March 6, 2024

The Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) has officially broken ground on a new Okanagan Indian Band Cultural Immersion Elementary School. Once constructed, the school will replace the aging Cultural Immersion School building it has outgrown. OKIB will be able to offer a more culturally appropriate learning environment for the community’s students, who in turn will be able to learn the Squilxw language and culture in a safe, inclusive learning environment. “Schooling hasn’t been very good for our people. Residential schools and day schools were places where our own knowledge was not allowed,” said OKIB member Bill Cohen. “With our own school, we can change that, where our kids have a place to speak our language and learn our own knowledge that has been here for thousands of years. They will have access to all of the world knowledge too.” The school is supported by $19.3M from the Government of Canada and $2.85M from OKIB.

The Government of Canada has announced two significant investments into Indigenous students and teachers. The Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF) will be directing a $13.2M investment to seven Indigenous-led and community-driven programs. These programs will support the training and empowerment of 10,000 new Indigenous teachers. RHF will partner with Gabriel Dumont Institute ($1.28M); McGill University (1.98M); Mi’kmaq Wolastoqey Centre – University of New Brunswick ($2M); Seven Generations Education Institute ($2M); Blue Quills University ($2M); University College of the North ($2M); and Yukon University, Yukon First Nation Education Directorate, and First Nation School Board ($2M) to work towards this goal. “We know Canada is facing national teacher shortages and Indigenous communities are struggling enormously to recruit and retain teachers,” said RHF Director of the Indigenous Teacher Education Initiative Rachel Mishenene. “The grants support community-driven, committed education teams across Canada building robust, culturally responsive Indigenous teacher education programs.” The federal government has also announced an additional $6M in funding for Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships and Awards program. Indspire will use these funds to offer financial supports to 2,400 Indigenous students.

The Government of Canada is investing $1.8M into the revitalization of the Kaska language in the Liard First Nation over the next five years. The funding will support a variety of educational and cultural initiatives, such as online and community classes, summer Kaska language and cultural immersion camps, and staff professional development and language training. The First Nation will also use the funds to develop linguistic resources, such as a Kaska grammar guide, verb reference, and illustrated language book for children. The community also plans to enhance the Kaska cards language app; process, translate, and transcribe Kaska recordings; and digitize and archive Kaska language materials.

The University of Calgary recently shared a piece in which Sessional Instructor Chantel Large discussed how her teaching has been shaped by Indigenous knowledge. When she first began to teach at UCalgary, Large shared how she would smudge before going into the classroom to teach students. “I would pray that I was able to teach in a way that these students who I was encountering would go out into the world as social workers and not cause harm,” said Large. Large said that she uses storytelling to connect with students and brings Indigenous individuals into the classroom to share their experiences. “It connects them to this part of history that isn’t really history. It’s a part of history that we still have to navigate, learn from and heal from today,” said Large.

The Near North District School Board’s (NNDSB) Indigenous Youth Circle (IYC) launched a donation drive to help families in Fort Albany First Nation with items for their babies. The IYC collected diapers, baby formula and other crucial items through a donation drive that involved both the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board and NNDSB. These items were then sent to the First Nation community through collaboration with former OPP officer George Couchie, the OPP Provincial Liaison Team, and Ontario Northland. The donation drive saw an overwhelming response from the community. “It’s way more than I would have ever expected,” said Chippewa Secondary School student and IYC leader Albany Benson. “All of the hard work that was put into it has definitely paid off, and everyone is working together, so it has been great.”

Water First Education & Training Inc, the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council (IRTC), and associated communities have launched the Drinking Water Internship Program. The program, which is described as the first of its kind in Manitoba, will train members of the seven IRTC communities for careers in water treatment. Interns in the 15-month program will take part in workshops and get hands-on experience in water and wastewater treatment facilities in their communities as they develop and broaden their skills. Graduates will be prepared for careers in drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, and environmental water management. Net News Ledger reports that the program uses a holistic approach that breaks down barriers to participation.