November 21, 2012
Lorna Williams is Lil’wat from the St’at’yem’c First Nation. She currently holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Department of Linguistics at the University of Victoria. Throughout her career she has held a number of senior positions, notably as the Director of Aboriginal Education at the University of Victoria and the Director of the Aboriginal Enhancements Branch in the British Columbia Ministry of Education.
Dr. Williams is an educator with many years of experience in aboriginal education, indigenous language revitalization, effects of colonization on learning, indigenous ways of knowing, and curriculum design. Within the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, Dr. Williams has created a series of courses known as “Learning and Teaching in an Indigenous World.” This program was designed to create a unique pedagogical space in the Faculty of Education where Indigenous wisdom is experienced by students and faculty members alike.
Dr. Williams currently sits on the University of Victoria’s Senate as a member at large and is Chair of the First Peoples Heritage, Language and Culture Council. In addition, Dr. Williams was a Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) Minerva Lecturer in 2007 and was inducted into the Order of British Columbia for her work in education in 1992.