Joel Cardinal is a proud member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 Territory. In October 2023 he joined University nuxełhot’į thaa?ehots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (UnBQ) as the Indian Residential School Project Coordinator. In this role, he oversees the coordination of the search for unmarked burialsat Blue Quills Indian Residential School – St. Paul site.
Joel holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Simon Fraser University and recently completed his Indigenous Master of Education at UnBQ. He brings over three years of experience as a Client Management Paralegal, where he focused on interviewing residential school Survivors on their experiences with physical and sexual abuse. Joel has been involved with the IRS Project at Blue Quills since the Phase 1 search where he volunteered his time to interview Survivors.