The Line · the University of Alberta Alumni Association

Episode 11: Wâhkôhtowin With Shana Dion, ’05 BA(NativeStu), ’19 Cert(AboriginalSpo/Rec)

June 11, 2020·21 min·1 clip

Shana Dion reveals her home community has lacked clean drinking water since 1991 — making basic COVID handwashing impossible.

The episode opens with a clip from Dr. James Makokas, a family doctor at Kehewin Cree Nation, noting that very few First Nations communities in Alberta have consistent access to family doctors or nurse practitioners. Host Matt Ray contextualizes this by explaining that Indigenous communities face compounded vulnerability to COVID-19 due to the historical and ongoing effects of colonialism, residential schools, and lack of basic infrastructure. The episode then centers on Shana Dion, Assistant Dean for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students at the University of Alberta, who has worked in the role for 11 years. Shana describes her work at First Peoples House as both humbling and uplifting, with the highlight being watching students cross the convocation stage after overcoming significant personal and systemic challenges. She identifies housing and finances as the two greatest barriers for Indigenous students arriving in Edmonton, noting many live on $900 to $1,000 per month, and credits staff member Terry Sperling with helping open accessible housing near campus. Racism, particularly for visibly First Nations students, is named as a persistent third barrier. Shana challenges the pandemic slogan 'we're all in this together,' pointing out that Kehewin Cree Nation has not had clean drinking water since 1991 — making the most basic COVID prevention measure, handwashing, inaccessible. She explains that her perspective as a First Nations woman means she sees suffering, racism, and unmet need that others in higher socioeconomic positions may not perceive. On a more hopeful note, Shana describes how Kehewin's chief and council acted early to close the community to outsiders, protecting elders and children, and that Dr. Makokas is supporting the community's COVID command center. Shana wrote an article about wâhkôhtowin, a Cree concept meaning kinship and the interconnected nature of relationships, communities, and natural systems, prompted by a flood of grief and emotion when COVID cancelled convocation and disrupted ceremonies. To maintain elder-student connections, Shana personally taught elders how to use Zoom and Google Chat, visiting them fully masked and gloved, repeating instructions roughly 20 to 30 times before they became proficient. The elders' first social media post — a song — attracted widespread community response, confirming that the craving for ceremony and cultural connection was broadly shared. Shana expresses ongoing concern about students she can no longer physically observe, particularly those in violent relationships or managing trauma, who might not reach out remotely. She worries that remote outreach cannot fully replace the human connection that is central to First Peoples House's work. Looking ahead, her greatest anxiety is the prospect of another year without in-person relationships — the warm hugs, shared laughter, and physical presence that underpin Indigenous community and teaching. The episode closes with an audio clip of elders at First Peoples House singing the grandmother song, described as encouragement to stay strong and remember the Creator. Case counts are noted as a timestamp: 6,955 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alberta at the time of recording, rising to 7,229 by the time of release.

As heard by us

A grounded look at kinship, community protection, and pandemic-era responsibility.

Shana Dion's conversation on The Line keeps its focus on kinship and responsibility as much as on public health. It starts with the uneven reality of care in many First Nations communities in Alberta, then moves to Kehewin's early choice to close the community and protect elders…

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Why you'd press play

See how one community treated lockdown as an act of kinship and care.

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