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Darnay Ali, Sessional Lecturer

Ali Darnay

Sessional Lecturer


Indigenous Studies Department

Biography

Alexandra (Ali) Darnay is Anishnaabe and a member of Garden River First Nation, Ontario. She has completed her Bachelor of Arts (English with a minor in Indigenous Studies), and her Bachelor of Education with an additional course in the Education of Native Canadians. She has also received her Anishnaabemowin (Ojibwe language and culture) Certificate and a second  degree in Anishinaabemowin.

She is currently the Program Director for the Aboriginal Health Research Networks Secretariat (AHRNetS) and a Sessional Instructor at McMaster University.

Ali also serves as a board member of the Indigenous Elders and Youth Council and Neto Hatinakwe Onkwehowe Native Arts. She is a published author and has worked as a research assistant for three documentaries including: "Jidwá:doh - Let’s Become Again", a documentary focusing on the elders’ understanding of historical trauma and directions to begin to heal collectively using Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices; "Onkwánistenhsera - Mothers of our Nation", a documentary examining the need for Indigenous women to reclaim, restore and revitalize their traditional knowledge that has been lost through centuries of colonialism; and the “Dish With One Spoon”, a film about the Haudenosaunee reclaiming traditional lands to protect the environment from encroachment. Ali is an advocate for the conservation and transmission of Anishnaabemowin and Indigenous Knowledge.

She has volunteered her time to work on gatherings sponsored by McMaster University and Six Nations. She has also worked with elders as a helper for the last fifteen years.