Learning Opportunities

_{Birch Tree Educational Consulting Services}

Terry Lynn Cook (M.Ed. School Leadership and Improvement):  Terry Lynn is a member of the Métis Nation District 21. Her maiden name is Cunningham and she was raised in Northern Alberta in a Métis family lifestyle. She conducted qualitative and quantitative research for her Masters Degree in Education, from the University of Alberta with a focus on “High School Completion as Voiced by Indigenous Youth”.  She also completed a needs assessment for the Alberta Teachers Association during her employment as a Walking Together consultant. Additionally, as a former ARPDC First Nations, Métis, Inuit consultant, Terry Lynn worked with all schools located in the 8 Métis Settlements. In her former role as Director of Curriculum and Instruction, she led a team to contextualize the current Alberta Curriculum for a First Nation Authority. This curriculum is shared with other school jurisdictions within Northern Alberta and has been accepted by many as a curriculum from a Indigenous lens.

Jason Bigcharles is a father of 7 and grandfather of 14. His traditional Cree name is Wapustim
(White Horse). He is Metis’ from the Metis’ settlement of East Prairie. He has lived on the East Prairie Metis’ Settlement his whole life. He has been a teacher for 20+ years.

Although he is Metis’, his family is deeply rooted in Cree cultural practices and spiritualism. They continue to maintain a very high subsistence lifestyle, carrying on those traditions. Currently he is an Independent Education Consultant specializing in FNMI content and curriculum. He has specialized experience in administering Culture-Based-Learning Camps and cultural teachings to students of all ages which focus on traditional Land-Based teachings of the Woodland Cree Peoples both traditional and contemporary while infusing curriculum into lessons.

He is a powwow dancer, storyteller, hunter, trapper and medicinal plant gatherer. The majority of his time away from work is spent on the land hunting, trapping, gathering medicinal plants, instructing his children and visiting elders. Along with being dedicated to his traditions and spiritualism, he is also dedicated to lifelong learning and the belief that learning never stops.