New Paths, Old Ways: Exploring the Places of Influence on the Role Identity

Abstract

This article explores the teacher role identities of seven graduates of an Aboriginal teacher education program in the northern part of a Canadian prairie province. As they occupy a variety of positions in several northern educational systems, their stories reveal that these teachers are positively influencing northern stu­ dents, schools, and communities. The themes presented in this article emerged from conversations with these northern educators and suggest that their Aboriginal teacher role identities were shaped by Aboriginal language and cul­ture, the northern environment, and supportive northern educational and familial social systems. In the discussion of the themes, it is suggested that Aboriginal teachers' identities continue to be nurtured and shaped by a growing cultural narrative of aboriginal self-determination.