Faculty & Staff

Academic Title: Associate Professor

Office: T381
Email: afoggin@mtroyal.ca
Phone: 403.440.8976

Education

Audra Foggin (she/her) is a Cree educator, clinical social worker, and proud member of Frog Lake Cree Nation (Treaty 6). A Sixties Scoop survivor, her career is deeply rooted in Indigenous resurgence, land-based education, and decolonizing social work education. She brings extensive experience navigating dual worldviews, which directly informs her teaching, research, and community advocacy. Grounded in relational accountability (wahkohtowin), her work spans child welfare reform, Indigenous health equity, anti-racism, and decolonial pedagogy.

Her scholarship centers on participatory action research (PAR), traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and ethical space engagement. Audra co-leads the O'tó pó'pa Blackfoot Field School ("sitting down to learn") in partnership with Blackfoot Elders and Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, advancing land-based, Nation-centered education that strengthens Indigenous identity, wellbeing, and sovereignty. Beyond academia, she consults across Turtle Island and serves on several provincial and national advisory councils.

Areas of Instruction 

• INTS 3330 / O'tó pó'pa: Land-Based Community Development Field School (Gifted name meaning "sitting down to learn" in Blackfoot by Elder Roy Bear Chief; delivered in partnership with Elders, knowledge keepers, and Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park in Siksikaitsitapi territory).
• SLWK 2224: Indigenous Knowledges / Social Work Practice with Indigenous Populations
• SLWK 2221: Community Development / Social Work Practice with Communities
• SLWK 2217: Social Work Leadership / Leadership for Human Services Organizations
• SLWK 2223: Addictions and Mental Health
• INTS 1240: Professional Communication
• SLWK 1114: Introduction to Social Work History, Philosophy, & Theory
• SLWK 1215 / 1216: Assessment & Documentation / Counselling Skills
• SLWK 1287 / 2287: Social Work Practicum I & II

Areas of Scholarship 

• Child Welfare 
• Indigenous Knowledges
• Anti-Racism
• Decolonial Pedagogy

Research Grants & Funded Projects

• Nehiyawak: Building Indigenous Community-led Energy Resiliency and Governance: SSHRC-funded ($324,886; 2024–2028), Co-Investigator.
• O'tó pó'pa: Reflections on the Emergence of a Blackfoot Field School: MRU SoTL & Ethnographic Research Project (2025–2026), Lead Investigator.
• Horses in the Classroom: Building Empathetic Leaders at MRU: Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning funded ($9,950; 2022–2023), Co-Investigator.

Honors, Leadership & Board Experience

• Esquao Award Recipient (2023): "Achievement in the Education System," Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW).
• Old Sun Community College Program Advisory Council (2022–2026): Board Member supporting Indigenous social work education pathways.
• CASWE-ACFTS Leadership: Educational Policy Committee (EPC) & Thunderbird Circle Member, Canadian Association for Social Work Education.
• ACSW Engagement: Steering Committee Member & Sharing Circle Organizer, Alberta College of Social Workers.
• College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA): Former Indigenous Advisory Board Member advocating for cultural safety in healthcare.
• First Nations Adult and Higher Education Consortium: Post-Secondary Board Member.
• MRU Indigenous Faculty Collective (IFC): Founding Member.

Media & Community Engagement

Media Commentator: Regular expert contributor for CBC News, APTN, Radio QR 77, and Great West Media on child welfare reform, Sixties Scoop reconnective journeys, and intergenerational trauma.

Community Initiatives: Contributor to the 60's Scoop Interactive Map Project, Kanayasihk Culture Camp, Bringing Power to Truth anti-racism artist initiative, and Four Ceremonies Gathering Cultural Camp.

Selected Publications 

McGowan, K., Schaefer, N., Tri, T., & Foggin, A. (2026). Horses as the classroom: Empathetic leadership development via a pedagogical experiment and social enterprise partnership. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 17(1).

Datta, R., Jebunnessa, C., Kara, O., Margot, H., & Foggin, A. (2024). Indigenous land-based practices for climate crisis adaptations. EXPLORE.

Mackenzie-Plovie, S., Foggin, A. C., & Spence, D. (2023). Relationship Earning and CPSA's Reconciliation Journey. CPSA Annual Report 2023.

Foggin, A. C., & Johnson, H. (2021). Sharing a path to reconciliation. The Advocate, 46, 7.

Bearchief, R., Foggin, A., Karen, P., & Donna, S. (2020). Ai so kso tsipa iisko tsiki: (Dismantling the past). Decolonization through education using the Anitopisi framework: from irrelevance to relevance.

Tortorelli, C. D., Dean, Y. Z., Ferguson, M. J., Foggin, A. C., Choate, P. W., Adams, G., … Kaur, S. (2020). Supporting Success with International Students in Social Work Education. International Federation of Social Workers.

Selected Presentations 

Brown, S., Foggin, A., Tortorelli, C., Elder Roy Bear Chief, Elder Hayden Melting Tallow, & INTS 3330 Alumni. (2025, October). The Birth of a Blackfoot Field School. Outdoor Learning Conference, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Brown, S., Foggin, A., Tortorelli, C., Elder Roy Bear Chief, Elder Hayden Melting Tallow, & Deranger, A. (2025, October). O’to po’pa - Sitting Down to Learn: Our collective Experience of Land-Based Field School Implementation. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Conference, Banff.

Brown, S., Foggin, A., Tortorelli, C., Elder Roy Bear Chief, Elder Hayden Melting Tallow, & INTS 3330 Alumni. (2025, September). O'to'po'pa Field School - Sitting Down to Learn. Journey to Indigenization Event, Mount Royal University.

Brown, S., Foggin, A., Tortorelli, C., Elder Roy Bear Chief, Elder Hayden Melting Tallow, & Deranger, A. (2025, August). Reflections on the Emergence of Land-Based Field School from Multiple Perspectives. International Indigenous Voices in Social Work Conference, University of Calgary.

Bear Chief, R., Tortorelli, C. D., Borg, I., Choate, P. W., Dolcecore, G. E., Foggin, A. C., & Taylor, L. (2025). Integrating Blackfoot Culture into social work education: Faculty engagement in learning through a Sootsiman. HCE Teaching and Learning Conference.

Foggin, A. C. (2024, June). Mâtinamâkêwin (Sharing Truth). CASWE-ACFTS Conference: Social Work’s Role in Transforming the Present for a Sustainable Future.

City of Calgary Town Hall Forum on Racism City of Calgary A call for community members from the Black, Indigenous, People of Color to discuss racism and experiences within the City of Calgary. Recommendations and strategies were discussed. July 17, 2020

Community Collaboration through Changemakers Studio, Equine Therapy Project.

Foggin, A. C., & Littlelight, B. (2020). Anti-Racism In Alberta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uu0Dzo_exY 

Raven, S., & Audra, F. (2020). Discussion about Decolonial Pedagogy. Video Recording.