Learning, leading and writing: New grad Kieran Rice’s academic journey

As a mature student, Kieran Rice made the transition from working in administrative roles to pursuing a university education — an environment he found more closely aligned with his interests and sense of self.

A member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, Rice is graduating this spring with a degree in Indigenous studies and a minor in English and creative writing.

“When I got to university, I realized this is the world I supposed to be in,” says Rice, a member of Woodsworth College who was selected for the prestigious Jackman Scholars-in-Residence program, and has won numerous scholarships.

After exploring a variety of jobs, Rice sought a different path and applied to Woodsworth College ’s Millie Rotman Shime Academic Bridging Program.

“That was a great way to introduce academia, because I never tried university, so it was all very new to me,” he says. “Now, I feel like a different person. I feel like I’ve evolved so much in these past four years. It's been a long journey, but it's been rewarding.”

His choosing Indigenous studies stemmed from a desire to better understand the history of Indigenous peoples, as well as the history of colonization. At the same time, he sought a deeper understanding of contemporary world views and political theory on Indigenous issues.

He loved both his professors and the materials he studied, discovering authors who had a profound impact on his mindset.

“Some of the readings changed how I think and helped build my life and my philosophy of well-being,” he says.

One essay in particular, “Afterword: Meeting the Land(s) Where They Are At: A Conversation Between Erin Marie Konsmo (Métis) and Karyn Recollet (Urban Cree)” resonated. Recollet, an assistant professor at the Women & Gender Studies Institute, joined Konsmo in this dialogue, which appeared in the book Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education, edited by Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Eve Tuck, and K. Wayne Yang.

The essay explores the identities of Indigenous people in urban settings. As Rice puts it, “I consider myself to be part of that because I go back and forth between the city and less populated places.”

The essay also challenges an idea — held by some Indigenous scholars — that Indigenous people should leave urban areas and return to more natural spaces, based on the belief that true revitalization can only happen in unspoiled settings.

“Reading it pushed me to change my thinking, as the essay argues that cities like Toronto are still Indigenous spaces,” he says. “We sometimes see city spaces as tainted because they're dirty or polluted. But these spaces are still sacred Indigenous territory.”

Rice’s appetite for learning also extended well beyond his courses.

He is currently a research assistant for Claire Battershill, an assistant professor with the Department of English, supporting a project she’s leading titled, “Lighting the Windows of the Past: Queer and Feminist Approaches to Special Collections.”

“We analyze archives, special collections, and libraries through a feminist and queer lens,” says Rice. “I focus on Indigenous representation in archives, special collections, libraries and museums. I'm enjoying the chance to work on a big research project.”

Outside classrooms and projects, Rice discovered an enriching sense of belonging at First Nations House. “That was my best community at U of T,” he says. “That’s where I would spend all my time. They were just so supportive of me — the staff there are just incredible.”

Rice also served on the executive of the Indigenous Student Association (ISA), where he focused on organizing events that that fostered connection and supported students’ spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Rice describes one highlight as “the most amazing day”: a student symposium in March which he and other ISA spent much of the school year planning in collaboration with Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement, University of Toronto (SAGE UT).

“It was all Indigenous scholars presenting their research from U of T, and we had people from other universities too,” says Rice. The event included presentations on land reclamation, reading circles and the connection between Indigenous art and academia.

That drive to build community among Indigenous students will carry on after he graduates through a new Indigenous student journal called Bobbi Lee — named in honour of U of T professor Lee Maracle’s 1975 autobiographical work Bobbi Lee Indian Rebel.

“This journal will have essays, creative writing and visual art,” says Rice, the journal’s co-managing editor. “We're publishing our first issue later in the spring.”

In addition to contributing to the journal, Rice will continue with his own creative writing which includes poetry and a novel. Come fall, he’ll return to campus and be writing full-time as he begins a master’s degree in creative writing.

“I definitely want to be a writer,” he says. “Hopefully, from my master’s degree, I’ll produce this novel I'm working on and continue writing books and novels. I would also like to do a PhD in English and teach at the university level.”

His advice to prospective students thinking about U of T or pursuing university as a mature student — timing is everything.

“Don’t do it if it's not going to be meaningful and fun for you,” he says. “If it doesn't bring you joy, do something else for a while. Being a mature student, I'm glad I didn't rush into it.

“I just wasn't ready straight after high school to jump into university. But when I did years later, I was ready and excited about it, and it was really meaningful. That's when it made sense to invest the time and money in my life.”

Chintzy Killer Whales — A poem by Kieran Rice

On the back flap dust jacket,
the anglo-saxon on a wicker chair
clutching a tankard of weak tea.
A blind old man piling on the maligned
posing as a frail writer to deflect
from the person he hides
beneath an intellectuals exterior
Fixed with denial, and,
numbly,
deader in the eyes
from stockpiled
lies

Like this photo-op hadn’t been planned to a tee,
Feigning no harm and good thought
Nothing foul or murderous,
spinning beneath that newsboy cap.

I picture boat access only islands,
Juan De Fuca, the Salish jagged coast.
His hard, quick-witted wife.
A pair of viceless intellectuals
who take portaging trips
to compensate for forty-five sexless years,
whose lives are dull enough
that danger and bad news
are but theories in their good minds.

With the wind
lashing
against the
glass frame
ocean top,
steering away from Seattle,
he leads us
headlong,
unconsented
into the mouth of that lonely black night

Click here to read the original article on the A&S website.