Three questions with Chief Felix Thomas

For Chief Felix Thomas (BSPE’88, BA’90), a career spent in service to his communities began at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

Thomas, currently Chief of the Kinistin Saulteaux Nation where he was born and raised, has been a First Nations leader and advocate locally, provincially and nationally for more than 30 years. This spring, he received the USask College of Arts and Science’s highest alumni honour, the Alumni of Influence Award. The award celebrates alumni who have made a positive impact on the world around them.

We spoke to Thomas about his greatest takeaways from his College of Arts and Science education and his advice for today’s students.

Q: What is your favourite memory about your time in Arts and Science?

I wasn't originally trying to get into the College of Art and Science. My first degree was a Bachelor of Science in phys-ed, and just because of timing, I needed a minor because I was going to go into education. The Native Studies Program was just starting then.

And so that's where I got involved in a lot of the student politics through the Indigenous Students’ Council and started taking native studies classes. And that really sparked my interest in First Nations politics, or Indigenous politics, and advocacy work.

By then, I had finished my phys-ed degree and I thought, ‘Well, I might as well finish off my arts degree and then see where that takes me.’ So that was really the start of my career in terms of advocating and trying to get back in service to our First Nations communities. It was through the Native Studies Program at the University of Saskatchewan College of Arts and Science.

The other thing is that back then, in the ‘80s, there weren’t a lot of First Nations students in mainstream colleges, other than the ITEP and the SUNTEP programs. And so we built up a real camaraderie amongst each other, and we used to seek out each other and try and help and support each other. So that's where a lot of the networking in later years came from.

Q: How did your Arts and Science education help you in your career?

I guess the first thing is that it got me involved in politics—how politics work, how people work, how people decide to do things, and why they do things. So the biggest thing that helped me was not only taking native studies classes, but also classes like sociology and psychology and philosophy. Those kind of classes really taught you how to think. I learned a lot from the classes we took—critical thinking and even emotional intelligence, how to deal with people, and just being able to speak out and speak up.

Those social science classes encourage more dialogue. Because you know, if you're taking a math class or a hard science, there's no dialogue. You're dealing more with facts. You don't have an opinion on a math equation; you just do it. Whereas psychology, sociology, native studies, those are all a little bit more subjective and need more thought and opinions.

Q: What advice would you offer to current students in Arts and Science?

I think the big thing is to know your classmates. Become friends with them and seek out other activities, not just classwork. There's a lot of clubs that you can do and there's a lot of sporting activities, intramurals, you can do. All of those will lead to friendships—and they could be lifelong friendships. They could be lifelong networking opportunities.

But the more people you meet, the more people you talk to, the richer your life will be. And not only that, but don't talk to just one homogeneous group. Talk to everybody that you can.

The Alumni of Influence Awards celebrate and recognize outstanding alumni of the College of Arts and Science. The recipients’ remarkable achievements have impacted their fields, their communities and the university.

If you know a College of Arts and Science graduate who is making a difference, submit a nomination. Nominations can be made at any time of the year.

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