Kelly Laurila
{{Short description|Canadian academic and Indigenous rights advocate}}
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| name = Kelly Laurila
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| nationality = Canadian
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| education = {{ublist|University of Waterloo (B.A.)|Brock University (B.Ed)|South Texas State University (M.Ed)|Wilfrid Laurier University (MSW & PhD)}}
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| thesis_title = Reconciliation: Facilitating ethical space between Indigenous women and girls of a drum circle and white, Settler men of a police chorus
| thesis_url = https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2114/
| thesis_year = 2018
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| doctoral_advisor = Kathy Absolon-King
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Kelly Laurila is a Canadian academic and Indigenous rights advocate known for research and teaching related to Indigenous peoples in Canada and settler engagement with the outputs of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Early life and education
Laurila was born and raised in northern Ontario and is of Sámi and Irish ancestry.{{cite journal |last1=Laurila |first1=Kelly |last2=Carey |first2=Kevin Christopher |title=Rethinking Freedom: A Framework for the Implementation of Ethical Space in the Academy |journal=Educational Studies |date=30 March 2022 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=200–224 |doi=10.1080/00131946.2022.2051027 |s2cid=247889710 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131946.2022.2051027 |issn=0013-1946|url-access=subscription }} She moved to southern Ontario in 1980, where she reconnected with her Indigenous heritage. She has spent several decades learning the teachings of Indigenous peoples in Canada, most notably the Anishinaabe.
Laurila studied psychology at the University of Waterloo before pursuing a Bachelor of Education at Brock University. She holds a Master of Education from South Texas State University and a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University, and obtained a PhD at Laurier in 2018.{{cite web |title=Kelly Laurila |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/school-of-social-work/people-profiles/kelly-laurila |website=School of Social Work |access-date=14 April 2022 |language=en |date=3 September 2020}} The focus of her doctoral research focused on Indigenous peoples in Canada.{{cite news |last1=Cullen |first1=Graham |title=Music's vast reach: Thriving Urbana-based Global Z Recording Project partnering with tribal groups in second phase |url=https://www.fredericknewspost.com/terms/printview/72_hours/musics-vast-reach-thriving-urbana-based-global-z-recording-project-partnering-with-tribal-groups-in/article_6123426d-ab41-5b85-8c98-dc335109a7c1.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=The Frederick News-Post |date=3 February 2021 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Laurila |first1=Kelly |title=Reconciliation: Facilitating ethical space between Indigenous women and girls of a drum circle and white, Settler men of a police chorus |url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2114/ |website=Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University |access-date=14 April 2022 |date=1 January 2019}}
Career
Laurila is an instructor with Laurier's Faculty of Social Work.{{cite web |title=Kelly Laurila |url=https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-social-work/faculty-profiles/kelly-laurila/index.html |website=www.wlu.ca |access-date=14 April 2022}} She also teaches in Renison University College's School of Social Work. Since 2018 Laurila has taught "Reconciliation: Discussions and Implications for Settler Peoples in Canada", a non-credit course offered by Renison.{{cite news |last1=Folkins |first1=Tali |title=Anglican-affiliated college to offer course on reconciliation |url=https://anglicanjournal.com/anglican-affiliated-college-offer-course-reconciliation/ |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=Anglican Journal |date=1 March 2018}} The central focus of the course is the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and was developed based on Laurila's realization that Canadians don't always understand the need for reconciliation. Prior to pursuing an MSW, she worked as a counsellor at Conestoga College for more than a decade.{{cite journal |title=Connecting with tradition, looking to the future |journal=Campus Magazine |date=Fall 2010 |page=38 |url=https://issuu.com/wilfridlaurieruniversity/docs/campusfall2010 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University |language=en}}
Laurila took over from Jean Becker as the songcarrier for Mino Ode Kwewak N’gamowak (Good Hearted Women Singers) in 2006.{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Valerie |title=Good Hearted Women Singers drum for reconciliation |url=https://www.therecord.com/entertainment/2015/03/06/good-hearted-women-singers-drum-for-reconciliation.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=therecord.com |date=6 March 2015 |language=en}} Founded in 2003, and composed of predominantly of First Nations women, the group met weekly to drum and sing.{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Valerie |title=First Nations drumming group reaches out through music |url=https://www.therecord.com/entertainment/2016/03/01/first-nations-drumming-group-reaches-out-through-music.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=therecord.com |date=1 March 2016 |language=en}} Building on the teachings Becker brought to the group, Laurila expanded its scope into the community, leading public performances and building relationships with non-Indigenous communities including a police choir.{{cite news |last1=Crossman |first1=Rae |title=Woman of the Drum: A Tribute to Jean Becker and Mino Ode Kwewak N'gamowak |url=https://tnq.ca/woman-of-the-drum/ |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=The New Quarterly |date=28 January 2019 |language=en-CA}} The group received the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation Award of Excellence in 2016.{{cite news |title=Previous Winners |url=https://www.wrhf.org/en/awards/previous-winners.aspx?_mid_=2285 |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=www.wrhf.org |date=30 January 2020 |language=en}}
Select publications
- {{cite journal |last1=Laurila |first1=Kelly |last2=Carey |first2=Kevin Christopher |title=Rethinking Freedom: A Framework for the Implementation of Ethical Space in the Academy |journal=Educational Studies |date=30 March 2022 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=200–224 |doi=10.1080/00131946.2022.2051027 |s2cid=247889710 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131946.2022.2051027 |issn=0013-1946|url-access=subscription }}
- {{cite book |last1=Laurila |first1=Kelly |editor1-last=Willingham |editor1-first=Lee |title=Community music at the boundaries |date=2021 |location=Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |isbn=9781771124577 |chapter=Song as the Catalyst that Promotes Envisioning Ethical Spaces}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Laurila |first1=Kelly |title=The Ethical Space of Engagement Between Indigenous Women and Girls of a Drum Circle and White, Settler Men of a Police Chorus: Implications for Policing Ideology, Policies, and Practices |journal=Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics |date=28 September 2020 |volume=17 |issue=4 |doi=10.33423/jlae.v17i4.3095 |language=en|doi-access=free }}
- {{cite journal |last1=Laurila |first1=Kelly |last2=Willingham |first2=Lee |title=Drum circles and community music: Reconciling the difference |journal=International Journal of Community Music |date=1 July 2017 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=139–156 |doi=10.1386/ijcm.10.2.139_1}}
References
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Category:Wilfrid Laurier University alumni
Category:University of Waterloo alumni
Category:Canadian social workers