Extended Professional Bio and Program Description
Indigenous Educator | Researcher | Producer | Community Practitioner | Policy Consultant | Life Skills Coach |
Professional Background
Mylan Tootoosis is a Nêhiyawpwat (Plains Cree–Nakota) educator, researcher, community practitioner, policy consultant, and father from Poundmaker Cree Nation in Treaty 6 territory. With approximately two decades of experience in Indigenous education, life skills training, community development, and family wellness, his work brings together academic research, Indigenous knowledge systems, frontline community experience, and culturally grounded approaches to strengthening children, families, and communities.
His professional interests include Indigenous family systems, fatherhood, kinship, child development, intergenerational healing, mental health, Indigenous governance, community safety, and cultural continuity. His work emphasizes the importance of Indigenous knowledge and community relationships while recognizing the contributions of contemporary research in psychology, education, family systems, and social work.
Mylan's professional approach is informed by both formal education and direct community experience. He has worked across educational institutions, First Nations organizations, community programs, and Indigenous child and family services, developing an understanding of the social, cultural, political, and institutional factors that shape Indigenous family wellbeing.
Education and Academic Experience
Mylan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Liberal Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a Master of Arts in Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria. He has also completed advanced doctoral studies in Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, where his academic interests included Indigenous governance, Colonialism and Decolonization, colonial policy, Treaty relationships, community development, and the contemporary challenges facing First Nations.
He has taught Indigenous Studies and related courses at the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Regina, and the University of British Columbia Okanagan. His university teaching experience includes Indigenous histories, governance, political thought, cultural traditions, contemporary Indigenous issues, academic writing, and critical approaches to colonialism and Indigenous-settler relations.
Mylan continues to teach university courses while maintaining his responsibilities in community-based programming, research, and family life. His academic experience allows him to translate complex research and theoretical concepts into accessible learning opportunities for students, community members, and professional audiences.
Early Community Experience and Foundations in Facilitation
Mylan's involvement in Indigenous community education and development began at an early age. From approximately seven years old, he accompanied his father Arsene Tootoosis working in First Nations communities. With a Bachelors in Indian Social Work from Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, the Late Arsene Tootoosis was a leader in delivering quality support and training to First Nations communities. Mylan gained firsthand exposure to community-based workshops, training sessions, educational programming, and the relationships involved in working with Indigenous peoples and organizations.
These formative experiences provided an early understanding of community dynamics, cultural protocols, communication, and the importance of building trust and relationships with participants. Working alongside his father allowed Mylan to observe and learn the practical aspects of facilitation long before pursuing formal academic education or professional training.
Over time, these experiences helped shape his distinctive facilitation style, communication methods, and approach to community education. His delivery, tone, and teaching philosophy have developed through decades of direct engagement with First Nations communities, combining early mentorship, practical experience, formal education, and professional training.
Mylan's facilitation style emphasizes accessibility, humour, respectful dialogue, practical examples, critical reflection, and the ability to communicate complex ideas in ways that connect with participants' everyday experiences. Rather than relying exclusively on academic presentations or standardized training models, he draws on firsthand experience, community relationships, and an understanding of the diverse audiences he works with.
This foundation continues to inform his work as a university educator, community practitioner, consultant, and developer of Indigenous Fatherhood in Practice. His approach reflects not only what he has learned through formal education and professional development, but also the knowledge, mentorship, and practical lessons gained through a lifetime of involvement in First Nations community education.
Much of Arsene Tootoosis’s work is continued through Kimberly Tootoosis and Red Echo Associates.
Continuing Education and Clinical Social Work
Mylan is preparing to undertake a Master of Social Work (MSW) at Wilfrid Laurier University, with a particular interest in clinical social work, family systems, child development, parenting, and culturally grounded approaches to mental health.
His continued education reflects a commitment to strengthening his understanding of psychological development, therapeutic approaches, family relationships, and evidence-informed interventions while maintaining a foundation in Indigenous knowledge systems and community-based practices.
