Walking beside, not ahead

The 2026 Annual Traditional Graduation Pow Wow brought thousands of community members together at the Investors Group Athletic Centre to celebrate the University of Manitoba’s 492 Indigenous graduates. More than 100 graduates gathered in person alongside family members, friends and community supporters for a day of celebration, recognition and community. 

Among the day’s highlights was the presentation of the 2026 Migizii Award, an honour recognizing exceptional mentorship that uplifts Indigenous students. This year’s recipient was Dr. Kendra Nixon, nominated by doctoral graduate Tammy Nelson. 

For Tammy, the Pow Wow was the perfect place to honour the person who supported her through one of the most important and challenging journeys of her life. 

Tammy’s dissertation, “West Standing Bear”: Exploring the Foundations of Two-Eyed Seeing for Culturally Responsive Healing Among Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, explored work that was deeply personal, cultural and connected to community. She needed a mentor who would honour that complexity. She found that in Dr. Nixon. 

“What inspired me to nominate Dr. Nixon was the way she walked alongside me,” Tammy said. “She never positioned herself above me. She supported me as an Indigenous woman doing work that is connected to who I am.” 

Dr. Nixon remembers the moment she learned about the nomination. 

“I was overwhelmed,” she said. “I had to read it a couple of times before it sank in. It brought me to tears. What made it so meaningful was that it came from someone I have a great deal of respect for.”

Receiving the Migizii Award during the Pow Wow  gave the recognition deeper meaning. 

“It’s a highlight of my career,” she said. “To be recognized in a space that centers community and culture is incredibly special.” 

Tammy describes Dr. Nixon’s mentorship as relational rather than transactional. She said Dr. Nixon supported her as a whole person and encouraged her to bring her full self into her research. 

“She saw me as a whole person: a woman, a mother, a helper, someone with responsibilities to community.” 

Dr. Nixon supported Tammy’s use of Two-Eyed Seeing, Indigenous expressive arts and ceremony. She reminded Tammy to stay connected to her voice and to honour her own pace throughout the process. 

“Working with Indigenous scholars has reinforced what should be foundational in all our relationships,” Dr. Nixon said. “Respect, relationship and responsibility guide how I try to show up in everything I do.” 

There were difficult moments too. Tammy recalled facing discrimination from a professor, an experience that shook her sense of belonging within the university system. 

“She validated what I was experiencing and helped me navigate the system,” Tammy said. “Because of her, I stayed.” 

Dr. Nixon remembers those moments clearly.

“I had complete confidence in Tammy,” she said. “My role was to support her in navigating the system around her, not to question her integrity or her direction.”

Two moments stand out most for Dr. Nixon when she reflects on Tammy’s journey. 

The first was being invited to the sweat that opened and named Tammy’s project. 

“Witnessing the strength and clarity that ceremony gave Tammy was incredibly meaningful,” she said. 

The second was Tammy’s dissertation defense. 

“The room was packed with her family, friends and colleagues,” she said. “She handled every question with confidence. It was one of the proudest moments of my career.” 

Throughout the Pow Wow, families gathered around graduates, dancers moved in vibrant regalia and drum groups filled the space with sound. The Honouring the Graduates Ceremony brought the community together in celebration, making the presentation of the Migizii Award feel especially fitting. 

“I’m humbled to be invited into that space,” Dr. Nixon said. “To celebrate Tammy and so many other Indigenous students alongside their families and communities is an honour.” 

For Tammy, seeing her mentor recognized during the Pow Wow felt like a full-circle moment. 

“That space honours everything it took to get here,” she said. “To see her recognized there means her work didn’t go unnoticed, not just by the institution but by community.” 

This year’s Migizii Award was created by Mariah Hanslip, a Red River Métis beadwork artist and 2026 UM graduate. Her design features an eagle soaring across a prairie sky in UM colours, symbolizing the far-reaching impact of mentorship. 

The piece was created using a traditional two-needle beading technique with size 15 and 11 seed beads and backed with bison hide. For Mariah, creating the award was both an honour and a way to recognize the important role mentors can play in a student’s journey.

When drums echoed through the arena and families wrapped graduates in blankets, the presentation of the Migizii Award became part of a larger story — one rooted in community, mentorship and the strength of walking together. 

As Tammy reflected in her nomination letter: 

“She never tried to lead my research direction. Instead, she empowered me to lead my own work as the expert of my lived experience, research and cultural knowledge.”