UWinnipeg alumna Ashleigh Sanduliak was recently published in the notable Studies in Religion journal (2016, Vol. 45(3) 360-376) for her paper Researching the Self: The Ethics of Auto-ethnography and an Aboriginal Research Methodology. Sanduliak, who officially completed her BA in Religion and Culture and Women and Gender Studies, has continued taking courses working towards her Honours degree.
“This research stems from my own personal journey to understand and claim my Métis identity,” says Sanduliak. “I wanted to reclaim this identity for myself and in doing so I felt the need to explore the reasons behind why my ancestors would have moved away from identifying as Métis and instead proclaimed to be French Canadian. The paper recognizes the need to ethically consider the stories and identities of our deceased ancestors, while arguing for the use of auto-ethnography as a research tool as it provides space for first-hand narratives, and is more in line with an Aboriginal worldview than traditional scholarly methods.”
Sanduliak has taken numerous Indigenous spirituality courses with Dr. Mark Ruml, UWinnipeg Associate Professor, Religion and Culture, and was a natural choice as a contributor to this journal.
“When I was asked to guest edit a special edition related to Indigenous Spirituality for the journal Studies in Religion, I immediately thought of a paper that Ashleigh submitted to my senior level seminar course related to Indigenous Research Methods,” explains Ruml. “It is so gratifying for a professor to see a student produce such an article addressing significant methodological issues utilizing an Indigenous approach to research and writing.”
Sanduliak credits much of her accomplishment to Dr. Ruml, and a learning environment that is conducive to success.
“I have always said that The University of Winnipeg offers students a unique opportunity to develop strong relationships with professors because of the small class sizes,” says Sanduliak. “This structure allowed me the opportunity to work one-on-one with Dr. Ruml to write this paper and conduct my research in a way that was profoundly meaningful in my journey to self-discovery. … This certainly could not have happened without him.”
“Studies in Religion is the most prestigious peer-reviewed Canadian journal in the field of religious studies” expressed Dr. Carlos Colorado, Chair, Religion and Culture. “It is a great achievement to have one’s work published in its pages. This is a fantastic recognition of the calibre of Ashleigh’s timely scholarship on Indigenous research methods and the high quality of student work being undertaken under Dr. Ruml’s supervision. We are all very proud of Ashleigh.”
