Hey, Cuzzin!

Have you met Nella Sajlovic (née Callihoo), Senior Government Relations Officer in the Office of Government and Community Relations? Nella is Métis from Michel First Nation.

Where are you “from from”?

I was born and raised in Edmonton but my Dad was from what was formerly known as the Michel Band Reserve near present-day St. Albert.

Tea or coffee?

Coffee!

If you were able to sit and have tea and berries with anyone who would it be (dead/alive)?

My adoptive Dad, Napoleon Callihoo. He passed this last November at nearly 102! He was an exceptional human being who taught me so much.

What do you like best about Alberta and the great open plains?

The sunshine and our beautiful summers.

What’s your favourite topping on bannock?

Butter and raspberry jam.

What is the last book you read?

A Brief History of Seven Killings.

Who makes you laugh more than anyone?

My eight year old son, Luka.

What is your favorite place on campus?

The trails nearest north campus.

What do you see as your role in advancing the TRC?

Sharing my Dad’s residential school and the band’s disenfranchisement story. I’ve been moved by the conversations that I’ve heard at the university in the last couple of years — conversations that I feel were made possible by the TRC’s work. I don’t think these discussions were possible in the same way before and I think that it’s through sharing these painful pieces of our collective history that we can move forward.

Do you believe it’s important to acknowledge the territory?

I do. I think it’s a small but beautiful step towards acknowledging that Canada has a rich and varied history that existed a long time before contact and that is a living history that continues today.