By Lexxington Many Heads
The Four Directions Lodge at Mount Royal University (MRU) is an Indigenous student-led club offering a safe space for Indigenous students to study, socialize, connect, and meet new people. The executive team consists of Amelia Crane Bear from Siksika Nation, a second-year environmental science student, who serves as the president; Saydee Duck Chief from Siksika Nation, a fourth-year psychology student minoring in sociology, serving as the VP of events; and Sadie Turning Robe from Carry the Kettle First Nation Treaty 4 in Saskatchewan, a fourth-year sociology student minoring in sports and recreation management, serving as the communications coordinator.
Starting out as an idea in the fall of 2024, Amelia felt that her university was lacking community. “Everyone I had met was saying the same thing: everyone comes into the Iiniskim centre, but nobody really talks to each other, or it seems like people already know each other.” she shared. Noticing the lack of Indigenous representation amongst campus clubs, Amelia began with posting callouts in the Iiniskim monthly newsletter. Then, she met Saydee, and they began building their executive team, officially becoming a ratified club in the fall of 2025, with Sadie joining in January 2025, “which really transformed the club – we were able to execute events with a third executive member,” Amelia shared. Since then, the team has hosted events for members and set up a booth at their first club expo. They’ve also created two group chats: one for sharing events and information, and for planning to attend events together. The other, created more recently, to provide casual space for people to interact with one another.
Amelia shared some of the challenges of starting the club and the biggest barrier they are facing which is getting people to show up for events. “There’s 95 people in the group chat, but not everyone shows up. I think a lot of people are shy, maybe, or just nervous. Being in university, it’s so hard to attend events with your schedule.” The team has several ideas for future events and goals that they want to achieve; however, their main concern is investing money and time into these ideas, only for people not to attend. Despite this hurdle, Amelia, Sadie, and Saydee have come together to navigate the challenges and brainstorm ideas for more casual meetings, such as a drop-in study session. After hosting their first in-person meeting, Amelia shared, “We sent out a Google form and asked people what events they’d be most interested in,” which helped them better understand their members and what would work best. From that feedback, they organized an elder storytelling event on March 27, an art/craft social event on March 31, and an upcoming trivia event on April 10.
Leadership always comes with its challenges. Despite these, it can also be very rewarding to see your ideas and goals come to life, and that’s something the executive team relates to. Seeing how many people were interested in the idea of the Four Directions Lodge was shocking to them. For Amelia, the most rewarding part has been witnessing the community that has formed. “It felt like there was no community.” she said, “and now there’s students everywhere that I don’t even know!” Thinking back to the time when she had first thought of the idea, she was nervous and shy. She had put a call-out in the Iiniskim newsletter and worried that “nobody would reach out or want to be a part of it.” To her surprise, she received messages from people saying, “I want to see this!’ What is this? I want to be part of it, or I want to help out!” For Saydee, she had made a few connections through the BMO mentorship program, but it felt formal and she was seeking a more informal, casual space where it was “students for students,” and she found that with the Four Directions Lodge. “The little engagement that we do find in person, it’s still really rewarding.” Saydee said. “Even just having the online chats, people making friends, and going to events through there, that’s still rewarding enough for me.” Sadie shared a similar desire in wanting to mingle and connect with people. “Like what Amelia said, people have their own friendships and whatnot, so I just kind of felt like there wasn’t a club or space dedicated to just the vibes and the fun.” When Amelia reached asking Sadie to join the executive team, she was extremely happy and grateful. “I wanted to participate in creating those safe spaces, and her reaching out allowed me to be a part of that,” Sadie shared. She added that even though the club doesn’t always meet in person, there is still a strong sense of connection. “People are still meeting up in the city and doing events together,” she explained, “I really like that. It’s a small gesture, but I feel like it’s really important.”
Saydee, Sadie, and Amelia shared the experiences that helped them learn about leadership and themselves, since stepping into their executive roles. Amelia explained, “I had never been in a leadership role like this,” noting the challenges of coordinating meetings, managing conflicting schedules, making deadlines, and handling misunderstandings. “I felt a lot of pressure with that and trying to navigate it,” she shared. In her presidential role, Amelia shared that she learned how to work better with people and how to handle conflicts involving the club in a professional, fair and respectful way. “You can’t please everyone, so at the end of the day my main goal is for the club and community, and to make a safe space for people,” she added, “I’m working for the people, not for myself.” Saydee shared that she learned how busy she truly is, admitting, “it is really hard to figure out dates and execute them,” emphasizing that despite this, the team has been able to make it work. She highlighted the importance of setting boundaries, saying, “we’re a student-led club and doing this for free. I learned that having a limit is okay but also learning how to navigate people and just trying to do our best.” Echoing their experiences, Sadie explained that she’s had to learn to not stress when things don’t go exactly as planned. She’s also learned that since getting the club started, it’s hard to cater to everyone – that there’s always going to be other opinions – but her focus has been to ensure good outcomes for the club and that people are happy, satisfied and supported.
When asked what advice they would share, each of them spoke about the importance of stepping beyond fear and embracing growth. Sadie encourages people to step out of their comfort zone, sharing that “What people have to say about their experiences creates relationships. There’s always somebody out there who shares the same story, similarities, and experiences. Put your voice out there and don’t be shy – be confident, because you’re heard and wanted.” Amelia explained that pushing yourself into uncomfortable situations is where the growth happens. “I was so shy and afraid of doing anything – meeting people, starting this club and events, talking to people – but I showed up and I did it, and it was nothing like I feared and I felt so much better after. Sometimes it’s a lot worse in your head, but doing it, you feel so much better. That’s how you build confidence in yourself. You have to have trust in yourself that you’re on the right path and these things that are happening, or these things that you’re doing, is going to get you to where you want to be even if you don’t see it right now.” Saydee added that she had once been in a funk, afraid to leave the house. “I just had to remind myself that I’m allowed to create the person I want to be that day. That’s all it ever was. I was always scared. I was like, ‘oh, but I’m so awkward. I’m so shy,’ and then I went out there and I was like, ‘well, I don’t have to act awkward and shy. I could act however I wanted to act,’ and then I went and did it.”
For students looking for a safe and welcoming space on their university journey, the doors to MRU’s Indigenous student-led club, Four Directions Lodge, are open. Follow them on Instagram @fourdirectionslodge to stay updated on information, upcoming events and workshops.
