December 11, 2024

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) has taken several steps forward on its Inuit Nunangat University project, which now plans to welcome its first cohort of students in 2030. ITK received a $50M donation from Mastercard Foundation to help establish key startup elements, build capacity, advance academic plans, develop courses, improve digital connectivity, and enhance community engagement. ITK’s board also recently approved a series of recommendations to guide the strategic planning and development of the university, including endorsing a Charter and Academic Framework for the university, creating a process to select the host community for the main campus, and identifying the steps to forming a University Trust. ITK is now seeking $50M from the Government of Canada in next year’s budget, with a total of $160M needed to start the university. ITK President Natan Obed said that the goal is to create an institution where students can “be grounded in Inuit society and also have a full spectrum of educational opportunities that include learning more about our society and our practices.” CBC spoke to two Inuit students studying in the south who expressed hope for future generations who will be able to attend postsecondary in the North.

Five First Nations in Manitoba will be collaborating with the federal government to move school projects forward through investments from Indigenous Services Canada. O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation will construct a new K-12 school and teacher housing. Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre and Jack River School in Norway House Cree Nation will be completing renovations and building improvements. Tataskweyak Cree Nation will design a new elementary and secondary school, while O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation and Garden Hill First Nation will embark on feasibility studies and designs for future new schools. Leaders from several First Nations expressed optimism about the impact that the new and renovated facilities will have on future students. “The best way to address the future is to do something today,” said O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation Chief Kerwin Chaboyer.

Seven Generations Education Institute has unveiled the new name for its main campus: Rainy Lake Campus. The institute renamed the campus following SGEI Board meetings discussing the importance of Indigenous self-determination. The campus is built on Agency One lands, which are held in common by the Agency One First Nations of Couchiching, Mitaanjigamiing, Naicatchewenin, and Nigigoonsiminikaaning. “By referring to our building as the Rainy Lake Campus, we’re not only paying homage to the beautiful Rainy Lake, we’re also honouring the fact that we are sitting on Agency One lands,” said SGEI CEO Brent Tookenay.

The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society is offering Indigenous and Black high schoolers a week-long opportunity to learn about law through a new internship program. Participants in the Inspiring Future Indigenous Black & Mi’kmaq Lawyers Internship Pathways program will gain hands-on experience and meet lawyers and judges working in traditional and non-traditional roles. They will earn half a credit towards their high school diploma upon completing the experience. “The fact that this program is available to high school students and putting that career opportunity to them at a younger age, I think, is going to be huge,” said internship project co-ordinator and Crown attorney Marissa Prosper (Pictou Landing First Nation). The internship is a pilot project that takes place over the week of March break and is funded by the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia.

The Blackfoot Digital Library—a collaborative project by University of Lethbridge and Red Crow College—has received a Blackfoot name: Apani. The name, which translates to moth or butterfly, refers to “those that transfer knowledge.” “It is noted in Blackfoot mythology as a carrier of information,” said Elder Jerry Potts, who chose the name. “On a lot of Blackfoot teepees that come from dreams, you’ll see that symbol on the back of them.” The library is a central space for field notes, photographs, images of Blackfoot objects, and recordings. It provides a space to share stories about Blackfoot families and communities and a way to respond to misconceptions and misrepresentations of Blackfoot experiences and ways of life. “The old people, everything they did meant something, and the library allows younger people to learn about these things,” said Potts. Blackfoot Digital Library Liaison Danielle Heavy Head said that the Blackfoot name is important because “[it] sets more of a precedent within the community that this library is an important place, and it holds a lot of knowledge that can be carried forward.”

Bay Today has shared the story of a grade 12 student at St Joseph-Scollard Hall Catholic Secondary School who is sharing her heritage with students and teachers as an Indigenous Student Trustee. Cheyney Chevrier became inspired to share her culture after a mentor helped her learn about her culture and language. As an Indigenous student trustee, she helps create an engaging and welcoming environment where students can bring forward ideas. Chevrier is also part of an Indigenous group called Mkwa Doodem, which helps organize assemblies, presentations, and guest speakers such as a residential school survivor who spoke for Orange Shirt Day. Chevrier said she wants the school to incorporate more Indigenous-related events and talks this year, and said she hopes to work with Mkwa Doodem and teachers to incorporate more Anishinabek language. “I’m hoping to leave an imprint on the school somehow and hopefully motivate other, younger students to take on roles and responsibilities,” said Chevrier, who said that sharing her culture has given her confidence.

The Government of Alberta is investing over $1.5M over the next three years into Trade Winds to Success, an Indigenous-led organization that trains Indigenous students in the skilled trades. The funding will support programming such as the Residential Construction Program, which is expected to enrol 156 participants over three years. “Indigenous-led non-profit organizations like Trade Winds to Success help ensure that Indigenous Peoples are included at every level of the economy – as owners, workers and partners,” said AB Minister of Indigenous Relations Rick Wilson. “This funding will help Indigenous students gain valuable training in the trades, and moves us forward as we build a stronger, more inclusive economy.”

Several institutions have launched new Indigenous-focused programming. The Institut national de la recherche scientifique and the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue are collaborating to launch new master’s and PhD programs in Indigenous Studies, which will start in Fall 2025. The joint programs will use innovative pedagogical approaches such as talking circles, sharing workshops, and meetings with Indigenous partners. Carleton University, the First Nations Technical Institute, and Kenjgewin Teg are collaborating to launch a one-year Journalism in Indigenous Communities Certificate program starting in Fall 2025. The program is led by Indigenous teachers who will provide instruction in fundamental reporting skills from an Indigenous worldview. Brock has launched a course that explores the sport industry and Indigenous sport and resurgence. The course will include guest lectures from Indigenous athletes and sport leaders. U of T has launched a new Indigenous Feminisms course which will be hosted in UTM’s Indigenous teaching lodge. The course’s unfamiliar environment is intended to transform how students approach course content.

Hanover School Division will be laying off approximately 93 educational assistants (EAs) due to what they describe as an “unexpected loss of federal funding for Jordan’s Principle programming in the 2024-25 school year.” HSD Superintendent Joe Thiessen said that the division was not aware that the funding model for the program recently shifted from provincial to federal. CBC reports that the division was instructed to reapply for the funding and has had to lay off 93 EAs who were working with Indigenous students in the meantime. Though the division will be minimizing disruptions as much as possible for impacted students, one mother told CBC that the loss will have a significant impact on her child, whose EA has “really been a key to the success that he’s actually having in school right now.”

Trent University has unveiled a new cornerstone at Champlain College. The cornerstone features text that is carved into local granite in Anishnaabemowin and English recognizing Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg as the traditional inhabitants of the land on which Trent is located and honouring Anishnaabemowin as the land’s original language. It was installed following recommendations from the Report of the Champlain Committee, and sits adjacent to two other cornerstones placed in the 1960s recognizing the 350th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s travels through the area. “The new cornerstone at Trent symbolizes the relationship between two identities; one where a rock-solid foundation is built upon, and one as the symbols of the Petroglyphs which gives us knowledge and respect for each other in the betterment of education,” said Curve Lake First Nation Chief Dr Keith Knott.