Abegweit First Nation – A candid discussion

Terry is a member of the community at Abegweit First Nation where he serves by request and acknowledgment of nieces and nephews, as an elder with the Abegweit Mi’kmaw Healing Centre. Terry has the privilege of overseeing culturally framed healing circles and providing one-on-one support with community members. In addition to a broad practical and non-traditional education, Terry holds an interdisciplinary PhD from Asbury Theological Seminary, specializing in Theology and Anthropology. While at Asbury he helped develop and facilitate a cohort of seven Indigenous scholars who went on to completion of their studies and a wide range of community work in Canada, the USA, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand. Terry is also certified in Appreciative Inquiry from Case Western Reserve University’s Global Excellence in Management program.

Terry is the founding chair and inaugural Executive Director of Indigenous Pathways, an NGO with two thrusts: iEmergence, focused on community-based education and development; and NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community (NAIITS), focused on graduate and post-graduate education.

In addition to directing the work of NAIITS, Terry served as instructor and/or consultant for the decolonization of theological education curriculum at various seminaries and universities in Canada, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Terry has over 48 years of Indigenous community-based experience as an educator in theology, cultural anthropology, and community development practice. With that said, nothing creates a greater sense of satisfaction for he and Bev than working together with their extended family of nieces and nephews in the wider Indigenous community, but most particularly at the Abegweit Mi’kmaq Healing Centre as they have been invited and supported to do.