Annalee Flett
Give a brief bio about yourself/your background/your history.
I was born in Winnipeg, MB, but raised here in Brandon, MB. My grandma and grandpa adopted me at a very young age. We were financially poor but rich in love. After my grandfather passed away in 2011, my eldest brother, Enoch, took over to ensure I continued on the right path. I have a niece who I helped raise when I was eight years old, and now she is close to completing high school. I am grateful for my family every day because I would not be the woman I am today without them. I try to be a woman that my family is proud of, and a woman my niece can look up to. I am proudly Indigenous, my treaty status is with Fox Lake Cree Nation. A little about me is that I like to think I am funny. I enjoy helping others and spreading joy. I try to be involved in the community as much as I can. I am working on becoming fluent in my Indigenous language which is opening amazing opportunities. I am sharing the positive aspects of my life, but I struggled growing up. I was lucky to have an amazing support system with my family, friends, and community. I believe something that changed my life at a young age was a literacy program with Youth for Christ. The program helped me discover my love for English and kept me out of trouble in my early years. In high school, I took an extra year to complete my grade 12, but Vincent Massey was extremely helpful and understanding. I like to be honest that my journey is not a straight line to success. I have been lost and discouraged but I pushed myself to keep going. I hope my journey continues to where I want it to go, but with the experience of my past, I know I can accomplish anything. Ikosi.
What education have you taken?
I graduated from Vincent Massey High School in 2019. I am currently in my third year of my Bachelor of Arts. I plan to continue my studies for my Bachelor of Education. The next step will be to study for my Master of Education.
How did you become interested in your field/area of study?
I have always enjoyed helping others in the classroom for as long as I could remember. During covid, I was working at a group home for Indigenous youth and I helped the kids with their schoolwork since everything was online. I had an epiphany that teaching others was my calling. Recently, I have heard there is a demand for Indigenous professors and have been encouraged and motivated to pursue a professing career. I was told to always dream BIG.
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
I am a store manager for Ecko Unltd in the mall, and I am very proud of my team and I for excelling in our store goals this past year. I am proud to be a member of the Youth Advisory Council for Youth Huddle. I am extremely grateful for learning my Indigenous language and being able to converse with my grandmother.
Where do you see yourself in the future? What do you hope to undertake or accomplish once you leave BU?
In the future, I hope to be a professor of English. I would love to teach Swampy Cree (N-dialect) to whoever I can in my journey. I plan to write a book or two after I graduate from BU. Most importantly, I want to be a role model for Indigenous people’s success, to inspire our youth that they can do it too.
What is your philosophy in life?
My grandpa, Edwin Beardy, grew up in a residential school and endured a lot of abuse. I remember him as the kindest, funniest, loving person. I learned from him that the world can hurt you, but it is your decision to overcome it and stay kind.
In one sentence, how will you #EmbraceEquity?
I will do my part to educate my peers the difference and encourage them to strike their #EmbraceEquity poses on social media.
Nominator’s Comments:
As a student, Annalee demonstrated a love of learning and the level of commitment necessary to succeed in these courses. Her openness to learn new things and her encouragement to others was fascinating to observe. Annalee is a passionate, innovative, and dedicated student, and I cannot think of a better individual for your award. I am happy to be able to provide this nomination recommendation for such a deserving student. I have respect for Annalee and truly believe that she is a deserving candidate to receive this award you are offering. Every student needs the proper recognition for their education journey to be successful and Annalee is the student you want to support with this award. In addition to having firsthand knowledge of Ms. Flett’s academic commitment, and her strong work ethic Ms. Flett is a great person, very down to earth, provides for her family, helps her community, and I really enjoyed having her in my courses.
I have met and spoke with Annalee on a number of occasions where she shared her interest in becoming a professor someday, she also shared her involvement in creating a Snapchat Cree group where they share the Cree language, she has also started connecting to an organization called Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) where we are currently working with a team in creating Cree language vignettes to show awareness of the Cree language to the world wide web.