Finding a New Path
Our “Make Anything Possible” campaign raises funds to support the Kw’umut Lelum Indspire Awards. These Awards support Indigenous youth from our nine member nations on Vancouver Island to access life-changing post-secondary educational opportunities that may otherwise have been out of reach. Each week we will share a story from one of last year’s scholarship recipients showing the profound and direct impact the funding is having.
“After graduating from college, I discovered writing, and it changed me. I found something that felt worth dedicating myself to for the first time. I realized I was, and always had been, in the wrong stream of schooling.”
- Kieran Kalls Rice
My name is Kieran Kalls Rice. I am a member of Snuneymuxw First Nation, and I identify as a Coast Salish person. I grew up in Mississauga (Anishinaabe) territory, near what is known as Guelph, Ontario. My father was Coast Salish of the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island, my mother is a settler whose ancestors migrated from Scotland in the 19th century.
What are you studying and how did you decide which program to take?
I am studying Indigenous Studies, English, and Creative Writing at the University of Toronto. I decided to take Indigenous Studies because I wanted to learn about the histories of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island, English because I love reading and analyzing books, and Creative Writing because I wanted to become a better writer.
Share a bit about your educational journey to this point
My educational journey has been a long but ultimately fulfilling one. It’s taken me quite a bit of time to figure out the right place within the western system of education. When I finished high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I enrolled in a college program in a technical area, which I was only vaguely interested in. I hardly knew what I was signing up for. I struggled mightily all through school, from grade school, to high school, and into college. I only barely graduated from college with my diploma. Until this last venture into University, I put the absolute bare minimum effort into school.
After graduating from college, I discovered writing, and it changed me. I found something that felt worth dedicating myself to for the first time. I realized I was, and always had been, in the wrong stream of schooling.
I was authoritatively pushed into “applied” classes and strongly encouraged to pursue “skilled trades” because my grades were bad, even though my interests were in English, history, and writing. So off I went to college, which in my case, was centred on design, math, and technical, hands-on learning, and turned out to be a very bad fit for how I think.
I’ve found that I thrive in the University system, which encourages an analytical, theoretical style of thinking and prioritizes reading and writing.
What has been challenging and how have you worked through that?
The hardest part was not giving up on myself in the days of aimless wandering and working jobs I hated. It would have been easy to have accepted that this was my place in life—to work unfulfilling jobs and obsess over ways to make money to achieve financial stability. In retrospect, what helped me to work through this was my refusal to stop being an intellectually curious person.
Who or what has been your biggest support at post-secondary?
My classmates have been a huge support system, particularly the community of University of Toronto Indigenous students. Also, the good people at the University’s First Nations House have supported me relentlessly since the beginning. I’ve also been lucky to have some amazing professors that have gone above and beyond to support me and take an interest in my development as a person and thinker. In no particular order, these professors are: Lee Maracle, Michelle Daigle, and Heidi Bohaker.
What is one piece of advice you would offer to either your younger self or Indigenous youth from your community?
The first thing I would offer is to take your time. There is no rush to jump into post-secondary education straight from high-school. Conversely, it’s never too late to go back to school. It is important that you are prepared for the journey, from a standpoint of personal growth. If you are not prepared, you cannot be receptive to the knowledge. It takes a different amount of time for every person. In my life, there have been many roadblocks which I’ve had to find a way to push past, and my struggle has been minimal relative to many in my community.
Do not be hard on yourself, and do not listen if they say you can’t, or aren’t smart enough, to do it. Oppressed peoples have more roadblocks than people in the dominate group.
Second, it is important to establish yourself within a larger community wherever you go. Speaking from personal experience, if you feel alienated, you will struggle to find a purpose and have little chance at success. Find people, a community member, a teacher, other students, that think like you, people who you can feed off of and generate ideas with, and stick with them. For example, I look for teachers that see the world in the same way I do, and I take as many of their classes as I can, as opposed to following the trajectory which the University expects me to. I am not saying don’t fulfill your program requirements. Rather, when you can, gravitate towards the teachers that are saying things that resonate with you.
What are your hopes, dreams, and goals for the future and what has the Kw’umut Lelum Indspire Award meant for your continued pursuit of these goals and dreams?
In terms of my goals for the future, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’m only a few years into what could be a long, arduous journey. However, I do want to go to graduate school after completing my undergraduate degree. I plan on starting with a master’s degree, and working my way towards a PhD. I want to be a teacher and a writer. The Kw’umut Lelum Indspire Award has kept my afloat, financially, during the school year. Going to school is more expensive than it ever has been, and the city [Toronto] is getting less affordable by the year. It wouldn’t be possible for me to go to school if it weren’t for awards like this, and I don’t take that for granted. I’m very grateful for this award.