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Gabbius Goodman Memorial Learning Centre

Kelsey Jaggard speaks with Catherine Rae who is the program coordinator at the Gabbius Goodman Learning Centre in Sandy Lake, Ontario. The Gabbius Goodman Learning Centre provides community members in level education requirements. Catering to all ages, the learning centre also aims to make connections between community members and post-secondary education opportunities by partnering with […]

Kelsey Jaggard speaks with Catherine Rae who is the program coordinator at the Gabbius Goodman Learning Centre in Sandy Lake, Ontario. The Gabbius Goodman Learning Centre provides community members in level education requirements. Catering to all ages, the learning centre also aims to make connections between community members and post-secondary education opportunities by partnering with other initiatives in Ontario.

PWK Secondary School Chipewyan Classroom

PWK Secondary School Chipewyan classroom.

This Chipewyan language classroom for grades 7-12 teaches more than just the language. Paul Boucher passes on cultural values and laws, teaches traditional crafts, and hopes to instill a sense of cultural pride in his students.

Manitoba First Nations Police Service: Rights, responsibility, respect, and rules

Strive to ensure the safety, security, trust and protection of the First Nation Communities.

Members of Manitoba First Nations Police Service serve many needs in the communities where they are stationed. The members of the police service attend career fairs for young people interested in policing. They are in the schools talking about bullying, drug awareness, and distracted/impaired driving. Annually, the police service puts on a victims of crime event.

Students are hired from the community to get policing experience related to crime prevention. Of special importance to the members of the police service is the after school program. This program emphasizes sports, culture, education, and healthy living; it is based on the principles of rights, responsibility, respect, and rules. JoAnn Helgason says, “We offer a supervised, structured program that’s safe. Parents know that their kids can stay after school. It’s available in their home community. We have a canteen and feed them, we provide buses to take them home.” Connections into the community are established; the kids and the police form positive relations.

In time, some of these young people will apply and become First Nations police officers. It’s a natural fit: the communities want their own people policing and the young people coming out of the after school program are ready to take that step.

JoAnn Helgason was interviewed high above the ice at the Dakota Nation Winterfest held in Brandon, Manitoba January 31 to February 3, 2019. Dakota Nation Winterfest provides an excellent opportunity for Indigenous peoples from across Canada and the United States to showcase themselves through sports, talents and culture under one roof.

Build from Within- Ozhitoon Onji Peenjiiee

The program bridges students from high school through to becoming an educator.

The Build From Within teacher development program brings together Winnipeg School Division, the Faculty of Education at the University of Winnipeg, and Indspire Canada and other service providers to develop a path for Indigenous High School Students to become teachers. The primary goal of Build From Within is to recognize and build on Indigenous students’ unique strengths and experiences to create competent and motivated teachers who are passionate about their work and want to contribute back as teachers. Starting in Grade 11, Indigenous students spend six years on a journey to become a teacher with the Winnipeg School Division. A total of 60 students will participate in two cohorts. Each cohort of 30 students engages in an academically rigorous program featuring classroom internships, as well as cultural, familial, mentorship, employment, and financial support.

The first step is graduation from high school and completion of a 300-hour Education Assistant Diploma Program. In addition, students are required to take a minimum of 48 hours of workshops (delivered by WSD staff) and participate in a practicum placement within the school division. Students will continue as Education Assistants while completing their Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education Degrees at the University of Winnipeg.

The Mid-Island Métis Nation – Indigenous Education Wiichihew Program

The Wiichihew Program is offered by the Mid-Island Métis Nation and serves Indigenous Students in high schools, alternative learning programs, and Vancouver Island University. It supports students by sharing resources, supports, community and cultural events, emotional support, etc. This program was established in 2016, and is available to all Indigenous Learners in High school/University level. […]

The Wiichihew Program is offered by the Mid-Island Métis Nation and serves Indigenous Students in high schools, alternative learning programs, and Vancouver Island University. It supports students by sharing resources, supports, community and cultural events, emotional support, etc. This program was established in 2016, and is available to all Indigenous Learners in High school/University level. The Coordinator is a student advocate, she connects the students to resources and resource people who can assist the student with current issues/situations as well as future goals and aspirations. The amount and type of support offered is based on the students individual needs.

