Indigenous and Black-led education models: How are they challenging Western institutions?

Maurice Riley-Case holds an MEd from York University, where his research focused on abolition and reform in the education system. His work critically examined how institutional efforts to address anti-Black racism in education can inadvertently obscure the rich plurality of Black identities and experiences.

Maurice’s commitment to institutional transformation in education is driven by a desire to remove systemic barriers for Black students, staff, and faculty. Grounded in anti-oppressive research and scholarship, his approach emphasizes creating learning and working environments that reflect experiential knowledge and foster collective action.

Maurice is currently the Associate Director of Black Inclusion, Success and Strategic Initiatives at McGill University. Maurice previously served as the Instructional Designer for Inclusive Pedagogies and later as the Manager of the Black Perspectives Office at Concordia University. Before relocating to Montreal, he spent 12 years as a high school teacher and three years as an Instructional Coordinator for Black Student Flourishing with the Peel District School Board in Ontario. Maurice holds a Bachelor of Education (BEd) from the University of Toronto.

Saviluk Thomassie is a non-binary Inuk from Kangirsuk, Nunavik. They moved to Montreal - Tiohtia:ke in 2018, to attend school. They attended Nunavik Sivunitsavut, a one year program for Inuit from Nunavik, and then attended Dawson College in General Social Science. They are currently studying at Concordia University in First Peoples Studies. They are doing an Internship at Tasiutigiit, an organization that works with Indigenous children in greater Montreal as an animator, and they work as a book seller and barista at Librarie Pulp Books & Cafe.