Originally from Unamaki (Cape Breton), Patricia (Patty) Musgrave has worked in a variety of areas over her career. She was a member of the Eastern Door - FAS Diagnostic Team in Elsipogtog First Nation and worked for the Royal Bank of Canada as part of their national problem resolution team and later as an account manager and mutual fund representative. Prior to starting at Mount Allison, Musgrave worked at NBCC (Moncton campus) where she helped lead the Indigenous Affairs office and programming for six years.

“My background mainly focuses on two areas, business and youth. After RBC, I knew I wanted to work with youth again,” she says.

Having worked in post-secondary education before, Musgrave says she feels she has a pretty good handle on what students need and want and is always learning more from Mount Allison’s Indigenous Student Support Group.

“I see a real commitment to reconciliation on this campus, particularly in student services and in academics,” she says. “A lot of our students are away from home, many for the first time. They need to learn a good balance between ceremony and school and find acceptance here.”

Musgrave, a mother of two and grandmother of two, is part of the University’s Indigenous Advisory Circle, which looks at ways to the University can continue and focus its efforts towards reconciliation.

“We now have three Indigenous faculty members on campus in different disciplines,” she says. “I’m really enjoying working with them and the wider academic team to help move this process forward.”

Musgrave has initiated a students talking circle, which began on Oct. 2 and meets every second Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Mawita’mkw. The confidential,

nonjudgement-based gathering focuses on the Medicine Wheel aspects of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects of drugs and alcohol and supporting one another and keeping each other safe.

“I live a drug and alcohol-free life, this is traditional in native spirituality. But I have a background in addictions, including my own, and am familiar with the struggles,” she says. “We want to ensure support for all our community members who need it.”

Musgrave is also working to help educate Mount Allison and the community on wider Indigenous issues. She helped facilitate Orange Shirt Day, selling t-shirts on campus on September 27, and marking the event with a Building Bridges Workshop, a reconciliation-based experiential workshop for students, faculty, staff and community members. Musgrave’s office also organized the first Sisters in Spirits Vigil on campus, honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and set up a small student foodbank in the Mawita’mkw this fall.

On October 18, the University will host its second official Powwow celebration, welcoming dancers, drummers, and vendors from across the region, as well as members of the University and wider community. Several hundred children from local schools will also be attending, making this truly a community event.

“We’re excited to host our second Powwow on campus and have so many people, especially children, coming from the community,” says Musgrave. “We hope to see many familiar faces from Mount Allison in the Athletic Centre.”

Photo caption: Patty Musgrave speaking at the Building Bridges workshop, held on Orange Shirt Day at Mount Allison on Sept. 27