Finding Belonging Through Lifelong Education: Carman McKay’s Path to SFU

For graduate student Carman McKay, of Musqueam and Matsqui Nations, education begins with humility.

Born in Vancouver, Carman grew up aware that something was missing. “My life is fractured,” he says. “The residential school made sure my immediate family never spoke the language, did not know the culture.” Growing up with that absence shaped him and left him searching for a sense of belonging. 

In early adulthood, he began seeking out Elders across North America, immersing himself in teachings for years at a time. Through carving, drum-making, and ceremony, he reconnected with the land, story, and responsibility. What began as personal searching gradually became a life’s direction.

“There was always an artistic space within me,” he reflects. “Through the legend and the story, I began to see a deeper interconnection and possibility.”

That interconnection led him into schools and communities across British Columbia. Since 1996, Carman has worked as an educator, life skills facilitator, and cultural presenter, supporting Indigenous programming from kindergarten classrooms to post-secondary spaces. His work bridges traditional knowledge systems and contemporary institutions.

“My role,” he explains, “is to help facilitate and act as a go-between in a contemporary setting like Simon Fraser University and a traditional longhouse setting.”

His sculpture Spindle Whorl, displayed in SFU’s Indigenous Student Centre, reflects that bridge-building. Inspired by Coast Salish weaving traditions, including wool dogs and mountain goat fibre, the piece weaves together histories of land, material knowledge, and contemporary learning spaces.

Despite decades of professional experience, Carman continued seeking spaces where his work could deepen. Earlier post-secondary experiences had not fully aligned with his lived expertise.

“I wasn’t feeling confident,” he says of that period. “I just didn’t know what to expect. I thought I was doing the steps: diploma, degree, master’s, but it wasn’t fulfilling my needs.”

It was through collaborative work with Elder Rick Bailey, a long-standing Councillor and Fisheries Manager within q̓íc̓əy̓ First Nations, and Dr. Cher Hill on the Katzie Slough project that a new possibility emerged. The community-engaged initiative invited students, educators, and Knowledge Keepers to explore what Elder Rick described as “the yesterday, today and tomorrow of the Slough.” Carman created a mural inspired by Elder teachings and the artwork of more than 100 children, a complex, relational undertaking.

Dr. Hill saw the depth of that work and encouraged him to apply to SFU. “She said, ‘It’s time to come to SFU,’” Carman recalls. “She respected and honoured the path I had chosen, but she told me I needed to apply.”

The Faculty of Education’s recognition of professional and cultural expertise, alongside formal academic credentials, made it possible for him to enter the MEd in Educational Practice: Indigenous Pedagogy and Indigenous Inquiry.

Once in the program, the shift was immediate. “The embrace was overwhelming,” he says. “The recognition of who I am and what I’m fully capable of doing within Indigenous education meant a lot.”

Now partway through the program, Carman continues to shape the learning community around him. Alongside a cohort colleague and Dr. Vicki Kelly, he supported classmates in making hand drums, grounding academic inquiry in lived practice and honouring respectful protocols. 

I have sought for holistic, relational, and a multi-dimensional balance of knowledge and presence through traditional and contemporary expression, culture, and practice. What SFU is doing for me means so much. I acknowledge the constant effort that it is taking me to study and for developing my skills within the culture that I have thrived in. My 33 years of journaling, developing my extensive portfolio, and for my physical and spiritual interconnected ways of being have given me a solid foundation for which to build upon. My thesis also known as "my inquiry" will be extensive and will be intentionally speaking, writing, emphasizing Indigenous Pedagogy of Indigenous Arts, Indigenous Culture, and Indigenous Education.  

His work has also extended into collaborative scholarship, including a forthcoming co-authored article in the Australian Journal of Environmental Education and presentations at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education.

“Working with Carman creates a rare opportunity for trans-systemic knowledge creation; scholarship that moves across knowledge systems rather than remaining confined within one,” Hill notes.

At the heart of Carman’s work is the commitment to fostering a sense of belonging for others, especially those who, like him growing up, may feel disconnected from their communities, ancestry, and a sense of cultural grounding. 

Through his introductions, he often shares a teaching that guides him: “We all come from earthly practices. Your ancestors have brought you here for a reason. It is your responsibility to carry them forward.”

When asked what he would say to future students, his advice reflects his own journey: “Invest in as many opportunities as possible, face to face. Invest in taking healthy risks. Have safe journeys.”

And often, quietly, he closes with a phrase that holds the ancient past, present interconnectedness, and for a future dream to be together: “All my relations.”