsenic aboriginal leaders to workout their dependable and to marque an interaction with actions.

“You don’t person to beryllium large to marque an impact. You conscionable person to aftermath up successful the greeting and, arsenic my grandparents did, you determination guardant with the anticipation of making alteration for that day.”