Highwood High School recently celebrated the transfer of a tipi from the people of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Two years ago, a tipi was raised as part of a cultural appreciation day, and the school and the Highwood High School Parent Council made a commitment to purchasing a tipi to use as part of the school’s learning environment. The school’s new tipi—which the parent council helped sponsor—was transferred in ceremony, with Highwood making an oral commitment to caring for the tipi and knowing its oral protocol. The tipi will be up until snow is on the ground, and will be put back up again in the spring. The event included a smudging ceremony, a prayer and pipe ceremony, and a brief ceremony with select guests inside the tipi. Highwood High students also participated in a Friendship Round Dance around the tipi. “I am sure [educators] will bring that back to the classroom and share and explain what took place in the tipi,” said Councillor for Eden Valley Keith Lefthand. “This is a special day for us to pray back on the land of the Stoney Nakoda territories.”

Indigenous Top Ten News
October 18, 2023
Pawaatamihk: Journal of Métis Thinkers, an open-access journal focused on Métis thought inside the academy and in the community, recently released its first issue. According to a press release from the University of Winnipeg, this open-access journal is the first “nation-specific journal in Canada.” It is dedicated to uplifting Métis voices, stories, and research and features community stories, poetry, visual culture, book reviews, and scholarly papers. The name Pawaatamihk was gifted by Métis Elder Verna DeMontigny; translated from Michif and Ininimowin, it signifies “a group of people dreaming.” The journal’s Circle of Editors is comprised of Métis academics Dr Cathy Mattes (UWinnipeg), Dr Chantal Fiola (UWinnipeg), Dr Jennifer Markides (University of Calgary), Dr Laura Forsythe (UWinnipeg), Lindsay DuPré (University of Victoria), and Dr Lucy Fowler (University of Manitoba). “There’s so much amazing Indigenous scholarship out there that there’s just not enough space,” said Fowler, who added that the idea for the journal stemmed out of a symposium in 2022. “We decided that we needed a place to be able to publish for our people, that would be centring Métis voices and prioritizing those experiences and so we decided, ‘we’ll just start it ourselves.’”
Indigenous people across Northern Ontario will have more training opportunities thanks to a $7.3M investment from the Government of Ontario. The funds will support eight training projects that will prepare workers for careers in critical sectors such as mining, logging, construction, healthcare, and tourism. The programs will train 1,700 workers, who will be prepared to fill vacant jobs in the area. “By supporting innovative skills training projects across Northern Ontario, we are opening the door for Indigenous workers and job seekers to embark on meaningful, lifelong careers within in-demand sectors across a number of industries,” said ON Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Minister of Northern Development Greg Rickford.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the University of Saskatchewan have each launched new Indigenous-related education departments. KPU launched its new Indigenous Studies Department, which is positioned within the Faculty of Arts. The new department strengthens KPU’s ability to support Indigenous people and provide learning opportunities in the areas of Indigenization and decolonization. Specialized course offerings within the department include an Introduction to Indigenous Studies, as well as topics in gender, sexuality, families and healing, and activism. “This launch has been many years in the making,” said KPU Provost Diane Purvey. “Formalizing this department reflects our journey toward achieving systemic transformation at KPU, and we are honoured to carry forward the vision of so many tireless runners.” USask’s College of Medicine is creating a Department of Indigenous Health and Wellness, which it says will be the first of its kind in Canada. The new, Indigenous-led department will provide a welcoming space for Indigenous health researchers, learners, and faculty, with the aim of incorporating Indigenous knowledge and systems into education and scholarship.
Northern Lakes College and Thompson Rivers University have announced new centres dedicated to Indigenous students and education. Northern Lakes’ new Virtual Indigenous Student Centre is named mamawapowin, which is Cree for “the act of coming together or an organized meeting.” The online centre brings together resources for Indigenous students and anyone looking to learn about Indigenous culture. It features educational videos, student success stories, information about Indigenous student funding, and Elders in Residence. TRU’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the construction of a $22M Indigenous Education Centre to begin in 2024. The centre will provide a space for Indigenous students, ceremonies, culture, and scholarly work. It will also be designed by Indigenous architect Patrick Stewart and will draw on the Secwépemc structural design for meeting houses.
The Near North District School Board has announced that it has paused the renaming process for Chippewa Secondary School at this time due to a procedural issue. The renaming committee said that the two documents that oversee the renaming process—the renaming committee’s Terms of Reference and the Administrative Guidelines—are misaligned and will need to be updated before the committee can resume its work. The North Bay Nugget and Bay Today report that the decision to rename the school has met resistance from some community members, with a recent petition against the renaming reaching 3,000 signatures. Additionally, according to CBC, a report recently presented to the school board that responds to a December 2022 report found that “[t]he name Chippewa is not offensive as was claimed in the December 13, 2022 report.
The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources has announced a new admission pathway within its Kanawayihetaytan Askiy (meaning “let us take care of the land” in Cree) program. Originally, students who wanted to enroll in either the Indigenous Land Governance or Indigenous Resource Management diploma programs had to complete the Kanawayihetaytan Askiy certificate first. The change means that students can enter these diploma programs directly from high school. “By expanding our admission options, we are strengthening and diversifying our student community,” said USask Associate Professor Dr Melissa Arcand. “The Kanawayihetaytan Askiy program provides hands-on learning opportunities and skills that students can use to lead in their communities and across the country.”
Youth at Mother Teresa Middle School in inner-city Regina will have more opportunities to learn drumming through a MusiCounts equipment donation. The lone powwow drum used by the Buffalo Boys cultural music program recently broke, leaving students unable to participate in events. The school was approved for funding through MusiCounts, and its new equipment includes four traditional powwow drums, 24 powwow drum sticks, one buffalo hand drum, 10 deer hand drums, and 20 deer hand drum kits. The equipment will enable more students to enter the program and create a deeper awareness of Indigenous culture. Whitestar said that cultural programming efforts are part of the regular school curriculum and that they are designed to ensure that the culture survives and thrives. “We actually don’t have too many ceremonies where a drum isn’t present,” said the school’s cultural program founder Evan Whitestar. “What happens around the drum is not just singing. It shows you how to be a better person … and how to be there for your community.”
The Government of Ontario is expanding Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) training programs to offer carpentry apprenticeship training. Through this program, members of the nine Matawa First Nations communities, including communities that are only accessible by winter roads or by air, will have access to training and careers in the skilled trades. “We look forward to working together with KKETS to resolve our housing crisis by building capacity for our community members and acquiring more red seal carpenters and other trades in our community,” said Chief Bruce Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation. “Providing our First Nation community members with the tools and training to build and maintain our homes would be leading our own way to prosperity, and sustainable growth.”
Several postsecondary institutions have partnered with local First Nations and other Indigenous groups to develop and launch tailored educational programs. First Nations Executive Education (FNEE) and First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Economic Development Commission developed a new executive training program for economic leaders that will be offered starting in Winter 2024. The University of Alberta and Treaty 8 First Nations signed a historical agreement that included a rehabilitation medicine pathway program. The University of Saskatchewan, Northern Lights School Division, and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Education Authority have signed an agreement to offer the Cree Teacher Education Program Bachelor of Education degree program in Pelican Narrows. Vancouver Island University and the six nations of the Nanwakolas Council signed a MOU to develop and continue VIU’s Indigenous Guardians program. The program also received a pledge of $1.4M from the Government of British Columbia.