Shawna Cunningham (Mai'stoo Pi'kssakii – Crow Spirit Woman)

Shawna Cunningham, (Mai'stoo Pi'kssakii – Crow Spirit Woman) BA, MA
Director of ii' taa'poh'to'p (Indigenous Strategy), co-chair of the Indigenous Strategy Working Group, and advocate for Indigenous relations

Shawna Cunningham is Métis/Cree from Southern Alberta, Canada. She is the director of ii' taa'poh'to'p (UCalgary’s Indigenous Strategy), co-chair of the Indigenous Strategy Working Group, and advocate for Indigenous relations.

Cunningham, along with Jackie D. Sieppert, co-chaired the Working Group for ii’ taa’ poh’ to’p. Together they worked tirelessly to connect with the university community and external community-based stakeholders to develop an authentic foundation for UCalgary’s path toward reconciliation. During two years of consultation leading up to the strategy launch in 2017, they collaborated with Traditional Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous educators and campus representatives to build a framework that focused on wisdom and collective storytelling from an Indigenous worldview.

Cunningham began her career in Aboriginal student services as a recruiter for University of Alberta in 1989 and later served as a sessional instructor and program administrator for the Aboriginal Education Project at Mount Royal University.

In 2000, she was hired by UCalgary as the director of The Native Centre and provided developmental leadership for numerous community-based programs and student services, including the N.A.P.I. Ambassador Aboriginal youth outreach program, the LYNX Aboriginal Student Career Program, the Aboriginal Student Access Program, and the Indigenous Relations Leadership Program. In 2016, Shawna was awarded the Chief David Crowchild award by the City of Calgary in recognition of her role in community partnerships for Indigenous programming.

Cunningham received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Lethbridge, where she majored in Drama and minored in Native American Studies, and her master's degree from the University of Alberta. Shawna is currently pursuing her education doctorate degree with the Werklund School of Education.