Lindsay Morcom Profile
Lindsay Morcom (Saskatchewan & Exeter 2006) is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Language Revitalization and Decolonizing Education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She was previously the coordinator of the Indigenous Teacher Education Program. Before coming to Queen’s, she was a lecturer and tutor of linguistics at both Oxford University and the First Nations University of Canada at the University of Regina. Lindsay holds a doctorate in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology from Oxford University and a Master’s in Linguistics from the University of Regina.
Rhodes Project: Where do you call home?
Lindsay Morcom: Home is Kingston, Ontario. I grew up in Saskatchewan, I have a lot of family still there as well.
Rhodes Project: Who are your favorite authors?
Lindsay Morcom: David Bouchard. He writes children’s books that focus Indigenous Canadian cultures. They are wonderful, and since many are bilingual they’re a really important contribution to Indigenous language revitalization. I also love to read Neil Gaiman. In my academic work, I’ve really been grateful for what I’ve learned from Indigenous authors like Marie Battiste, Blair Stonechild, and Eber Hampton.
Rhodes Project: What is currently playing on your iPod?
Lindsay Morcom: I listen to Podcasts mostly. I’m a huge fan of Levar Burton Reads.
Rhodes Project: When did you first become passionate about education?
Lindsay Morcom: I started teaching during graduate school at First Nations University of Canada, and kept teaching through my doctorate. I think it was through those experiences that I realized that teaching was where my heart was. Then I went on to work for the Department of National Defense in Educational Research and really fell in love with it. It wasn’t my original area of study, but I did do the Developing Teaching and Learning Certificate at Oxford. That really introduced me to education research and how interesting it can be. It makes you think differently. With the job I have right now, it both ties in my love for education with my real passion for Indigenous languages and cultures. It just worked out perfectly.
Rhodes Project: What first inspired your interest in Indigenous languages and cultures?
Lindsay Morcom: I did my undergraduate at the University of Regina where the Department of Linguistics was through the First Nation University of Canada. Through the passion of the professors there, I came to realize how fascinating the languages and cultures in Canada and the United States are. I’m of mixed Anishinaabe and European ancestry, and I have loved being able to learn about my own heritage through my work, and using my work to give back to the community.
Rhodes Project: What is the best part of your job now?
Lindsay Morcom: The best part of my job is the students and the communities I work with. I teach for the on-campus Indigenous Teacher Education Program (ITEP) here at Queen’s. We work with Indigenous and non-Indigenous pre-service teachers who are training to be teach with a focus on Indigenous languages, cultures, and perspectives. I have amazing students and I really love seeing the great work they go on to do. I also work with graduate students through the mainstream and World Indigenous Studies in Education (WISE) programs. I really appreciate getting to learn from them as they pursue their research. I’m also really grateful to get to research language revitalization, particularly for Anishinaabemowin. I’ve been welcomed into both my own community and other communities as a researcher, and I appreciate the faith they have in me to serve through my work in a good way. It means a lot to me that my academic work can contribute to the revitalization of my heritage language.
Rhodes Project: What is the most challenging part of your job?
Lindsay Morcom: Sometimes it can be a challenge to convince non-Indigenous people that there is a need to decolonize our education systems. Education is one of those things that many people don’t question. They just accept that this is the way things are done. But in Canada, the education system has been used as a tool for the aggressive assimilation and cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples. While we no longer have residential schools, the system still often serves to try to assimilate Indigenous kids but presenting Eurocentric knowledge as the norm and neglecting Indigenous knowledges and perspectives. The education system in that respect doesn’t serve anyone because Indigenous learners don’t see themselves in school and aren’t given a chance to access their culture’s sophisticated knowledges there, and non-Indigneous learners are robbed of the opportunity to fully understand the colonial history of Canada and the need to work for reconciliation. It can be exhausting sometimes pushing for change, both within K-12 education and post-secondary. But I’ve seen change come, and I know if we keep working things will keep getting better. I’m grateful for all the people who are also committed to doing that hard work.
Rhodes Project: Who is your favorite fictional heroine?
Lindsay Morcom: When I was a teenager I read The Song of the Lioness series about a female knight named Alanna. She was a strong female character who thought for herself and was independent but still feminine. As I’ve grown older I’ve really come to appreciate portrayals of strong women. I think there is a need for more feminist literature that encourages women to be proud leaders who think for themselves.
Rhodes Project: Who is your favorite real-life heroine?
Lindsay Morcom: I am lucky to be surrounded by women and two-spirit leaders and teachers, in my community of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, in the university, and in the local urban Indigenous community where I live, as well as in other communities I’ve gotten to work with. These folks work harder for their communities than anyone I’ve ever seen, and they accomplish amazing things all the time. They hold their communities together, and work to pass on culture and language. I’m grateful to get to learn from the Aunties and Grandmothers who I sit with. I’m also grateful to have a sisterhood of Indigenous and Ally women educators around me. We hold each other up and encourage each other to move forward in the work we all do.
Rhodes Project: What would readers on our site be surprised to learn about you?
Lindsay Morcom: I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m not full of many surprises. They might be surprised to learn that I’m one of the few Rhodes Scholars who don’t do sports at all. I hate sports. My sport at Oxford was beer boat rowing. I can barely walk without falling over.
Rhodes Project: What do you do to relax?
Lindsay Morcom: I love beadwork. I spend a lot of time beading, especially gifts for friends, which gives me a moment to think about and be grateful for the amazing people in my life. I love spending time on the land, and my husband, son, and I are often found hiking and camping.
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