Tłı̨chǫ Government- Jim Martin

Jim Martin has worked within the Tłı̨chǫ communities in many roles over the years. Currently, he sits as the Sr. Policy Advisor in the Priorities and Planning department with the Tłı̨chǫ Government. He also works with Dedats’eetsaa: the Tłı̨chǫ Research & Training Institute.

Jim Martin has worked within the Tłı̨chǫ communities in many roles over the years. Currently, he sits as the Sr. Policy Advisor in the Priorities and Planning department with the Tłı̨chǫ Government. He also works with Dedats’eetsaa: the Tłı̨chǫ Research & Training Institute.

Neecheewam Inc. – Whole Person Learning

Cheyenne Chartrand, Spiritual Care Provider at Neecheewam Inc., explains Neecheewam’s approach to education.

Neecheewam Inc. goes beyond pedagogical programs in an effort to redefine concepts of treatment, emphasizing cohort and peer education through an “extended family” that results in whole person learning. Whole person learning requires moving beyond the text book to include academic, professional, emotional, and spiritual growth.

On The Land Learning, Old Crow Yukon

Bridging the western educational world with local First Nation culture and traditions .

In this interview Francis Ross talks about the on the land learning program in Old Crow Yukon. This program is designed to achieve educational curriculum in a First Nation lens. This program fully utilizes local First Nation knowledge, culture, and traditions and fuses it with current western education curriculum. The approach allows students to become more comfortable by learning with familiarity using Fist Nations tools, methods and ways of life to meet educational goals. This program creates a bridge between the two worlds many First Nation people experience as a hardship.

Cree Language Videos with Solomon Ratt

Solomon Ratt created a Facebook group called Cree Language Videos where he posts videos related to Cree language lessons and traditional stories. 

Solomon Ratt is a professor in the Department of Indigenous Languages, Arts, and Cultures at the First Nations University of Canada where he teaches Cree language in the Y-dialect. He created a Facebook Group called, Cree Language Videos, where he posts videos of Cree language lessons that involve: introductions; things you like to do; hobbies; days of the week; weather terms; verb conjugations; tenses; and traditional stories – stories of Wîsahkîcâhk. Since the creation of Cree Language Videos a few years ago, it has gathered over 3000 members. 

The Cree Language Videos started as a way to provide both distance and proximate learners with opportunities to access to the Cree language lessons. This practical language learning tool allows students to watch the videos, to see the Cree language written out, and to hear the language being spoken.

Traditional stories in Cree have lessons on how to exist and survive in this world, how to get along with others, and the responsibilities people have to each other. It is important to hear the traditional stories in their language of origin because there are certain aspects, like humour, that cannot be easily translated to English or other languages. 

To Solomon, Indigenous education means to learn everything that he can about the world in which he lives, specifically, to learn from his surroundings – from the land and the people around him. He hopes that more learning will be done on the land, that language will be brought in with traditional activities, and that we can revive the language when we revive the traditions. 

Cree Language Videos – http://nehiyawewin.ca/cree-language-videos/

Visit the Online Cree Dictionary / Nehiyaw Masinahikan – http://www.creedictionary.com 

Cree Language Software – http://www.creedictionary.com/software/index.php

EmpoweringU, Financial Wellness Program helps students stay in university

EmpoweringU, Financial Wellness Program helps students stay in university.

Many students drop out of university because they’re broke. The EmpoweringU, Financial Wellness Program has three goals: 1) Provide University of Manitoba Indigenous students with the tools and skills they need to make informed financial decisions; 2) Relieve stress caused by financial pressures; 3) Help students find the financial resources they need to stay in school. The program partners with awards officers to explain scholarships & bursaries and offer onsite application assistance. An Indigenous dietitian speaks about eating healthy on a budget, focusing on the traditional, cultural, and spiritual aspects of preparing a meal. There are budgeting & debt reduction workshops and sessions on the importance of filing taxes to access benefits. The EmpoweringU program has been generously funded by Hubert Kleysen, LL.D/14, Bernice Kleysen and Cambrian Credit Union.