Benny Skinner is a Two Spirit Mi’kmaw Kapampangan person. They were born in Tkaronto, a great traditional meeting ground for Indigenous peoples from the Great Lakes Region of Turtle Island and beyond since time immemorial, which is part of the traditional territories of their Anishinaabeg (including the Mississaugas of the Credit, specifically), the Haudenosaunee, and the Huron Wendat relations. Their father is from a mixed Mi’kmaw, Inuit, Irish and French community from Ktaqkuk (Newfoundland) and their mother is a Kapampangan woman from Pampanga, Luzon in the pacific. Both of their parents migrated to Tkaronto for socioeconomic reasons. Benny grew up in the Greater Toronto Area before moving to the Haldimand Tract in 2014, and are thankful to their relations’ territories and Mother Earth for nurturing their growth. They have found a sense of home during their long-term visit on the Haldimand Tract, which is a geographical area located within the traditional territories of my Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and Neutral relations that was further agreed upon as belonging to the Six Nations in the Haldimand Treaty of 1784. The Balsillie School, as well as University of Waterloo, sits on this Land and they both have an intrinsic relationship with this Land’s colonial occupation. Benny hopes to make known their utmost gratitude to their relations here, as they have found a strong sense of community and kinship amongst many Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg living here.
What is your current position?
Indigenous Research Advisor, University of Waterloo
What attracted you to your program of study at the BSIA?
I worked at Project Ploughshares throughout my undergraduate studies and was inspired by a number of my colleagues. Cesar Jaramillo, Jessica West, and Branka Marijan are all researchers who I have looked up to since I started my undergraduate degree, and when I realized they all studied at the Balsillie School, I knew I had to go there.
What was the most impactful experience you had while completing your graduate degree?
The most impactful experience I had during the completion of my MAGG degree was co-founding an annual storytelling event called “Hadithii Hadithii” with my colleagues. The name of the event was gifted to us by my best friend from my time at the BSIA, Ashley Mungai. Ashley is from Kenya and belongs to the Kikuyu people, and in her language, “Hadithii” can roughly be translated to “story,” “story come,” or “stories from home.” At the time, we were both on the founding BSIA Anti-Oppression and Equity Committee with other MAGGs – Eric Denyoh, Fatma Alsefaou, and Harry Deng – and MIPP student Zack Ahmed (all from the class of 2020). We were all passionate about EDI issues and, in the height of George Floyd’s murder and the pandemic’s exacerbation of inequities, we decided to run this storytelling event to develop a stronger sense of community, connectedness, and understanding at the BSIA. We understood this as the first step to cultivating an environment where EDI can be the most successful and sustainable; a sentiment which I still agree with to this day. To think, we already had the building blocks for this kind of work years ago! The event was a great success in 2021, so Ashley and I ended up running it again in 2022. I am not certain if it also ran this year, but if not, that’s alright – as a newly-appointed BSIA Fellow, I have every intention of ensuring that this event continues to run. Rumour has it that Ashley is still living in Waterloo, and that the two of us may be in store for another collaboration in 2024; stay tuned!
Tell us about your job, what do you do?
In my current position, my work spans across three major themes, all grounded in community and relationality! This is a key concept when engaging with Indigenous community members and Indigenous research. The three themes are as follows:
Supporting Indigenous faculty, staff and students
The University of Waterloo has a number of Indigenous faculty, staff and students that are doing incredible research here on campus that are extremely innovative, nuanced and specialized. Our team works to support these members of our community in navigating the complex institutional policies, processes, and bureaucracies that exist here at University of Waterloo. We help our Indigenous community members navigate various barriers as well, helping to advocate for their advancement and support in the research ecosystem.
Educating and advising non-Indigenous faculty, staff and students
University of Waterloo also has a number of non-Indigenous faculty, staff and students who are interested in advancing their competency in Indigenous research for a number of reasons. Some may be conducting research with an Indigenous community partner, or trying to procure Indigenous artisans to aid in their project outputs. Some may be interested merely in recognition that the University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract. As the University of Waterloo continues on its journey towards its strategic commitments of decolonization, reconciliation and Indigenization, there is a growing need for the broader campus community to be aware of Indigenous research methods, processes, protocols, and projects being done. As such, my team runs numerous workshops, education sessions, guest lectures, and creates a number of resources to educate non-Indigenous campus community members on Indigenous research and its relationship with the institution’s strategic directions.
Special projects
In addition to the above themes, I also partake in a number of special projects in my role. From advancing PART Report Recommendations to running high-profile events like Ska’nikòn:ra: Indigenous Governance and the Future of Leadership, I get to participate in many impactful projects and sometimes even lead my own!
How does your work help make a difference?
See my responses above.
What are the next steps in your career progression… where do you see yourself going?
I’d like to hopefully pursue a PhD in Indigenous Governance or a related topic centered on decolonization. We are at a turning point in our recent history where now more than ever, the inadequacy of colonial structures to solve all of the world’s problems is become realized. However, there is still so much work to be done and undone – this is my mission. Regardless of what path I end up taking, this will always be part of my life mandate: to question, dismantle, reconstruct, and create in the name of all our relations for a better path forward.
What advice do you have for a potential student looking to complete their degree at the BSIA? Or for someone looking to work in Global Governance and International Policy?
My advice is to let your passions run free. In the MAGG program, I found that there was a lot of flexibility for doing work that interested me, even if it was unconventional at times. Lean into it. Try something new. Do something you care about. Your masters is not the last thing you will ever do, so remember that it doesn’t need to be perfect – besides, perfectionism is a colonial myth. You got this.