Dr. Todd Duhamel Appointed Indigenous Lead Role in the Faculty of Graduate Studies – UM Today
September 24, 2024
Dr. Todd Duhamel, current associate dean in the faculty of graduate studies was recently appointed Indigenous lead role within the faculty.
We sat down recently with him to ask him about this new opportunity:
Can you tell us about your background?
The lands that we live on have a history that is of personal significance to each of us. However, many of us do not fully know the true history of the people who have lived here, nor the hurtful actions that colonialism inflicted and the resulting impacts that are still being felt today by Indigenous peoples. At some point in the past, my paternal grandmother, who is from Ste. Anne Manitoba, made a choice to hide that our family is Red River Métis. I do not understand the conditions that must have occurred to cause my family to hide who we are. I imagine that they felt fear. I have since committed to learning more about the true history of Indigenous peoples and have reclaimed my Métis identity and citizenship. It is quite interesting to learn about Métis history that includes names that I recognize as my relatives. I am also taking steps with my children so we can reconnect with Métis culture. I am naïve and vulnerable in this journey, but I am committed to moving forward in a good way.
I was born and raised in Atikokan, Ontario. As a child, I often visited my father’s extended family in Winnipeg and Ste. Anne, Manitoba and my mother’s Swedish settler family in Sioux Narrows, Ontario. I then completed academic (B.Sc. M.Sc. and PhD) training in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo and postdoctoral training in the Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba. I am now a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management and a Principal Investigator in the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface General Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre. My research examines the role of physical activity for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
