Marika Schalla’s career in education so far has been nothing short of remarkable. From being a leader in Indigenous education and language revitalization to earning multiple degrees, she has been a passionate force in Truth and Reconciliation. Her work spans book writing, curriculum development, and running an Indigenous education business, while being a full-time teacher, mom and masters student—her fourth degree to date. Through her multifaceted journey, Marika has continued to turn big dreams into reality—and she hopes to inspire her students to do the same.
“My students are absolutely amazing,” says Schalla, who is currently a language revitalization teacher in the Anishinaabemowin program at Isaac Brock School, one of only three Indigenous language immersion programs in the province. Schalla has been learning and reclaiming her family’s language for the last 10 years and “I’m still learning, alongside my kids. We’re learning together.”
Schalla describes her students as change-makers, and leaders in the school and their division. Her kids have planned pow wows, performed drum songs at events, planned the Truth and Reconciliation and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Walk, and most recently attended the sacred fire at the Legislature to pay respects to the late Murray Sinclair. “I took 19 kids on the Winnipeg city bus,” she says. “When we got there, they wanted to offer tobacco in his memory and we got complimented that this is the most well-behaved class. We get that compliment a lot.”
Filling the Gaps in Indigenous Education
While teaching Indigenous education has been extremely rewarding, Schalla says she has continuously noticed a lack of resources. “I always teach about the Clan systems, because we talk about storytelling rights and responsibilities,” she says, “and I was having such a hard time finding resources in Ojibwe relating to specific teachings.” So, she decided to create her own—first a coloring book about Clan animals, and then a children’s book entitled “Stella Welcome to Your Doodem”. The latter quickly got picked up by a publisher and rose up the ranks of new releases for customs and traditions on Amazon.
The story centers around a young girl named Stella and her journey to find her Doodem (Clan), and teaches readers about the Anishinaabe Clan System and the seven Clan animals. Schalla says she’s received a lot of positive feedback on her book. “I made the character more light-skinned on purpose, because there’s not many representations of white skin Indigenous. You can be mixed Indigenous, you can be biracial and/or be BIPOC, and we need that representation. I have children in my class who see my book and they’re like ‘she looks like me’. I’ve heard that many, many times over the past year from different students—that they are so happy to see a character that looks like them.”
Since 2021 Schalla has also been running Heartberry Education which provides Indigenous curriculum development, workshops, facilitation, land-based camps, youth experiences and education consulting. “Heartberry started as a mission,” says Schalla. “When I was in university we had a class on Indigenous education, and I didn’t feel like all my classmates were learning enough. I started leading little workshops during lunch time about different Indigenous topics that my peers could use in their student teaching practices and beyond.”
Community Impact
Schalla created sharing circle guidelines through research, talking with elders and community members, and her teaching practice at Niji Mahkwa School. “I got to go to conferences across Canada to teach it to other educators to use in their classroom. It was my first time on an airplane and to see the ocean.” She also worked to co-develop the Your Voice is Power program created in the US through a handful of organizations including Amazon, and Pharrell William’s YELLOW. The program was brought to Canada and Schalla, and fellow Indigenous educator Christine M’Lot helped to Indigenize it. The two have flown to northern reserve communities to help spread the program. “It was life changing,” says Schalla. “Going there was reaffirming that this is exactly the work I need to do.”
Schalla’s work in Indigenous education has been recognized through numerous nominations in recent years including the Future Leaders of Manitoba, Indspire’s Guiding the Journey Award, and most recently as one of the youngest recipients of the Winnipeg 150 medal for the work she has done in her North End neighborhood. “I stood there talking to the other recipients and thought ‘do I belong here?’,” she says. “I felt quite the imposter syndrome and that’s something a lot of Indigenous people battle with. But I know I’m on the right path and I’ve learned that I’m capable. I know I hold and bring forth the brilliance for my ancestors and their resilience.”
Looking Towards the Future
While great strides have been made in Indigenous education, Schalla says there is still work to be done. “We still have a long way to go in terms of Truth and Reconciliation. We need more support for language revitalization. There is not enough funding, if we want our languages to be strong and our kids to be strong leaders, we need to put more emphasis and more importance on language revitalization.”
Schalla wants her work to teach all kids that being Indigenous is important and that it’s important to celebrate the culture and the languages. “This education is a recognized need in classrooms across Turtle Island, and I need to keep doing this work to strengthen our education system and help my fellow educators. And I have learned how to support my family through all the systemic barriers and challenges that many young Indigenous women face. I’ve learned how to work towards my goals but also how to center myself. I live by the teachings. I’ve found myself through this work.”
In the future, Schalla wants to get her PhD in Indigenous Education, though she’s yet to decide what to center on. “Truth and Reconciliation, land-based learning, and storytelling—those are my three big passions. I want to keep writing more books, more curriculums, I want to do something bigger—a principal or superintendent. I know I have the skills and abilities, I have the mindset, I have the drive, I have the ambition. I want to be something bigger, something more.”
For right now though, teaching is her happy place. “Oh my gosh, it is the best job in the world. Coming in here, seeing these beautiful children, giving them the love they deserve and the education they deserve has been life changing for me. I’m so glad I became a teacher, it’s so fulfilling. It helps my heart and my spirit.”
She notes that her class has had great attendance. “I want school to be the kids’ safe place. I make sure they’re fed, even if it comes out of my own pocket. If they need sleep, I got a couch for them. If they need comfort, they will get comfort. They know that they are safe and loved here, and that’s why their learning is so big and beautiful and brilliant—because they want to be here.”
Just recently her students worked on a writing unit about dreams. “I was writing down the big dreams I have had, and they said ‘Marika, you’ve accomplished all your dreams!’. I said, I have way more now! I want to give them that inspiration and be that role model, that they can do anything they want with their dreams.”
“I grew up with a lot of love, but I also grew up in poverty in the North End, we had family addictions and we struggled. I was a teen mom, and I graduated on time with honours. I want my students to know that they’re important, and worthy, and can do anything they want to do.”
For more information on Heartberry Education visit https://bit.ly/4h4CKvE
To purchase the Stella Welcome to Your Doodem paperback visit https://bit.ly/4h8U9TV
– Originally published in the Winter 2025 issue of the MB Teacher
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Matea Tuhtar is a writer/photographer for the MB Teacher magazine and the Media Communications Specialist for The Manitoba Teachers’ Society.