His long-term professional interests include the relationship between Indigenous family systems and contemporary clinical social work, particularly the ways attachment, emotional regulation, intergenerational experiences, kinship networks, and cultural identity influence the wellbeing of children and families.
Through this continued academic development, Mylan seeks to further strengthen the theoretical and research foundations of his Indigenous fatherhood and family wellness programming.
Professional Training, Community Practice, and Crisis Response
Mylan began his professional training in life skills coaching in 2005 and has experience developing and facilitating educational workshops, personal development programs, community wellness initiatives, and culturally grounded learning opportunities and 20 years experience doing so.
His professional experience includes working with Indigenous children and youth, supporting families experiencing complex challenges, and collaborating with educators, therapists, social workers, community wellness teams, and First Nations organizations.
His work in First Nations schools has included supporting the implementation of mental health-informed approaches, student wellbeing initiatives, crisis response practices, social-emotional learning, and family engagement strategies. At Chief Little Pine School, his experience contributed to his understanding of the relationships between childhood development, educational environments, emotional wellbeing, family stability, and cultural identity.
Mylan has also participated in community based and grassroots crisis response efforts in Poundmaker Cree Nation and surrounding First Nations communities. These experiences have involved responding to challenging community circumstances and recognizing the importance of coordinated support during periods of grief, loss, family distress, emergencies, and critical incidents.
His community crisis response experience has reinforced the importance of culturally appropriate support, clear communication, community coordination, prevention, and connections to qualified professional services.
Through his involvement in community safety initiatives, emergency preparedness, advocacy, and community-based programming, Mylan has developed practical knowledge of the broader conditions affecting Indigenous families, including safety, housing, access to services, and community wellbeing.
His work emphasizes the importance of strengthening local capacity, supporting healthy relationships, and developing practical approaches to prevention and community resilience and article organizes Poundamaker South Side Rez Watch with Local families and households.
Indigenous Governance, Policy, and Child and Family Services
Mylan's professional work extends into Indigenous governance, policy development, and the strengthening of First Nations institutions and community services.
He has worked in Indigenous child and family services, including policy development related to First Nations jurisdiction over children and families under federal Indigenous child and family services legislation.
His work has involved engaging with Elders, community knowledge holders, and First Nations leadership to examine Indigenous laws, traditional family systems, kinship responsibilities, cultural teachings, and community-based approaches to caring for children and families.
He recognizes that Indigenous child and family wellbeing must be understood within broader historical and contemporary contexts, including the impacts of colonial legislation, residential schools, displacement, disrupted family relationships, and institutional approaches to child welfare.
At the same time, his work emphasizes Indigenous agency, community strengths, cultural continuity, and the responsibilities of families and nations to define their own approaches to child and family wellbeing.
His experience in Indigenous governance, research, and community consultation informs his ability to develop educational programming that connects cultural knowledge with contemporary policy, family support, and community practice.
Fatherhood, Parenting, and Family Systems
As a father of two daughters, Mylan brings personal experience and daily parenting responsibilities to his professional interests in fatherhood, child development, and family relationships.
Along side his coparent, he currently helps homeschools his daughters while continuing to teach university courses, pursue professional development, and participate in community initiatives. His responsibilities as a parent and educator provide a practical dimension to his understanding of children's learning, emotional development, cultural identity, relationship-building, and the everyday demands of caregiving.
Mylan approaches fatherhood as more than financial provision or traditional expectations of authority. His work emphasizes emotional presence, secure relationships, positive discipline, communication, accountability, cultural identity, practical teaching, land based relationships, and responsibility to future generations.
His perspective recognizes that effective fatherhood requires ongoing learning, patience, self-reflection, emotional regulation, and meaningful involvement in children's lives.
