Mi’kmaw elder’s memoir chronicles 55 years of service in Elsipogtog First Nation [Video]

At 81, Claudia Simon is a respected Mi’kmaw elder who has dedicated her life to transforming education and health care in New Brunswick’s largest First Nation.

Simon drew inspiration from her personal and professional life working in Elsipogtog First Nation, 55 kilometres north of Moncton, in My Meaningful Life as a Mi’kmaq Woman, a memoir she published in January.  

“To get to my education and to do what I’ve done, it’s been a struggle, a personal struggle,” said Simon. 

She speaks fondly of the years spent raising six children and remembers their grace, which she says allowed her to reach her educational goals. She would bring her children to a campground nearby while she attended summer courses at the University of New Brunswick, where she graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Education. 

In 1991, Simon began working at the Elsipogtog Health Centre, where she played a crucial role in the transition to community controlled health services and navigated one of the most …