Dr. Wendy Makoons Geniusz is an Indigenous woman of Cree and Métis decent. She was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but her Cree family comes from the Pas, a Reserve in Manitoba. To honour her Ojibwe namesake, Keewaydinoquay, Geniusz was raised with Ojibwe language and culture. Before coming to York, Geniusz was Professor of Ojibwe Language at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she taught for 14 years.

Since childhood, Geniusz has worked on Ojibwe language and culture revitalization projects in Indigenous communities throughout the Great Lakes Region. All her publications and research focus on creating decolonisation tools for Indigenous language and culture revitalization. Geniusz is the authoress of: Our Knowledge is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings, the editor of: Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do is Ask (by Mary Siisip Geniusz), and the authoress of the Ojibwe plant name glossary found in that text. She is the co-editor (with Brendan Fairbanks) of Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake (by Dorothy Dora Whipple).

Upcoming Courses

Dr. Wendy Makoons Geniusz is an Indigenous woman of Cree and Métis decent. She was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but her Cree family comes from the Pas, a Reserve in Manitoba. To honour her Ojibwe namesake, Keewaydinoquay, Geniusz was raised with Ojibwe language and culture. Before coming to York, Geniusz was Professor of Ojibwe Language at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she taught for 14 years.

Since childhood, Geniusz has worked on Ojibwe language and culture revitalization projects in Indigenous communities throughout the Great Lakes Region. All her publications and research focus on creating decolonisation tools for Indigenous language and culture revitalization. Geniusz is the authoress of: Our Knowledge is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings, the editor of: Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do is Ask (by Mary Siisip Geniusz), and the authoress of the Ojibwe plant name glossary found in that text. She is the co-editor (with Brendan Fairbanks) of Chi-mewinzha: Ojibwe Stories from Leech Lake (by Dorothy Dora Whipple).

Degrees

Upcoming Courses