We are delighted to announce that this year’s Award of Distinction in Oral History has been awarded to Dr. Wahéhshon Shiann Whitebean.
An emerging Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) scholar of the Wolf Clan from the community of Kahnawà:ke, Dr. Whitebean’s work is grounded in Indigenous education, oral history, and decolonizing research. She is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at McGill University’s Faculty of Arts Institute for Indigenous Research & Knowledge and earned her PhD in Educational Studies from McGill University in 2025.
Dr. Whitebean’s award-winning dissertation offers a powerful and deeply grounded exploration of the history and lasting impacts of Indian Day Schools (1868–1988) in Kahnawà:ke. Centering 22 oral history interviews with Kahnawa’kehró:non who attended or were closely connected to the day school system, her work documents the wide-ranging harms experienced (mental, psychological, spiritual, physical, and sexual) while also illuminating pathways of resilience, resurgence, and healing.
Through a careful weaving of community voices and archival research, Dr. Whitebean examines how colonial schooling disrupted language, culture, and identity, and how community members continue to reclaim and “re-story” their experiences through Indigenous knowledge systems. Her work not only advances scholarship on Indian Day Schools but also bridges academic inquiry and community healing, grounded in the powerful principle that our stories are medicine.
The committee was especially moved by Dr. Whitebean’s rigorous and thoughtful engagement with ethical frameworks, her community- and Indigenous-centered research approach, and her commitment to supporting Kahnawa’kehró:non in reclaiming their histories. Her dissertation stands as an important contribution to the field of oral history and a meaningful act of community-centered scholarship.
We warmly congratulate Dr. Whitebean on this well-deserved recognition.
