Introduction
My name is Chris Dixon and I graduated from University of Waterloo in 2003 with a BASc in Civil Engineering. I've always had a loved the outdoors and nature, so I guess it isn't too surprising that I ended up living in Yukon, where there is plenty of outdoors to enjoy. I enjoy spending time with family and friends out on the land, whether it is camping, hiking, biking, or just out for a dog walk. I also love to travel and have managed to visit just over 20 countries so far and the only Canadian province or territory I have yet to see is Newfoundland.
What did it mean to you to graduate as an Indigenous engineer?
During
my
time
at
Waterloo,
being
a
First
Nation
person
wasn't
something
I
shared
with
a
lot
of
people.
In
the
90s,
being
Indigenous
came
with
even
more
negative
stereotypes
than
it
does
today.
That
coupled
with
the
fact
that
at
that
time
I
was
not
a
recognized "Status
Indian"
due
to
gender
inequity
in
the
federal
Indian
Act,
made
it
such
that
I
didn't
readily
share
that
information with
a
lot
of
people.
Although
I
had
always
identified as
an
Indigenous person,
as
my
mom,
grandmother
and
aunties
were
all
status
First
Nations
people
from
Northern
Ontario
and
they
made
sure
I
knew
where
I
was
from,
being
First
Nation
wasn't
something
that
I
always
felt
proud
of.
It
was
hard
to
feel
proud
of
being
a
First
Nations
person
when
it
didn't
seem
like
there
were
any
others
like
me
around.
Although
I'm
sure
there
were
a
few
others
there
at
the
time,
I'm
sure
they
also
did
their
best
to
not
let
too
many
people
know.
However,
since
graduating
from
engineering
at
the
University
of
Waterloo,
my
pride
in
the
accomplishment
of
graduating
as
a
First
Nation
person
has
grown
and
I
have
begun
to
become
more
public
about
it.
I
am
thankful
for
the
sacrifices that
my
parents
made
to
allow
me
the
opportunity
to
do
something
they
never
had
the
opportunity
to
do
when
they
were
young.
They
were
extremely
proud
of
my
accomplishment
and
that
meant
the
world
to
me.
What is your favourite UWaterloo Engineering memory?
This
is
a
tough
one,
it
has
been
almost
20
years
since
I
graduated.
I
would
say
some
of
my
best
memories
aren't
necessarily events,
but
people.
The
connection
to
the
people
I
met
while
at
Waterloo
were
some
of
the
strongest
in
my
life
and
I'm
still
pretty
close
with
some
of
them
today,
even
though
I
live
so
far
away
from
most
of
them.
Whether
it
was
going
to
the
Bomber,
a
football
game,
a
road
trip,
a
greasy
spoon
breakfast,
a
night
dancing
at
Phils,
out
for
a
few
wings,
hanging
out
at
POETS
or
just
sitting
at
the
big
round
table
at
the
corner
of
Princess
and
Regina,
it
was
always
about
the
people
who
were
beside
me.
The
memories
of
being
with
the
people
I
met
along
the
way
during
my
journey at
Waterloo
are
the
ones
I
cherish
the
most.
What career paths has your degree encouraged you to pursue?
Since graduating my career path has been relatively varied. I started out in engineering consulting with a firm that I did a few co-op work term placements with. My work in consulting was an amazing experience; I had great mentors and learned a lot over a short period of time. My work focused on development projects in the far north. I did most of my work in geotechnical and permafrost engineering for infrastructure and mining development in the three northern territories while I was living in Edmonton. I enjoyed the north so much that in 2007 I moved up permanently to Whitehorse and carried on with the same work. Although I learned a lot working in mining development, I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do my entire career so after about 8 years, I decided to make a change and I moved to the federal government to Yukon's First Nation Water and Wastewater Action Plan program. It was a massive shift in workplace culture and goals from private to public sector work, but this position was extremely rewarding, improving the drinking water systems in first nation communities. After a few years in that position, I found myself back to the world of mining. I still work for the federal government, but I now work on the remediation of abandoned mines across the north. Currently, I manage the remediation of one of northern Canada's largest abandoned mines. Once that project is done, who knows where I will go to next!
In the coming years, what role would you like to see your university or workplace(s) play in educating others about Indigenous peoples?
Working for Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and living in the Yukon, I would say that I see a lot of innovative ways to provide education about Indigenous Peoples. One thing that I think is great is that the CIRNAC and Indigenous Services Canada has established a policy requiring every employee, regardless of position, to take 15 hours of Indigenous cultural competency learning each year. The policy is relatively loose and encourages employees to find a connection with the Indigenous cultures in the areas where they live and work. It can be a simple as going out with a First Nation person to perform a cultural activity like gathering medicine, to taking a classroom or virtual course. This past year, one of my employees took a drum making course provided by a local first nation group and it sounded like an amazing experience for him. I think that other employers and universities should be promoting practices like this to allow the workforce and students to get a glimpse into what Indigenous culture is like where they live and work and how it can vary across the country. Through educational practices like this, Indigenous culture will be better understood by all Canadians, and it may help to shift the stereotypes which will make things better for the next generation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.