BC Indigenous leader to receive honorary UNBC Doctor of Laws degree

UNBC has announced they will be handing out an honorary degree to a local community member alongside graduating students this May.

Garry Gottfriedson is a Sécwepemc (shoo-shwahp) leader, educator, and poet, he will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

When he was young, Gottfriedson spent five years in the Kamloops Indian Residential School before his parents were able to enroll him in public school.

In a release, UNBC said “for more than 40 years, Gottfriedson has been at the forefront of Indigenous self-determination and identity reclamation, beginning with his land-based learning and teaching at the Indigenous working community and cultural revolution retreat, Smallboy Camp, which is an inspiration to Indigenous people around the world. As an educator, Gottfriedson has worked at all levels – from kindergarten to graduate levels in post-secondary – teaching, designing curriculum, advising and as an administrator.”

He has also worked with UNBC’s Dr Sarah de Leeuw, who is also Canada’s Research Chair in Humanities and Health Inequities, to “combat anti-Indigenous racism and foster cultural humility skills in physicians across north and central British Columbia.”

“It is our collective creative voices that work together to smash down the barriers that block progress,” Gottfriedson said. “This is what our young Indigenous voices do.”

He is also an internationally successful poet, having published 11 books and been inducted into the International Library of Poetry Hall of Fame.

Gottfriedson is currently the Sécwepemc Cultural Advisor for Thompson Rivers University.

This honorary degree will join his Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary and a Master of Education from Simon Fraser University, and three Instructors Diplomas.

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