Page 10 - Lakehead University - 50th Convocation 2014
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Lakehead University Alumni
FEATURES
Lakehead University is proud of its Alumni
CHRISTOPHER MUSHQUASH
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Dr. Christopher Mushquash is a dedicated psychologist and researcher respected for his integrity. As
well as being nationally recognized for his expertise in First Nations mental health and substance
use, Christopher is an assistant professor with Lakehead University’s Psychology department and the
Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
Christopher is Ojibway, and a member of Pays Plat First Nation. He grew up in Sioux Lookout, Ontario,
where he saw how gaps in health care services and supports compromised the lives of Aboriginal and
rural Canadians.
This situation sparked a resolve to do something. The turning point came when Christopher was studying
at Lakehead and chose a psychology course elective.
“I realized that psychology provided an opportunity to learn research and clinical skills that might be
useful for First Nations peoples, and rural and remote communities,” he says. Christopher completed
his Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2002 followed by a master’s in Experimental
Psychology, also from Lakehead, in 2004.
He was recruited to Dalhousie University’s clinical PhD program by Canada Research Chair and Dalhousie
Professor Patrick McGrath who describes Christopher as “a leader who draws people to him.” After inishing
his doctorate, Christopher returned to Thunder Bay as a Lakehead faculty member.
AHMOO ANGECONEB
Alumni Honour Award
Ahmoo Angeconeb launched his illustrious art career at the age of ive, drawing on anything he could
ind, including his mother’s walls.
Today, Ahmoo’s works - drawings, serigraphs, linocut prints, paintings, and etchings – have been
featured in solo exhibitions throughout North America and Europe and can be found in public and
private collections worldwide.
He has been a consultant and juror for the Ontario Arts Council, an artist-in-residence in northern
Scandinavia, and is in high demand as an arts educator in Ontario schools. Ahmoo has become a global
ambassador for Ojibway art.
Ahmoo was born in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, but grew up on the Lac Seul First Nation. When he was six,
he was sent to residential school in Pelican Falls with his older siblings. Although his parents exposed
him to Ojibway culture and language, he was reacquainted with traditional ceremonies by elders he met
while attending high school in Kenora.
As a teenager, he was inspired by the famous Woodland School artist Norval Morrisseau. Subsequently,
Ahmoo studied Visual Arts at York University and Adult Education at Dalhousie University before
completing an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts at Lakehead University in 1993.
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