Aboriginal Career Expo encourages youth to pursue post-secondary education
Graduate School of Public Policy to offer online courses
Amiskwaciy Academy offers unique academic/cultural balance
Are you an aspiring young Aboriginal writer?
Successful Aboriginal schools profiled
Literacy is a life-long activity for everyone
Play depicts Odawas facing first contact
Minerva Foundation supports First Nation learners at NWCC
Shakespeare likely never expected to hear his “Macbeth” in Tlingit
New study says Aboriginal post-secondary education is a treaty right
Waterloo gives top students chance to test campus life
Fashion design summer classes available
Donor creates new opportunities for Aboriginal students
Aboriginal Career Expo encourages youth to pursue post-secondary education
More than 350 young Aboriginals were at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary on February 9th to take part in an Aboriginal Education and Career Expo designed to encourage them to finish high school and get a post-secondary education. Youth came from Aboriginal communities throughout southern Alberta for the one-day event.
(Above) Entrance to SAIT's Chinook Lodge Aboriginal Resource Centre.
“Industry is facing a critical shortage of skilled workers while there is high under-employment of Aboriginal peoples,” said Doug Dokis, manager of SAIT’s Chinook Lodge Aboriginal Resource Centre. “Aboriginal peoples could help alleviate the labour shortage if they are encouraged and supported to complete high school and pursue a post-secondary education.”
Statistics show Aboriginal peoples are under-represented in the classroom. The recent Auditor General’s report found it will take Native high school students 28 years to match non-Native graduation rates.
“One of the largest barriers affecting Aboriginal youth in accessing post-secondary educational opportunities is the high drop-out rate,” said Dokis. “The Education and Career Expo connects Aboriginal youth to educational institutions and industry. Getting an education is an essential strategy to improve economic and social conditions for Aboriginal peoples.”
(Left) SAIT students Jade Tailfeathers, Priscilla Auger and Susan Solway were volunteers at the Education and Career Expo.
During the Education and Career Expo, Aboriginal youth received information on programs and services that meet the specific needs of Aboriginal students and are available at Calgary’s post-secondary institutions. In addition, they could get guidance on career opportunities by connecting with representatives from business and industry, and through the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation’s TAKING PULSE initiative, which helps direct Aboriginal youth down meaningful career paths.
The annual Aboriginal Education and Career Expo is a collaborative effort of SAIT’s Chinook Lodge, Calgary Board of Education, Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District, Alberta College of Art and Design, Bow Valley College, Mount Royal College, University of Calgary, Native Ambassador Post-secondary Initiative, and Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth. The event was made possible through the sponsorship of Talisman Energy, TransCanada, and Safeway.
Graduate School of Public Policy to offer online courses
Submitted by Devon Anderson, Administrator
Graduate School of Public Policy
I am very pleased to have another opportunity to talk to the readers of the Native Journal about the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan. During the last year, the Graduate School of Public Policy (GSPP) has grown, adding both new students and new programs. The GSPP is part of the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, a modern and comprehensive urban University with over 13,000 students. It is located in Regina’s Wascana Centre, North America’s largest urban park - a striking natural setting. The University of Regina provides academic training and research in a variety of fields, and is home to a large research and development park and to the First Nations University of Canada.
We continue to offer a Master of Public Administration (MPA) for students with a four-year undergraduate degree. The MPA can be completed in 12 months and is an ideal program for those who want to gain skills that will lead to a rewarding career in the public or non-profit sectors. Students can concentrate either in public management or public policy. Both options have the same core classes which are supplemented by electives that allow students to explore their special interests in a wide variety of areas of public policy or public management. The program is applicable to those who want to work with governments at any level – municipal, provincial, federal or First Nations. We also offer a unique internship program in partnership with the provincial government which allows successful students the opportunity to work for eight months in a mentor relationship with senior provincial government employees, providing students with valuable experience and networking opportunities.
Among the new initiatives we have been developing are a Master’s Certificate program and the delivery of online courses. The certificates are in Public Management, Health Systems Management, and Public Policy Analysis. A total of three courses are required to complete each certificate - an executive or mid-career entrance option is available for those students who don’t have an undergraduate degree but have a minimum of five year’s management experience in the public or non-profit sector. More information about the Certificate program is available on our website at http://www.uregina.ca/gspp.
We will begin delivery of online courses slowly – we plan to have one ready for this fall, and another ready for the winter 2008 semester.
We will be changing the name of the school this spring – we will be called the Johnson-Shoyama Grad-uate School of Public Policy, after Al Johnson and Thomas Shoyama. Both individuals were born in Saskatchewan and went on to make significant contributions to public service both provincially and nationally throughout their long and distinguished careers.
Anyone interested in getting more information about our programs can check our website or contact us directly. I look forward to your inquiries and hope to have an opportunity to discuss our program with you.
