‘Don’t look back; always look ahead’ — New grad reflects on her ‘life-changing’ degree in Indigenous Studies

Growing up in northern Manitoba in the ‘70’s and 80’s, Shirka Urechko was witness to racism experienced by Indigenous members of her community. Many years later, those memories “continued to haunt” her. 

“Through an unexpected sequence of events, I found myself in the Indigenous Studies program, coming face-to-face with my identity and the racism I witnessed as a child,” says Urechko, a member of Woodsworth College who is graduating this fall. “This was not something I set out to do, but it changed my perspective on this country and it healed me in ways I can’t easily explain.”

“The program helped me come to terms with the racism I saw growing up, face it, tear it apart, get to the roots of it and rebuild a view of this country based upon truth,” added Urechko. “I learned how to reorient myself as a settler living on Indigenous territory and the importance of doing more listening than talking. I also learned about the beauty of Indigenous languages and the worldviews they hold. The program was a life-changing experience.”

During her undergrad, Urechko was a member of the Decanal Working Group on Indigenous Teaching and Learning, established by the dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science in 2016 to respond to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Says Urechko, “Participating in the group was such an honour — working with Elders like Stó:lō/Cree-Métis scholar, writer, artist and activist Lee Maracle, Anishinaabe scholar and activist, Alex McKay, and Anishinaabe-Ashkenazi artist, activist and scholar Jill Carter from the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies. Professor Carter is one of the most mesmerizing and dynamic educators at the University of Toronto and Lee and Alex have since passed. Both are missed by many and widely regarded as two of Turtle Island’s leading Indigenous voices whose words still carry today.”

Urechko will graduate with high distinction with a major in Indigenous Studies, a minor in Buddhist psychology and mental health, and a minor in creative expression in society. She started her undergrad at 40 and turned 50 in June and so was older than her fellow students — but she has no regrets.

“It was an incredible experience to go to university as an older student,” she says. “To be around so many young people was very inspiring. Their energy and perspectives were refreshing and kept my life feeling new. To anyone who's older and wondering if it's possible or wondering how it would be to be a student at U of T, it was an experience I will draw upon and treasure for the rest of my life. Time will pass anyway so you may as well follow your dreams.”

A&S News spoke to Urechko before her graduation.

So, how does it feel to graduate?

It feels a bit unreal and I don't think it will hit me until convocation day. It’s taken me ten years and it's something I never thought I would do. I mean, I graduated from high school with an average of 51 per cent so it was only through the support of the Academic Bridging Program at Woodsworth College that I was able to develop the skills necessary to become a U of T student. This mind-expanding, life-changing experience is beyond words, so it's more than a little emotional to finally be graduating and moving on to what’s next.

Looking back, I’m so grateful to all of my instructors, fellow students and for those who donate funds to support the students at U of T. I am so very thankful to them for helping open my mind to ideas and possibilities I had never considered and for allowing me to develop new interests and gifts within me I didn't even know I had. With the completion of my undergrad degree, I have a confidence in myself I didn’t know was possible and a much more aware view of the world.

Can you tell us about Encounters at the “Edge of the Woods” and how you were involved?

Encounters at the “Edge of the Woods” was a 2019 production chosen by Hart House Theatre to open its 100th season curated and directed by Jill Carter. It has been described as a ‘performative intervention’ and was written, produced and performed by a collective of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, scholars and storytellers. Lee Maracle, was the Elder who led our writing workshops and was a powerful presence who helped us dig deep into the creative process so we could encounter and transmit something that resonated beyond the first incarnation of our work. Encounters continues to develop and has taken on a life of its own.

Although I participated in the writing workshops, my role was best suited to sound design for the live production. I later wrote a chapter in which I interviewed Trina Moyan — a nehiyaw iskwew (Plains Cree) artist and activist from the Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta — for a book related to the project called Retreating to Re-Treat by The Collective Encounter with Jill Carter. I am very proud of everything the collective has accomplished so far and look forward to what is yet to come.

And what are your plans for after graduation?

My goal is to help facilitate healing for survivors of trauma as a registered psychotherapist. I’ve spent some time volunteering for the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape, as a peer counselor for survivors of gender-based violence, so I hope to return to that position while I decided where to pursue my graduate studies.

Now that you’re graduating, is there any advice you’d give yourself at the start of your undergrad?

Don’t look back; always look ahead. If I had known how long my undergrad was going to take and how much work it was going to be, I might have been too afraid to do it! That’s what I mean when I say always look ahead. Just keep going, enjoy every minute of it, revel in it. Take full advantage of it because, in the end, it will give you so much more than you can imagine.