Graduate Research Assistant, University of Saskatchewan

Originally from the Ahtahkakoop First Nation, Sekwun Ahenakew has several interests in arts and culture, especially in the area of First Nations culture, with an emphasis on pow-wow dance. She has had the opportunity to travel the world and perform in front of live audiences including the Queen of England. She was a part of the Great Plains Dance Troupe for several years and has participated, placed, and/or successfully competed in some of the nation’s largest celebrations. Sekwun has held a variety of leadership roles. Teaching since 2003, she is currently a Grade 9 teacher at the Chief Little Pine School on the Little Pine First Nation. She is currently a Treaty Catalyst, which is a constant learning process, especially from oral history. She is a member of the Next Generation Treaty Keepers for the Little Pine First Nation, in charge of the science fair participants at her school, and she spearheads all of the “We Day” activities in her community. In 2014, Sekwun was elected to the SaskCulture Board of Directors, and was later re-elected in 2018 for a two-year term. She is interested in modelling and acting, paper-making using tree bark from different eco-regions, learning the Nehiyaw language, and beading in the Plains Cree Style. Her long-term goals in the arts and culture field are to start her own dance troupe, write a series of children’s books (realistic fiction), write a book of Ahtahkakoop People: First Dance, as well as to start a consulting company that focuses on Nehiyaw world view of various topics.