Amiskwaciy Academy offers unique academic/cultural balance
Amiskwaciy Academy is a groundbreaking junior and senior high school that combines a focus on academic excellence with an exploration of Aboriginal history, values and traditions. Open to students of all backgrounds, the school is unique in its ability to incorporate elements of Aboriginal culture into core curriculum subjects, while also offering Cree, Aboriginal Studies, dance, art, drama and other complimentary courses.
Students at Amiskwaciy have opportunities to explore a variety of career paths through courses in communication technology, construction technology, design studies, cosmetology, fashion studies, food studies, information processing and wildlife. A Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), which allows students to learn a recognized trade while earning high school credits, is also available. The school’s instructional focus on reading comprehension is integrated across all core and complementary programs.
Outside the classroom, Amiskwaciy students have numerous opportunities to enrich and enhance their skills through a variety of academic, artistic and athletic clubs and various sports teams. They also learn the importance of giving back to the community through participation in different organizations and programs.
Amiskwaciy Academy provides students with many opportunities, while surrounding them with a committed community of stakeholders. Elders, community organizations, counselors, Aboriginal liaison workers, cultural advisors, teaching, custodial and support staff, are a dedicated team invested in success for all students.
Are you an aspiring young Aboriginal writer?
Canadian Aboriginal Writing Challenge receives submissions from across the country
Calling all young Aboriginal writers interested in winning cash prizes and receiving national recognition. The Dominion Institute is pleased to announce the launch of the 2007 Canadian Aboriginal Writing Challenge. Building on the success of previous years, young Aboriginal writers will submit stories that interpret defining moments in the history of this country and its Aboriginal people. The Institute is expected to receive submissions from across Canada showcasing the talents and creativity of young Aboriginal authors.
The winners of the 2006 Challenge, Sable Sweetgrass from Calgary, Alberta, and Alicia Elliott from Ohsweken, Ontario, were presented with an award and cash prize by Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations at ceremony in Ottawa. Alicia’s winning essay, entitled Across the Barricade, described the land dispute in Caledonia from the point of view of a Native protestor and Caledonia resident. Sable’s winning essay, entitled Maternal Ties, told the tale of a young woman’s display of a baby cord amulet and elk tooth dress at her graduation ceremony as a way of honouring her family and heritage.
Sponsored by Enbridge Inc. and organized by the Dominion Institute, Canadian Aboriginal Writing Challenge is a national initiative for Aboriginal youth. Winners are selected from two age categories - ages 14-18 and 19-29.
The first place winners in each age category receive a cash prize and a trip to Ottawa. Each story will also be published in The Beaver: Canada’s History Magazine. Students who have a story in the top ten, as selected by an expert Advisory Committee of Aboriginals authors and leaders, receive a cash prize. All winning essays are published online and all participants receive a certificate of recognition for their participation.
The deadline for this year’s contest is June 29, 2007. Students and educators interested in learning more about the contest should visit www.our-story.ca or call 1-866-701-1867.
The Dominion Institute is a national charitable organization dedicated to promoting Canadian history and civic culture (www.dominion.ca)
Advisory Committee:
- Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada - Honorary Patron
- Chief Patrick Brazeau - National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
- Tantoo Cardinal (Actress and Author) - Committee Member
- Tomson Highway (Playwright and Author) - Committee Member
- Brian Maracle (Journalist and Author) - Committee Member
- Lee Maracle (Writer) - Committee Member
- Rachel Qitsualik (Journalist and Author) - Committee Member
- Drew Hayden Taylor (Playwright and Author) - Committee Member
- Tresley Tourond – Committee Member
- Marilyn Dumont (Theytus Books) – Committee Member
For further information contact: Jeremy Diamond, Dominion Institute at jeremy@dominion.ca
By Jameson C. Brant
On February 9th the Aboriginal Interns at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) had a language and sound recording session to attend in the Archives.
Audiovisual Tech-nician Jonathan Wise opened the session with a description of the field recordings Marius Barbeau took using wax cylinders. In the early 1900s, Barbeau made thousands of recordings, photographs and field notes among the tribes in BC and Quebec.
Frame enlargement from 1927 moving image Saving the Sagas (SS40). Marius Barbeau speaks into a phonograph while Albert Allen (Gadim Gaidoo’o of Gitanmaax) prepares to record a song with Robert Pearl (WiiXha’a of Gitanyou) and Frank Bolton (Txaa Laxhatkw of Gwinwok).
By the 1910s, sound recordings were stored on flat 78s (thick vinyl record). After WW II, thinner vinyl records, and eventually tapes came into use. The CMC has some 4,000 wax cylinders, 20,000 flat dish records, and roughly 80,000 reel-to-reel tapes in its collection of listening materials from all over Canada. Many of these recordings have Aboriginal content, ranging from songs to language, music, speeches, stories, and prayers.
With each use, the recordings degrade. In order to preserve these valued resources, technicians at the Museum have been transferring them onto newer mediums. Materials originally recorded on wax or vinyl are now stored on tape or CDs. As these will in time corrode, the information may eventually be stored on blue ray or holographic disks. Presently, the collection is being digitized, and MP3 sample recordings of some of the materials are available for public access through the audio archives’ growing on-line database.
