Co-Lab Team
Sara Pilon Co-Lab Student, Women and Gender Studies , Department of History
Sara Pilon began working with the Co-Lab in 2023 on the oral history project “Our History is Our Foundation: Honouring Ilarion’s Ukrainian Residents,” in partnership with Ilarion Residence Retirement Home in Saskatoon. In 2024 Sara begun working on the project, “Documenting Indigenous and Settler Land Use in the Redberry Lake Biosphere Region,” which uses archival, secondary, and oral history research to explore the human and environmental histories that have shaped this landscape. Sara is finishing her honors degree in Women's and Gender Studies with a minor in History and aims to pursue graduate studies in the future. Sara has three absolutely adorable dogs and the Co-Lab team loves getting updates on what they are getting up too.
Aqsa Hussain Co-Lab Student, Department of History
Aqsa Hussain is an undergraduate History honours student focused on twentieth century cultural, social and decolonial history focused on intersectional communities whose identities shape the way they navigate politics through activism, resistance and resilience. She is working on “Mapping Traditional Métis Land Use in Île-à-la-Crosse," in partnership with A La Baie Métis Local #21 and Sakitawak Development Corporation. The research project includes conducting oral interviews and using Historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS) to map Métis harvesting practices and traditional place names to aid in industry negotiations, education curriculum and the 250th anniversary of Île-à-la-Crosse.
Elizabeth Martens Co-Lab Student, Department of English
My name is Elizabeth Martens, and I am in my final year in the Arts & Science college, majoring in English with a minor in History and working towards my CERTESL through the Education college. I enjoy knitting and hanging out with my fluffy, chunky cat, Kylo! This project documents, celebrates, and charts the history of the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre (SFBLC) over the past 40 years through archival research and oral history methodologies to create video documentaries capturing the experiences of past employees and volunteers sharing SFBLC history.
Wren Dahl Co-Lab Student, Women and Gender Studies & Department of History
Wren is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a Double Honours degree in Women’s & Gender Studies and History at the University of Saskatchewan, with plans to go into Law after graduating in 2026. His main areas of interest are Canadian gender, sexuality, and political histories as well as community-engaged research, queer theory, and social justice. Both in and out of school and work Wren is particularly passionate about 2STNBGN advocacy and rights. He is a part of many student and community groups that seek to bring social justice and political topics to wider audiences, and enjoys opportunities to do this in his work and academic pursuits as well.
Sarah Trevor Co-Lab Student, Department of History
Between the Churchill and Sturgeon Weir Rivers, where water predominates, Kayaking opened the way for the land’s teaching to change this English/African settler into one who found my place in boreal shield country. As a University of Saskatchewan student living in Saskatoon, and the prairies unfamiliar territory, much of my landscape knowledge now comes from academic sources. Nonetheless, I have gained the assurance that book and land learning are complementary—thanks to my years of education kayaking Treaty 5’s waterways. Summer 2024’s work in the Co-Lab provided me two areas of involvement. I designed the project “Métis Lac Pelletier1881-1946: Settler Impact,” to interrogate how Lac Pelletier’s Métis community navigated prairie settlement during that period. In addition, I joined a larger project involving Saskatchewan Land Registers. I am part of an ongoing undertaking that uses this homestead resource to collect and transcribe settler data.
Emma Wintermute Co-Lab Student, Women and Gender Studies
Emma (she/her) is a queer settler to Turtle Island, and third-year undergraduate student working to complete a Double Honours degree in Women’s and Gender Studies and History at the University of Saskatchewan. Her passions and main areas of interest include community-led research, social movements and change, feminist, political, and queer theories, human rights, law, and histories of pay equity and labor. Upon completing her undergraduate degree Emma intends to go into Law. In various capacities, Emma has been involved in community, academic, and student-led organizations whose work has been committed to navigating terrains of social justice through feminist praxis, magnifying, and raising awareness of the importance of political and social waves of change. She hopes to continue to contribute to diverse advocacy work and research that supports community collaboration, agency, and spaces and places for social justice.
Jessica Jack Co-Lab Student, Department of Anthropology
Jessica (she/her and they/them) has a Master's in Medical Anthropology from USask. She has a background in qualitative social science, including research on LGBTQ2SIA+ issues, reproductive decision-making, and chronic pain. She joined the lab to help out with her skills in interviewing, qualitative data analysis, and community-engaged research. Jessica is currently working on the Traditional Land Use Mapping project for the Métis community of Île-à-la-Crosse.
Patrick Lee MA PhD Candidate, Department of History
Editor of the Folklore Magazine for the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society, currently working out of the Co-Lab office.
Derek Cameron MA PhD Candidate, Department of History
Research Assistant working out of the Co-Lab office on the Remember Rebuild Saskatchewan project under Dr. Erika Dyck.