He also emphasizes that Indigenous fatherhood exists within broader systems of kinship, extended family, community responsibility, and cultural continuity. Fathers have important responsibilities not only to their children but also to the relationships and communities that support healthy family development
His work seeks to strengthen Indigenous fathers without defining them solely through trauma, absence, or deficit-based narratives. Instead, he emphasizes existing strengths, personal responsibility, supportive relationships, and the development of practical parenting skills.
Indigenous Mindful Fatherhood Program
Mylan is developing his Fatherhood Program, a at times culturally grounded educational approach intended to support fathers in strengthening their relationships with their children, families, and communities.
The program draws on Indigenous family systems, adult education, life skills coaching, child development research, attachment theory, emotional regulation, and culturally responsive approaches to parenting.
It emphasizes the importance of fathers being physically present, emotionally available, accountable, protective, and actively involved in their children's development.
The program also recognizes the importance of Indigenous cultural identity, kinship relationships, community responsibilities, and intergenerational learning in supporting healthy family relationships.
The program is designed to encourage reflection, practical skill development, respectful communication, positive parenting practices, and personal responsibility.
Rather than relying exclusively on lectures or abstract concepts, Mylan's approach emphasizes practical learning, guided discussion, everyday parenting situations, and the application of knowledge within family and community life.
The Indigenous Mindful Fatherhood Program is intended to support First Nations communities, Indigenous child and family service agencies, family wellness organizations, and other groups seeking culturally grounded fatherhood and parenting education.
Public Education, Research, and Media
Mylan is also involved in independent media and public education through The Radicle Narrative Podcast, a platform exploring Indigenous perspectives, history, political issues, cultural identity, and contemporary community conversations.
His work in podcasting, research, teaching, and public engagement reflects his commitment to making Indigenous intellectual traditions and contemporary discussions accessible beyond academic institutions.
His broader research interests include Indigenous governance, Treaty relationships, community development, family systems, cultural continuity, Indigenous intellectual traditions, and the relationship between historical policies and contemporary community conditions.
Through teaching, media, research, and community dialogue, he seeks to connect academic knowledge with everyday experiences and practical community concerns.
Facilitation Philosophy and Professional Approach
Mylan's facilitation approach is informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, adult education, life skills coaching, critical pedagogy, community practice, and culturally responsive teaching.
He recognizes that effective education requires more than presenting information. Meaningful learning involves understanding participants' experiences, cultural contexts, existing strengths, learning needs, and the broader circumstances affecting their lives.
His facilitation emphasizes respectful dialogue, critical reflection, practical skill development, emotional awareness, personal accountability, and meaningful participation.
Drawing on his experience in university teaching, First Nations education, child and family services, crisis response, community governance, and fatherhood, he develops learning environments intended to be accessible, respectful, and relevant to participants.
His approach also recognizes the importance of professional boundaries, cultural responsibilities, and collaboration with qualified mental health and social service professionals when specialized or clinical support is required.
Mylan's professional work is particularly relevant to First Nations governments, Indigenous child and family service agencies, educational institutions, community wellness organizations, and organizations seeking culturally grounded approaches to parenting, fatherhood, family relationships, Indigenous governance, and community development.
Professional Qualifications and Value
Mylan brings together a combination of formal academic education, approximately two decades of professional training and community experience, university-level teaching, Indigenous governance and policy work, crisis response experience, and direct engagement with Indigenous children, families, Elders, and communities.
His experience crosses multiple professional and community settings, allowing him to approach family wellness and fatherhood through educational, cultural, developmental, historical, and practical perspectives.
As an Indigenous educator, father, researcher, and community practitioner, he offers a perspective that connects formal scholarship with everyday responsibilities and the realities of Indigenous family and community life.
His professional services extend beyond workshop delivery to include curriculum development, specialized facilitation, culturally grounded educational programming, research-informed content development, and the adaptation of learning materials to community and organizational needs.
Through his broader professional work, Mylan seeks to contribute to stronger relationships, healthier family environments, increased parental involvement, and the continued development of Indigenous approaches to family and community wellbeing.