Sandra Lamouche is nehiyaw iskwew, a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation, her mother’s community. Her father is from Kapawe’no First Nation. Sandra is a wife, mother, award-winning educator, champion hoop dancer, public speaker, and writer.

She has been working in Indigenous studies, history, and education for over a decade from early childhood education to the university level. In 2021, she completed her MA in Indigenous Studies at Trent University and her thesis focused on wellness through Indigenous dance using Indigenous and decolonizing methodologies. She used a holistic framework in her work to understand the importance of self-determination in the process of healing. During her research it became apparent that storytelling and traditional teachings were essential to creating change, action, and wellness in dancers, their families, and communities.

Her father collected stories from his friends and families over the years from different communities in Northern Alberta. Sandra selected a few of these stories to research possible deeper meanings and related knowledge to the area and in a holistic sense to understand how these stories are meaningful. The stories are part of the spirit of Indigenous knowledge, they are the “why” and spark change in action and behavior.