Pursuing social work degrees, these women hope to inspire Sahtu youth

Two Dene women from the Sahtu pursuing master’s degrees in social work are encouraging young Indigenous northerners to follow their dreams.

Louise Speakman and Charlene Menacho said they had doubts about going to university when they were younger, after some people told them social work is a difficult field. But they persevered in following their passions.

“I would encourage people to pursue the things that they want to do,” Speakman said, adding opportunities are out there.

“If you feel like you’re not capable or that you wouldn’t be able to get a certain job, it’s so important to take it one step at a time.”

Speakman acknowledged it can be “really scary” for people to leave their small communities to attend school, but said she wanted people to know “you can leave your community and still stay connected to who you are.”

Speakmean described attending university as merging her lived experience as a northern Indigenous woman with the Western academic world, adding her late grandfather always reminded her about the importance of both Dene knowledge and getting an education.

“Your lived experiences, that’s your strength. That’s your power,” she said.

“As an Indigenous person from the North, especially from small communities, you bring so much knowledge into those programs.”

Menacho agreed that young people should pursue what they love and care about – and knowing their land, culture and traditions is powerful.

“It’s really about figuring out what you’re passionate about, what you like to do, who you like to work with, what you like to work with,” she said, adding it’s important to have a good support system.

She said post-secondary education isn’t for everyone and there are other forms of education and training that people can seek, including working with Elders and knowledge keepers.

“I feel like sometimes the education system, it puts people into a box,” she said, adding she struggled in high school and does not want youth experiencing similar challenges to feel discouraged.

‘I always wanted to work in community’

Speakman, who is from Délı̨nę, and Menacho, who is from Tulita, met while completing academic upgrading at Aurora College.

They have since followed similar paths and stayed connected over the years.

Menacho went on to complete a social work degree with an Indigenous specialization at the University of Victoria, while Speakman earned a social work degree at MacEwan University.

“I always wanted to work in community. … Within the North, most people in the social work world are not from here,” Speakman said.

“I feel like it’s really important for especially Indigenous women to be in these roles because of our lived experience, and that’s something that really helps us connect to people up here and to be able to do this work in a really good way.”

Menacho said she has been interested in social work for as long as she can remember.

“I understood what it meant to belong, be cared for and to care for others and, at the same time, I also saw the painful impacts of alcoholism and intergenerational trauma,” she said.

Menacho said having an Indigenous social worker “means so much” for kids in care and those who are accessing supports and resources.

Speakman and Menacho returned north to Yellowknife after completing their bachelor’s degrees. Menacho has been working in child protection, while Speakman has worked with victims going through the court process, in child protection, and in a mental health and wellness position in the education system.

‘I love learning’

This fall, they will both begin master’s of social work programs – Speakman at the University of Toronto and Menacho at the University of Victoria.

“I just think doing my master’s will really help me further my education but also to be able to provide the appropriate supports and resources for a lot of the Indigenous families and youth and kids,” Menacho said.

“I love learning and I feel ready now,” Speakman said.

“With this masters, it’s going to open up so many doors for me and it’s also just going to really help me to improve my practice as a social worker, so I’m really excited.”

Speakman said she plans to stay in Yellowknife, adding it “would be really incredible” to go back to Délı̨nę as a counselor.

Menacho said she also wants to work for her community and people in the North in general.

“I want to really focus on trauma and land-based healing and connecting the two, and really going back to the land in that way,” she said.