Natasha Street, St’át’imc, examines a wax cylinder.
Sam Cronk works as an Ethnomusicologist at the CMC. He offers the Interns a glimpse into the nature of his research. Around 1976, Sam started talking to Native people and valued community Elders about their music, linguistics, and dances. He interviewed primarily among the Iroquois, Dine from Arizona, and Lakota. At one point, he worked with the Arikara, a nation with only 2 fluent speakers who were both in their 8os.
His work has helped to develop projects ranging from language recovery programs to digital courses. For example, the Musquakie hired him to work on a program for recognizing their language recordings. Today, many of the people Sam works with are interested in creating their own curricula on-line.
Evelyn McHalsie, Stó:lo, (seated) and Melissa Labrador-Posey, Mi'kmaq, (standing) listen to archival sound recordings.
Sam offers the Interns some research tips, from important publications that document Native music and dance to facilities where some of the larger and/or older recordings from their Nations are housed. He provides insight and experience on the various means of making and storing recordings, both physically and digitally, and even covers considerations for planning a cultural centre.
“When building a collection of sound archives, never throw away the original recording. If planning a community facility, you will need the space to store the materials. Also, audio files take up a huge amount of space on a computer. A museum needs a huge amount of space to store this valuable information.”
Before the anticipated chance to listen to century-old recordings, look at some early photographs, and view hand written field notes on language and music from their homelands, the Interns are greeted by Benoît Thériault, a Research Archivist. Having worked with the collection for a number of years, Benoît demonstrates how to do a Geoweb search on-line to locate some of the sound clips on catalogue, explaining the evolution of some of the orthographies and spellings of Aboriginal Nations and locations.
Archival field notes of Kanien’keha (Mohawk Language) verb conjugations.
When people think of museums, the first thing that comes to mind is artifacts. There are so many First Nations grappling for years with the notion of whether to open a museum or a cultural centre. We need to get beyond that. For fourteen years, the Canadian Museum of Civilization has offered a programme to enable First Nations, Inuit and Métis people to intern alongside professionals and technicians in all aspects of museology.
The Interns are learning that there’s a whole science to preserving culture, and it goes far beyond artifacts and display cases.
To learn more about the Aboriginal Training Program in Museum Practices, contact atpmp@civilization.ca, or visit www.civilization.ca/cmc/at/attoceng.html
Successful Aboriginal schools profiled
A study released March 8th identifies promising approaches for reducing the achievement gap for Aboriginal learners. Sharing Our Success: More Case Studies in Aboriginal Schooling is based on a 2006 study of ten exemplary schools. The report highlights effective strategies in these schools and examines systemic issues affecting the progress of Aboriginal students. The 350-page report makes 21 recommendations.
A mix of band-operated and provincial or territorial schools were included in the study:
- Akwesasne Mohawk Schools, ON/QC
- Mount Carmel Elementary, ON
- Chief Jimmy Bruneau School, NWT
- Wapanohk Community School, MB
- Ecoles Whiskeychan & Winnibekuu, QC
- Nuiyak School, NU
- Eskasoni School, NS
- S'et A'newey School, NL
- Kitigan Zibi School, QC
- N'Swakamok Native Friendship Centre School, ON
Principal author of the report is University of Winnipeg Professor George Fulford with regional researchers. The study was commissioned by the Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education (SAEE).
To view full report with Executive Summary: http://www.saee.ca/035
Literacy is a life-long activity for everyone
Literacy is about learning. It is about learning what you need to learn when you need to learn it. Literacy is a life-long activity and life-wide activity. It is life long in that learning how to get along in our society starts at birth and goes until old age. Literacy is life wide in that it affects so many areas of life, like reading prescriptions, understanding work manuals, or figuring out the justice or social services systems work.
Some of us have learned to use the computer and internet in our elder years and some of us are learning to read and write better in our adult years. At every stage in our lives literacy happens. For Aboriginal people, literacy is closely connected to how we understand our mother tongue language and culture. The more fluent we are in our mother tongue and culture can be a great help to learning English better.
For members of the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network Inc., literacy is about building strong relationships between those with the resources to deliver programs and those who need literacy programs to reach their learning desires. However, due to federal funding cuts to literacy programs across Canada, the SALN is unable to accomplish this capacity building goal.
Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan are a strong and proud people. We have much to offer society. However, our challenges are clear. According to a Statistics Canada study (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 2003) over 60% of urban Aboriginal people are at literacy levels below the point at which they are able to cope in today’s knowledge and economy based society. However, many people are working hard to change this negative picture. Many First Nations and Métis people are becoming very interested in increasing their education - for personal and career reasons.
