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Dion Kaszas started his new position as Acadia鈥檚 Indigenous Student Advisor on November 5, 2018. Before coming to Acadia, Kaszas worked as a cultural tattoo practitioner in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. With a clear mission to populate the artistic landscape with Indigenous faces, he started the revival of his ancestral tattooing tradition in 2012. Always passionate about his work, he鈥檚 now regarded as one of the leaders of the revival of Indigenous tattooing in Canada.

After completing a Masters鈥� degree in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies with a specialization in Indigenous Studies at UBC, Kaszas decided to pursue a slightly different career path. He researched student advisor positions in universities across Canada and applied to a variety of them. While he believed working at Acadia and Wolfville would provide him with many opportunities to connect with the local Mi鈥檏maq communities, what attracted him the most to Acadia, is 鈥渋ts history of innovation and it鈥檚 commitment to moving forward in ways that aren鈥檛 always the norm,鈥� he says, He adds that the university鈥檚 strong teamwork ethic is something that sets it apart from other universities in Canada.

鈥淭he thing I found most exciting about the university and its capacity for supporting Indigenous Students, was how everybody was so focused on sharing, brainstorming and coming up with ideas to help students,鈥� he says.

Although he鈥檚 new to this role, Kaszas is excited to implement new strategies and ideas that benefit Indigenous students and ensure they鈥檙e represented in the university environment.

鈥淥ne of the important things for Indigenous students, using myself as an example because I was an Indigenous student at one time, is being able to see myself reflected back, wherever I am on campus,鈥� he says.

鈥淎s an Indigenous student in a university, you want to know there are people you can identify with that you don鈥檛 have to explain your identity to, or have to stand up for your experience and/or the experience of Indigenous people in general.鈥�

Kaszas says another goal he will prioritize is to assist Acadia in its process of decolonization.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a necessity to insist that the local Mi鈥檏maq communities are involved in this process of decolonizing Acadia,鈥� he explains. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 important to focus on the 15 goals that the Decolonizing Committee Advisory put forward for the process of decolonization at Acadia. We need to bring more Indigenous students to campus and hire more Indigenous faculty. We need more teaching subjects that have to do with Indigenous worldviews and knowledge, and it鈥檚 important that we support those who have that knowledge.鈥�

Kaszas looks forward to serving the Mi鈥檏maq community and Acadia and is 鈥渉onoured and thankful to be in Mi鈥檏ma鈥檏i the unceded territory of the Mi鈥檏maq.鈥� He also adds that he wants to ensure his department becomes a vibrant place that supports Indigenous students on campus and extends an open invitation to students to stop by and say hello.

To find out more about the office of Acadia Indigenous student advisor, contact aboriginal@acadiau.ca.