Law student, elected chief and Indspire Award winner, no doubt Tréchelle Bunn had a big year

Reality is beginning to sink in for Tréchelle Bunn following a surreal couple of weeks that saw her wrap up her second year of law school, claim an Indspire Award, and win an election where she became the youngest – and first female – chief of Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation. Bunn, 25, says being elected chief of her Nation is “the honour of her life.” “I think I was pretty much elected on a mandate of transparency and accountability and really bringing back those very foundational kinds of things like monthly community band meetings, establishing an elders council and making sure our community has a voice and they’re being listened to and heard and that they can trust me as their leader, so that was the most important thing for me,” says Bunn on the latest episode of Face to Face. She says that it’s always been a dream of hers to step into that role and a little more than a year ago, she was approached by Elders and community members to put her name forward. Bunn also hopes her campaign and historic win inspires the next generation to step into leadership roles. “Inspiring the youth and getting young people engaged was really important to me throughout the campaign process, as well,” says Bunn. Roughly 24 hours before she was elected, Bunn was receiving an Indspire Award, one of the highest honours the Indigenous community bestows upon its own people. In February, Bunn was also a recipient of a King Charles III Coronation Medal for contributions to the country and Manitoba. Bunn is also the founder of the Reconciliation Run, which is about to enter its fourth year. Started in 2021, it started as a healing walk after the news broke about the discovery at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. “I kind of recognized that there was that healing and hurt in my community and it got me reflecting on the words of my grandfather, my Un’kan Donald, who was a survivor of the Birtle Residential School and something he shared with me when I was quite young was that when he was at the Birtle Residential School, he wanted nothing more than to just run away and go home,” says Bunn. “My family and I and a lot of our community and even people who are not from our community gathered on the front lawn of the Birtle Residential School on July 1, 2021 and then running and walking back to my community of Birdtail in honour of not only my grandfather but all survivors and those who never made it home and now it’s turned into an annual event,” says Bunn. At the inaugural Reconciliation Run in 2021, a non-Indigenous women came from British Columbia to participate and informed everyone that her grandfather worked at the Birtle Residential School. “She was there that day owning her family’s truth in that and she even apologized to survivors in our community on behalf of her grandfather and the role and the legacy of her family in the residential school system, particularly in Birtle,” says Bunn. “It was very moving for so many survivors in my community from someone who was a descendent of someone who worked at the Birtle Residential school. It’s really has impacted people in all different ways, especially in my community. I think even for the non-Indigenous participants that come, it’s the first time they’re seeing a residential school in person, hearing from an elder and survivor directly and stepping foot on a First Nation in Canada.” Bunn has also created the Reconciliation Run Scholarship for a University of Manitoba Indigenous student athlete. She is a strong believer that “movement is medicine” and credits sports and in particular hockey with keeping her balanced physically, mentally, and spiritually. “We’re in a time of an Indigenous uprising and a rising of our people and I think there’s so many Indigenous role models out there and no matter what you want to do or what you want to be, I think there’s someone out there that you can look up to now a we’re having that representation within all of those spaces,” says Bunn. “Whether you dream of going to law school like me or dream of becoming chief of your community, if I’m someone you can look up to, I think don’t be afraid to reach out to those people. We are a tight knit and close community and I know we want to see our young people rise and that’s the most important thing to me,” says Bunn. Continue Reading