A Saskatchewan born woman, Dr. Margaret Kress, originates from the south grasslands in Treaty Four territory and the Métis homelands. She carries the name Tahkwaki Waapikwani Iskwew (Bear Clan) and acknowledges her Michif ancestors and her Euro-settler (French, English German) ancestors as resilient and life-giving peoples who have influenced her journey. Margaret’s life focus is centred on advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples and peoples with disabilities, and her academic and personal efforts have elevated frameworks of human rights, inclusivity, and Indigenous reclaim of culture, knowledge and wellness. As a scholar, teacher and researcher, she works with several universities and generates transformative, inclusive and Indigenous storywork to help herself and others ‘become the change’. Her work continues to influence the actions of thousands of teachers and community workers across Canada, and her current engagements include community-based research initiatives with and led by Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Margaret’s selected scholarship contributions include Land As Relation: Teaching and Learning Through Place, People, and Practices (2023); as well as others in: European Perspectives on Inclusive Education in Canada: Critical Comparative Insights (2022); Métis Rising: Living Our Present through the Power of Our Past (2022); Climate Chaos: Eco-feminism and the Land Question (2019); Ethics, Equity and Inclusive Education (2017); and Honouring Indigenous Women – Hearts of Nations (2012). Margaret has been in engaged in a multiplicity of community volunteer projects in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick including advocacy and awareness initiatives associated with #MMIWG and their families; currently she is a board member for Saskatchewan Alternative Initiatives and Chokecherry Studios Inc., two organizations respectfully supporting persons with intellectual disabilities and youth in the Saskatoon area. She honours children and teachers across the lands who have taught her about the human condition, traditional knowledges, plant medicines and more – you can find her in the northern boreal forests and on the prairies learning from her relations there. Margaret is the mother of three children, two sons, Andrew and Robin, and her daughter Mackenzie, who has been central to her focus of generating human rights advocacy, inclusive policy, and gentle teaching for all beings.