There are many different kinds of literacy programs. They happen in formal settings like schools, colleges, and technical institutes. For example, literacy programs occur as part of school storefront programs, classes in regional colleges throughout Saskatchewan, and technical institutes like Dumont Technical Institute. Literacy programs are sometimes done through non-profit organizations like Food Banks, Community Clinics, and Métis & Indian Friendship Centres. Literacy programs are done through non-profit literacy organizations like READ Saskatoon or the Regina Family Literacy Project. As well, literacy programs are sometimes connected to other programs in health, justice, or social service programs. Family literacy is an area that develops appreciation and skills for learning in family oriented settings. This kind of programming is often done at the community level with, for example, partnerships between schools and parents. Workplace literacy is a growing phenomenon where businesses are beginning to realize their responsibility and are becoming involved in meeting their employee’s learning needs.
Yet, like so many social programs funding is always an issue. Literacy programming and services have been affected by federal funding cuts and changes to their delivery of supports. The Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network Inc. has enough funding to support existing work until July 2007. Their current funding is through a partnership with the Saskatchewan Literacy Commission where the SALN is delivering supports and services to the 24 communities or groups who received funding through the SaskSmart Literacy Initiative. Yet, with the new wave of labour needs and increased emphasis on employment and training services, there is still a need to attend to people’s literacy needs. The Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network Inc. is preparing to assist these people and organizations to meet their literacy needs.
One of the mandates of the SALN is to encourage the development of strong networks and relationships between people, organizations, leadership, and communities. This has been accomplished in the past with two successful Gatherings (2002 & 2006). This is also a goal of the upcoming SALN AGM & Aboriginal Literacy Spring Gala 2007 to be held April 13, 2007 in Saskatoon, SK. They hope to bring together corporate, educational, and political leaders to engage them in the process of learning together – to learn about literacy.
Play depicts Odawas facing first contact
The Centre for Indigenous Theatre (CIT) presents the production of playwright in residence Alanis King’s new work Gegwah; scheduled to tour across Ontario, performed by CIT’s professional acting students and supported by an award winning production team.
Set on the shores of Manitoulin Island in the 1600s, the story of Gegwah follows seven dispossessed characters, a young band of Odawas who are faced with the onslaught of first contact, specifically the bible and the fur trade. The story focuses on the emotional impact of colonization through the eyes of these characters as they deal with a rapidly changing landscape. The principal characters are two sisters, who are abandoned by their band as their land is set on fire. They seek solace and guidance from Nokomis (grandmother) and the many animate spirits around them, who feed them with stories and songs to give them strength.
This piece is performed entirely in Anishnabemowin, specifically the Odawa dialect that is true to the region in which the story is set. Audience members will be provided with a synopsis of the story, however our experience through the workshop of this piece indicates that the movement choreographed by Alejandro Roncerio (director/choreographer/dramaturge), combined with the production design, will make it accessible to non-speakers of the language.
A graduate of the National Theatre School, Alanis King is a playwright with numerous credits to her name including, Lovechild, Artshow, Heartdwellers, Manitoulin Incident, Tommy Prince Story, If Jesus Met Nanabush, Storyteller and Step by Step. Ms. King is excited about the presentation of this work, “I gladly accepted the offer from [Artistic Director] Rose Stella to be CIT’s Playwright in Residence, it’s a wonderful chance for a playwright to work on a new play and have students develop and produce it with a director.”
The show will be touring between April and May at the following locations:
- Toronto, Ontario
Robert Gill Theatre, University of Toronto
April 27 and 28, 2007 at 8 PM
Sunday, April 29 at 2:30 PM
- Peterborough, Ontario
Nozhem First People’s Performance Space, Trent University
May 3 and 4, 2007 at 8 PM
The show will also be performed at the following locations: Wikwemikong FN, M'Chigeeng FN, Dryden, Ontario, Fort Francis, Ontario, and Kenora, Ontario.
Based in Toronto, The Centre for Indigenous Theatre offers post-secondary performing arts training to people of Indigenous ancestry. The purpose of the program is to develop contemporary performance art from a distinctively Indigenous cultural foundation. The training program springboards from Indigenous culture and contemporary theatre techniques, in such a way that students will receive a uniquely Indigenous beginning to their performance arts careers. The curriculum integrates training in the areas of acting, voice and movement with Indigenous cultural classes in dance, song and oral history. The program also offers a professional development component, which allows students and working professional artists to train together, adding a mentoring element to the curriculum. To gain practical performance experience, students are given the opportunity to publicly perform through community showcase events, story creation projects and year-end shows featuring senior students. We seek to create performance, rooted in our mythology and oracy through cultural instruction aimed at bringing out the cultural memory of the individuals attending the school and validating their perception of culture.
Minerva Foundation supports First Nation learners at NWCC
First Nations women continuing their post-secondary education at Northwest Community College are receiving financial support from BC’s Minerva Foundation.
A total of $5,000 will form the basis of two $2,500 Minerva Foundation Awards to be awarded to First Nations female students continuing into a credit based program (including Trades) at NWCC. The $5,000 award is comprised of an annual $2,500 donation from the Minerva Foundation combined with a matching contribution from the College.
“A disproportionate number of First Nations women in the northwest are challenged by economic barriers that make access to post-secondary education seem like a distant dream,” explains NWCC President, Stephanie Forsyth. “The Minerva Foundation’s help and support enables NWCC to lend a hand in opening the door to more First Nations women and pave the way to turning those dreams into reality.”
“Northwest Community College is doing commendable work to support and enrich the community that surrounds it. We are pleased to partner with NWCC to offer education awards to Aboriginal women,” said Minerva Foundation’s Board Member, Laura Hansen. “One of the Foundation’s goals is to assist Aboriginal women in our Province. The Minerva Foundation sees education as a very important step towards the independence and leadership of women in their community.”
The purpose of the Minerva Foundation awards is to:
- Assist single mothers in advancing their education
- Re-train mature women returning to the workforce after a long absence
- Advance women in non-traditional fields of study.
- Assist women with disabilities to overcome educational barriers.
Preference will be given to 1st year students continuing on to their 2nd year of studies. The awards will be granted on the basis of academic proficiency and financial need in addition to one or more of the criteria listed above. Applicants must be continuing on as a full-time student (60% course load).
The Minerva Foundation for BC Women was initiated in 1999 to provide funds for projects that will assist women to realize their potential and to create a safe place for them to live and work in British Columbia.
Award application deadline for September enrolment is May 31, 2007. See the College Web site for applications and complete award criteria, procedures, and submission deadline information.
Shakespeare likely never expected to hear his “Macbeth” in Tlingit
By Steve Quinn
Jake Waid rubbed his bloodshot eyes, blankly stared at a script for Shakespeare's Macbeth, then resumed an unfamiliar struggle with a set of lines.
“Tleil tsu tlax yei l kusheek'eiyi ye yageeyi kwasatDinch, ch'a aan yak'ei,” he read slowly of what would normally be, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”
Waid, a 31-year-old who has been acting since he was 15, faces his most daunting stage assignment to date: performing Shakespeare in Tlingit, an American Indian language unique to southeast Alaska and Canada, and in which fewer than 300 people are fluent. Its words are difficult to translate into English sounds.
The role calls for mastering new sets of pauses, sounds and pitches – first with his ears then with his voice – in delivering the lines. That's not all.
He and 11 other Perseverance Theatre actors had less than one month to learn a story many knew by heart – but that was in English.
“It takes 10 times longer to learn just one line,” said Waid, who plays Macbeth and has performed Shakespeare in theatres worldwide with various production groups since he was a teenager.
“As far as the structure of the language and the grammar, it's still a mystery.”
Since the early February start of rehearsals, actors, stage crew and directors were on a harried pace to prepare for a March 8-18 engagement of “Macbeth” at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. It is part of a six-month “Shakespeare in Washington” celebration conceived by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington's Shakespeare Theatre Company.
It wasn't just actors facing challenges. Costumes had to be redesigned and stages rebuilt to accommodate this third and final Tlingit production by the Alaskan theatre group.
A truck carrying the stage sets were put on a barge – no roads lead out of the Alaska state capital – then driven cross country and rebuilt in time for final rehearsals. Meanwhile, cast members were pulling all-nighters learning to speak Tlingit with integrity, honouring not only the language's heritage but the play's adaptation.
Twice in 2004, Perseverance actors performed Tlingit versions of “Macbeth,” but it was retold primarily in English and featured Indigenous Native American dances, music and clothing.
But this time the 12-member cast, whose ages range from 15 to 42, has agreed to perform most of the play in Tlingit (pronounced klink-it).
“It's like running a marathon, without training for it,” said actor Ishmael Hope, who plays Malcolm, the son of King Duncan who is killed by Macbeth. “But we're doing the work to make it happen.
“None of us is going to sound like a fluent speaker, because no matter how meticulous we are, it's a difficult language. But we'll still be able to convey meaning.
Director Anita Maynard-Losh first developed the idea of producing a Tlingit version of “Macbeth” while living in the predominantly Tlingit village of Hoonah, about 80 kilometres miles west of Juneau, 25 years ago. She conducted artists workshops throughout Alaska when she began seeing connections between the Tlingit culture and “Macbeth” – the relationships with the supernatural and the history of fierce warfare found both in the Tlingit culture and in “Macbeth.”
The first production, performed in Juneau, was almost entirely in English as was a subsequent showing in Anchorage, both three years ago.
After the Anchorage show, the Smithsonian invited Perseverance Theatre to perform its “Macbeth” version and is underwriting most of the costs for a production that exceeds US$200,000.
The cast features nine original members and three new actors, all of whom are of Alaska Native descent. The cast includes a mix of seasoned performers, high school students and one actor making his theatre debut.
As in most small productions, many cast members perform multiple roles: one actor writes Tlingit songs for the play; another doubles as choreographer; a third serves as the much-needed language coach.
The cast drew former theatre member MacLean, a New York filmmaker whose last play at Perseverance was “Moby-Dick” in 2001. MacLean said he had no plans to resume theatre work, until Maynard-Losh decided to tweak her own incarnation of “Macbeth.”
“It's been one of the focuses in my adult life, to work with the languages in theatre and film,” said MacLean, who plays Macduff “It bothers me that indigenous languages in general are threatened So, I've been trying to do things to take a stand against that, by doing plays and films. Maybe this play is a small thing to do, but it's a step in the right direction.”
Translation began last summer when Hope, an actor who also oversees the theatre's education outreach programs, sought the help of Alaska Native Elders. The result was a script that initially made the actors' eyes glaze over while reading the lines, made up of underscored and accented letters and words with periods in the middle.
Help always seemed within reach.
The wall to the left of the stage is decorated with coloure construction paper featuring single words of Tlingit translation somewhat akin to flash cards.
Sitting on the director's table are two Tlingit dictionaries, one listing nouns and the other verbs.
Lance Twitchell, who plays Ross, serves as the cast's language coach and is constantly tweaking the script and assisting with pronunciation.Rehearsals lasted close to nine hours a day, six days a week Breaks were really just another chance to review the lines. In the waning days before the cast left for Washington on Feb. 25, they were getting close, but still forgetting some lines.
George Holly, who plays Lennox and wrote the play's songs reminded the exhausted cast of the significance of their work.
“Who ever hears Tlingit spoken, even for more than 30 seconds, it's just a phrase here and there, or it's from some Elders,” he said. “This is so much more.
“This is not really a premiere of a different take on a Shakespearean play; it's a premiere of a language on the world stage.
New study says Aboriginal post-secondary education is a treaty right
A new study examining the history of government policy surrounding Aboriginal higher education reveals that post-secondary education is an Aboriginal Treaty right that has not been honoured by the Canadian government. Blair Stonechild, professor and Head of Indigenous Studies at First Nations University of Canada, has published his findings in the new book, The New Buffalo: The Struggle for Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education in Canada, which was launched on February 1 at First Nations University of Canada in Regina.
Stonechild’s study, which examines 150 years of government policy related to Aboriginal post-secondary education, reveals the shocking state of Aboriginal higher education in Canada, a piecemeal system of programs plagued by chronic underfunding and by a fundamental policy disagreement between First Nations and the federal government over whether or not post-secondary education is a treaty right.
“In the process of claiming sovereignty over Canada,” says Stonechild, “the British Crown assumed control over all of the land and its resources in exchange for benefits that would be given to First Nations. The spirit of the treaties is that First Nations were to receive something of significant value, and in the case of the Numbered Treaties, this was largely represented by the demand for education that would enable future generations to share in the bounty of Canada. This access to opportunity extends to post-secondary education and implies that First Nations should have the right and ability to establish institutions of higher education that they control to ensure culturally appropriate and relevant programs.”
Complaints about access to and funding for First Nations higher education prompted the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development to undertake a study year-long study of the issue.
Stonechild hopes the committee’s findings will prompt major changes in government policy. “The federal government needs to be explicit about its intentions with legislation that will empower Aboriginal post-secondary education institutions to deliver programs with stable funding. There also needs to be clarity in terms of entitlement to First Nations-controlled post-secondary education,” says Stonechild. “Canadians and their governments need to accept the notion that First Nations are as much a part of the national landscape as are provinces, and that Aboriginal citizens, Treaty or otherwise, have legitimate entitlement to funded post-secondary education that is both meaningful and effective.”
When asked about the financial implications of unlimited funding for Aboriginal education, Stonechild says such a measure is “modest indeed when compared to the value of resources from which Aboriginal peoples have been alienated. Given the removal of Aboriginal peoples from the their original ownership of the vast resource wealth of the land, and lacking any major redirection of natural or financial resources, there is at least a moral justification for Canada to provide adequate funding for Aboriginal higher education.”
For Stonechild, a Cree-Saulteaux member of the Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan, his research allowed him to address a lot of questions that arose out of his varied experiences in the education system, from his early years at residential school, through an integrated urban high school, mainstream university, and finally at a First Nations-controlled institution as a teacher and administrator. “I hope that this work will provide guidance and encouragement to those who believe in the power of Aboriginal-controlled higher education, the dignity it brings, and the promise that is holds for the future generations.”
Waterloo gives top students chance to test campus life
By Barbara Aggerholm
Sixteen-year-old Anna Cunningham is a drummer, a vegetarian, a voracious reader of psychology books.
She's interested in everything, she'll tell you with a smile.
There are so many possibilities to learn, Anna said, and teens who aren't looking for them are missing out.
“Learning is the high point of everything,” she said.
One evening recently, Anna recited Shel Silverstein's poem, Listen to the Mustn'ts, to a group of 33 teens from Winnipeg, Waterloo Region and the surrounding area:
Listen to Mustn'ts, child,
Listen to the Don'ts.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts,
the Impossibles, the Wont's.
Listen to the Never Haves,
then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.
The poem by the American songwriter and children's author said everything she wanted to say about the possibilities ahead for the group of smart, curious, out-of-the-box thinkers.
At the University of Waterloo, the Grade 10 students explored those possibilities for five days.
As participants in an enrichment program called Waterloo Unlimited, they literally ran from building to building, stretching their minds, their imaginations, even their muscles.
In workshops, lectures, the lab, the studio and across the dinner table, the students talked about the week's subject – vision – from many points of view.
Psychologist James Danckert exposed some of the tricks their minds use to give order to a changing world.
That made a big impression.
“He had a cool way of showing how the brain works with eyes,” said Jamie Flanagan, 16. “He wasn't one of those people who puts you to sleep."
In the School of Optometry, they learned about how their eyes operate. The students also tackled urban planning, quantum mechanics and storytelling. In the fine arts department, they made sketches from the model of a human skeleton named Slim. They discussed mental imagery in sport and satellites orbiting Earth. They learned how to “vision quest” from Aboriginal Elder Jean Becker of Wilfrid Laurier University. And there was more, much more. The idea behind Waterloo Unlimited is to expose bright, well-rounded students to ideas that will stimulate them, said systems design engineering Prof. Ed Jernigan, the program's creator and director.
“We're trying to bring kids to an environment where they're free to explore and try new things,” said Jernigan, a kind of lightning rod for new ideas himself.
For one week, the students don't receive a single mark.
“If they're given marks, they worry about getting 95 per cent,” Jernigan said. “They don't take risks. We want to provide a safe environment."
That's what Waterloo Unlimited does for high-school students. But what does it do for the university? It invigorates keen professors who volunteer to share their excitement for their discipline with a captivated audience. It makes the “best-of-the-best” high-school students think about what and where they'll study. Naturally, the university hopes the bright teens will choose UW.
Jernigan, who also runs UW's Shad Valley program, knows students attending that summertime enrichment program tend to favour UW when they're picking a university. When developing Waterloo Unlimited, however, he was more keen on enriching teenagers' experience.
“If you build something that looks like recruitment, these kids will see right through it,” said Jernigan, as he strode with students from one building where they were sketching the human skeleton, across the campus to Conrad Grebel University College for lunch and a concert.
About 200 high-school students a year – from the area and across the country – take part in Waterloo Unlimited programs. They're in Grades 10, 11 and 12. Next spring, the program is expanding to take students from Grade 8. Jernigan visits schools to talk about the program. Teachers and school counsellors recommend promising students. Then the students apply. Marks aren't everything.
In fact, “just having a 92 per cent average won't get you in,” Jernigan said. “We're looking for that student who asks the extraordinary question, who thinks about things differently.”
To convince Waterloo Unlimited to take them, students submit essays and original creative works.
One student got her point across with a tube filled with origami irises. Another made a quilt with polar bears, wolves and other interests stitched into the squares. Another wrote a musical score.
Essays have tackled subjects as diverse as Gandhi, and why the Wal-Mart smiley face bugs them. Anna, the drummer-vegetarian-reader from Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, Ont., wrote a “strongly worded essay” in support of gay marriage.
The result? “It's not the ordinary high-school classroom, that's for sure,” Jernigan said.
Students pay about $50 a day toward food and other costs. Until this winter, out-of-town students were billeted with local families. Because there was space at St. Paul's College this winter, Winnipeg students were housed, at no charge, in residence there, a “Frisbee throw” from the main UW campus.
UW contributed $200,000 seed money to begin Waterloo Unlimited in 2004.
The program will probably cost $400,000 to $500,000 a year when it's in steady-state mode, Jernigan said. The program is looking for sponsors so it can offer more bursaries.
The students enjoy getting together with like-minded people they've never met. There are no cliques here, and there is no desire to play the games that sometimes get played out in school.
“Suddenly, the images and appearances stop, and it's about what they talk about and how they envision a question,” said Betty Bax, one of about 10 core people with Waterloo Unlimited.
Maria Andrei-Gedja, 16, also of Cameron Heights Collegiate, is trying to decide her future career.
She likes drama, plays seven instruments and studies in Cameron Heights' International Baccalaureate Program.
Waterloo Unlimited gave her the chance to explore with other motivated students. “Everyone is very focused and engaged.”
In return for the weeklong experience, Waterloo Unlimited asks four things of students: accomplish for the sheer joy of accomplishing; figure out what you need for enrichment and seek it; work with others; and be interested in a lot of disciplines.
Erin Oldynski , a second-year peace and conflict studies student at the university, answered students' questions about university.
“They all seem to be interested in a lot of things. That's the greatest thing. They want to find so much about so many things.”
Meanwhile, the teens may be smart and creative, but they'll remind you that they are, after all, teenagers. Asked about a high point of the week, Winnipeg student Starry Peng, 15, liked it all.
But Peng, a busy poet-volunteer-musician in her final year of a piano degree, was particularly taken by a piece of theatre she saw – or rather, by the performer who looked a lot like movie stars Jude Law and Johnny Depp.
“I got a picture to show my friends,” she said, laughing.
Fashion design summer classes available
The Academy of Fashion Design is a post secondary fashion design school, located in Saskatoon, SK. Students can take either a Certificate of Fashion Design or a Diploma of Fashion Design. There are also options for Native Design, Specializations and Retail Merchandising.
This summer the Academy of Fashion Design is offering a series of week long seminars geared toward people who would like to develop a business in designing and garment production. Students can register for one class or for many. There courses are open to students 16 years of age and older. They are offered on a weekly basis and are limited to 15 students in a class.
- Basic Sewing May 7 to May 11or July 9 to 13
- Intermediate Sewing May 14 to May 11or July 16 to 20
- Sewing for Profit May 22 to May 25
- Bra Making June 4 to June 8
- Swimwear/Stretch Fabrics June 11 to June 15
- Fitting Commercial Patterns June 18 to June 22
- Fashion Illustration June 25 to June 29
- Ribbon Shirts July 23 to July 27
- Basic Pattern Drafting July 30 to August 3
- Intermediate Pattern Drafting August 13 to August 17
For further information or to register for these or any of our courses, please contact the Academy of Fashion Design at 1-877-978-9088 or email us at fashiondesign@sasktel.net
Donor creates new opportunities for Aboriginal students
Trent University is pleased to announce that Aditya Jha, a leading Canadian IT entrepreneur and chairman of the POA Educational Foundation, has agreed to create a $100,000 endowment to support bursaries and awards for Indigenous Studies students as well as a longer-term partnership between the University and the POA Educational Foundation to collaborate on several projects to nurture entrepreneurship among Canada’s Aboriginal population.
“It is an honour to be working with Aditya and the POA Educational Foundation,” says Professor David Newhouse, chair of the Indigenous Studies Department at Trent University. “There is much merit in the work that we have agreed to undertake together and I am hopeful that it will help Aboriginal students to achieve their academic goals.”
The $100,000 endowment has been created through a donation made by the POA Educational Foundation and matched dollar-for-dollar by the provincial government’s Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS) program. The gifts will be placed in an endowment and the annual distribution from the funds will be used to support both the Aditya Jha Indigenous Studies Awards and the Aditya Jha Indigenous Studies Bursaries, which will first be made available to Trent students in 2008-2009. Preference for these awards and bursaries will be given to applicants of Aboriginal heritage.
Trent University has also agreed to collaborate with Mr. Jha on several initiatives designed to promote and encourage entrepreneurship among Canada’s Aboriginal population. These initiatives include working with the POA Educational Foundation on its groundbreaking Project Beyshick, which provides Aboriginal youth with the opportunity to gain real business skills by working side-by-side with some of Canada’s most prominent business leaders. As a partner in the project, Trent University’s Indigenous Studies department will host a two-day workshop for participants each summer, in which internal and external faculty and professionals will participate. Students working through the Trent Centre for Community Based Education will also be involved in planning and running Project Beyshick for the next three years.
“As an international leader in the field of Indigenous Studies and as the home of Canada’s first Ph.D. program in Indigenous Studies, Trent University is a perfect partner for Project Beyshick and for our other initiatives surrounding Aboriginal people in Canada,” said Mr. Jha.
Another product of the new partnership between Trent University and the POA Educational Foundation is the creation of a workshop or seminar on Indigenous issues, hosted by the department of Indigenous Studies and targeted at executive business leaders. It is proposed that this event would be held in conjunction with Trent’s annual Elders’ Conference.
Mr. Jha started his professional career with Indian Telephone Industries after four and a half years of research studies in India. Upon arriving in Canada in 1994, he enjoyed a successful career at Bell Canada as General Manager, eBusiness and as General Manager, Product Marketing at Bell Nexxia. In 1999, Mr. Jha co-founded the software company, Isopia Inc., and in July 2001, despite the downturn phase of the technology industry, Isopia was one of the major IT acquisition deals in North America when Sun Microsystems Inc., USA acquired Isopia for USD $100 Million. Subsequently, in December 2001, he co-founded another software product company, Osellus Inc., Canada and Osellus Asia Pacific Company Limited, Thailand. In addition, he also founded the POA Educational Foundation, a private, charitable Canadian foundation that works to promote education, nurture entrepreneurship and improve governance, in the same year. Since then, he has been actively involved in projects to nurture entrepreneurship in disadvantaged communities and has supported numerous scholarships at several Canadian universities. Mr. Jha became interested in the challenges facing Canada’s Aboriginal peoples when he attended a dinner at which Stan Beardy, Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, was speaking.
Over the years, Mr. Jha has been honoured with several awards, including: the CEO Award from BCE in 1998; the President’s Award at Bell Nexxia; and the 2004 Technology Achievement Awards from the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for his achievements in the field of technology in Canada.
One of Canada’s top universities, Trent University is renowned for striking a unique balance between outstanding teaching and leading edge research. The University is consistently recognized nationally for faculty who maintain a high level of innovative research activity and a deep commitment to the individual student.
Distinguished by excellence in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and increasingly popular professional and graduate programs, Trent is dedicated to providing its students with an exceptional world view, producing graduates who are ready to succeed and make a difference in the world. Trent’s Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River. Together with its satellite campus in Oshawa, Trent draws excellent students from across the country and around the world.