Sad news: Theresa Neel has passed away

Many will be saddened to hear that Theresa Neel has passed away. Theresa worked for many years in roles supporting Indigenous education at UFV (in its FVC and UCFV days).

The following story is based on an interview conducted with Theresa in 2009.

Theresa played a key role in the development of strong relationships between UFV and Indigenous communities. Theresa, an alumna of Fraser Valley College’s Social Services diploma program, hailed originally from Alert Bay on Malcolm Island. Her mother was famed carver Ellen Neel.

Theresa was living in the Fraser Valley in the 1970s, and started taking upgrading courses through the Fraser Valley College Basic Skills and Training Development program.

“I remember college administrator Betty Urquhart being very encouraging to me, as well as my instructor Pat Gillespie,” Theresa recalls. “Heather Stewart was also very supportive, and encouraged me to enter the College Achievement program, which she said would be perfect for me, and it was. It gave me the skills I needed to succeed and an increased knowledge of and appreciation for Indigenous culture.”

Theresa completed her Social Services diploma practicum at the Coqualeetza Education Centre, and eventually landed a job as post-secondary counsellor for the society. This job developed into a position funded by the Chilliwack Area Indian Council that saw Theresa serving as an Indigenous student contact with office hours at FVC two days a week, and managing the educational department of the council.

“I focused a lot on funding,” Theresa recalls. “Not just on finding funding for students, but for programs and activities.”

“Theresa Neel was, in a breath, a visionary, a hard worker, and a compassionate caring educator,” says Shirley Hardman, Associate Vice-President, Xwexwílmexwawt.  “She imagined for Indigenous students a place on campus to call their home.  She believed the university could reflect Indigenous ways of knowing in everything it does.  Theresa Neel worked tirelessly to change policy — she sat on provincial committees to share local Indigenous voice towards the changes needed in post-secondary education.”

Her administrative work involved lots of liaison with bands, both those who were part of a larger Sto:lo organization and those that were independent; sitting on myriad committees and chairing some of them, such as the original Totil:thet Centre steering committee; and encouraging an Indigenous presence and profile at UFV.

In 1992, UCFV took over funding for her position entirely, and she was based on campus five days a week, still dividing her time between one-on-one student work and general administration and program and activity development.

She helped secure and coordinate federal funding that funded the initial Totil:thet Centre, and used some of her budget as seed money for the Medicine Wheel, a healing event that took place every summer on St. Mary’s grounds.

“I was of the opinion that in order for our students to be really prepared to succeed, they needed the opportunity to learn more about traditional culture, and heal from the many wounds that had been inflicted on them individually and their people. My supervisor, Erling Close, agreed with me, so we directed some funds to that.”

She found funding for curriculum development and worked with social services/social work faculty member Robert Harding to develop four courses for an Indigenous specialty within the social services diploma.

She brought guest speakers to campus for workshops, such as Dr. Michael Leeds, who led intensive workshops around empowerment and leadership.

And in 2000, as Aboriginal Access coordinator, she launched the Aboriginal Resource Centre on the Chilliwack campus.

“At the core of everything I did was the focus on how it would affect the individual students and enable them to be successful in post-secondary education. It was all so clear: the students needed resources and funding, they needed good financial aid and programming advice, and they needed involvement with the Elders and their culture,” she recalled.

“I loved my work. Every day was different and challenging. The administrative work and committee time was interesting and challenging, but it always came back to the students for me.”

For many years, Theresa would encounter alumni she’d helped working in band offices, at social services agencies, and in general businesses. She was heartened by the effect she had on their lives.

“I worked with three generations of Stó:lō families, so I see a lot of the results of that work in the community,” she says. “People are always very eager to tell me what they did next and what they ended up doing, and I love hearing their stories. Some of these people would have gone on to post-secondary education no matter what, and moved to the city to do so, but for the majority, it took having a college in their community to open the door to education for them.”

Theresa left UCFV to work at other institutions in the early 2000s. She returned in later years to serve as one of the Elders in Residence.

“Theresa returning to work as an Elder in Residence was a gift to the students in those years.  Imagine all of her experience, advocacy, and education that she was able to bring to students as she listened to their struggles and triumphs. She came a long ways since her days sitting in the carving tent at Stanley Park with her mom.  She brought all that into the hearts and minds of the students, faculty, and staff at UFV and to all of the lives she touched.  We all remember Theresa… even if she only briefly touched your life… you would remember her,” recalls Shirley Swelchalot Hardman, AVP Xwexwílmexwawt, who was also a former student of Theresa Neel’s.

In addition to her work, she was involved in theatre at UCFV and in the community.

Former Theatre department faculty and staff were greatly saddened to learn of Theresa’s passing.Former theatre program head Ian Fenwick provided the following statement:

“Theresa was such a joyous supporter and frequent participant in theatre programming, and unfailing in her efforts to promote the value of theatre education to Indigenous students. Her powerful sharing spirit shone through the many roles she played in department productions including the endearingly humorous French Fry Lady in Talking With; the gossipy Ukrainian neighbour in Primrose School District #109;
and the irrepressible Pelajia Patchnose in Tomson Highway’s Rez Sisters. Her presence in these roles and her generous open-hearted approach to life is lovingly remembered by those who participated with her.”

You can see photos of Theresa from her decades of service to our university here: