Mount Royal College given permission to use ‘Iniskim’
Prominent guest helps mark 5th anniversary of Kitlope Field School
Learning to read in the great white north
Math Corner: Attention Grade 4 & 5 math students!
Mount Royal College given permission to use ‘Iniskim’
In March 2007, respected Blackfoot leader Leonard Bastien Piikani granted Calgary’s Mount Royal College his permission to use ‘Iniskim’ as the name for its new Aboriginal Centre.
‘Iniskim’ is Blackfoot for Buffalo Calling Stone. It refers to the powerful talisman central to a sacred Blackfoot legend of how buffalo saved the tribe from starving.
Mr. Piikani’s permission to use this name is an honour for Mount Royal, Calgary’s oldest post-secondary institution.
The Iniskim Centre is designed to foster academic success for Aboriginal students at Mount Royal and increase awareness of distinct Aboriginal cultures, history and protocols. It acts as a liaison between Mount Royal students, staff, faculty and Aboriginal communities.
Of the approximately 13,000 students who attended Mount Royal last year, some 450 were Aboriginal students, representing 60 Nations from across Canada.
“My main goal for the centre is to provide a community within the Mount Royal community,” says Jolain Foster, director of the Iniskim Centre.
Foster sees the centre as a great gathering place for all students. The 1,730-square-foot facility includes a computer lab, access to resources like tutorials, quiet spaces and room to relax.
“The purpose of the centre is not to segregate, but to build a home base ... a place for students to come and feel connected,” says Foster.
Building relationships with the students and community is also key to Foster, who is Gitxsan and Wet’suet’en. She wants to help students learn to balance the demands of college life and give them a sense of belonging.
The Iniskim Centre also works closely with the Native Student Centre, part of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal, to offer the Aboriginal Education Program. It is a college and university preparation program for Aboriginal people.
Another vital service the Iniskim Centre provides is an Aboriginal student housing pilot project to house four families over the next five years, and 28 single students in the next 10 years.
On Saturday, Nov. 17, the Iniskim Centre will participate in Open House, Mount Royal’s premiere student recruitment event. Open House is an opportunity for prospective students and their parents to learn more about College courses and services such as the Iniskim Centre.
Mount Royal has been helping students reach their full potential since 1910, but it’s far from old-fashioned. Modern facilities, smaller class sizes, accessible instructors and current curriculums that meet industry standards are just four reasons why Mount Royal graduates leave with a well-rounded knowledge base, strong critical thinking skills and, for many, a 100 per cent work employment rate.
Mount Royal offers 45 degree, collaborative degree, applied degree, university transfer, diploma and certificate programs including 25 majors or specializations. Mount Royal’s wide range of disciplines includes arts, aviation, business, communication, ecotourism, health and community studies, performing arts and science and technology.
Located in southwest Calgary, Mount Royal’s beautiful campus is an environment that nurtures learning by staying true to its core purpose: students first.
Students have described their classmates as “family,” instructors are often on a first-name basis with students, and Mount Royal’s President, Dr. David Marshall, prefers to be called Dave.
The campus features world-class facilities with many new classrooms and laboratories as well as state-of-the-art technology. There are newly renovated student residences and a 14,000-square-foot recreation and fitness centre with triple gym, indoor running track, climbing wall and squash courts.
In addition to services such as an aquatic centre, theatres, lounges, food court and a daycare, Mount Royal students can enjoy a wide range of campus organizations, clubs, societies and special events.
Along with Mount Royal’s Iniskim Centre, these activities all help create a “home away from home” that invites College students to be a part of a new and diverse community that celebrates differences and welcomes growth.
Prominent guest helps mark 5th anniversary of Kitlope Field School
Professor and distinguished ethno-botanist Dr. Nancy Turner joined Northwest Community College’s 2007 Kitlope Field School this summer, helping mark the 5th anniversary of this one of a kind program.
At the invitation of the Na na kila Institute, Dr. Turner joined students for the field study portion of the Kitlope Field School. Dr. Turner is a professor in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria and has worked with key First Nations people around the province learning and researching the significance of plants in First Nations culture. During the Kitlope Field School she helped introduce students to the Kitlope’s vast and unique diversity of plant life, including the cultural usages of plants for food, medicinal, tools, and other purposes. Dr. Turner’s extensive knowledge contributed significantly to the student’s discovery and understanding of the area’s unique ecology and its significance to the Haisla/Henaaksiala Nation.
“Nancy Turner’s participation in the fifth year of the Kitlope Field School was exciting for all of us at Na na kila,” states Brenda Duncan, Executive Director of the Na na kila Institute. “Dr. Turner’s contribution to the preservation of our culture through her work cannot be put into words. Staff was in awe of the amount of knowledge that Dr. Turner shared with the group and that she knew it in five different languages. Much respect and appreciation for Dr. Nancy Turner’s participation on this field study trip.”
The only program of its kind in Canada, the Kitlope Field School began in 2003 and was developed through a three-way partnership between Northwest Community College, the Na na kila Institute, and Alcan Primary Metals BC. The Field School is part of a dual Anthropology and Geography summer session course package offered through the College’s University Credit Program. It allows students to earn six fully transferable university credits in six weeks – five of which are spent in the classroom with the remaining five days in the field.
Students of the Kitlope Field School are given the opportunity to experience the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and ancestral home of the Haisla/Henaaksiala through the stories and guidance of Haisla/Henaaksiala Elders, Hereditary Chiefs and the Na na kila Watchmen – an experience very few people have ever had. The five day exploration takes them into the heart of the Kitlope where they learn about its ancient natural and cultural heritage.
“This partnership is definitely a unique and valuable experience for the communities, organizations and the participants in general,” continues Duncan. “The five-day cultural immersion within our traditional territories demonstrates how our Nuyem (Haisla traditional laws) and ancestral teachings have assisted us in the conservation and management of our traditional lands and resources for thousands of years. We are finally able to provide an opportunity to combine our traditional teachings with formal education at the Post Secondary level, and the students learn first hand how these complement each other.
“More importantly, based on the feedback from all five year participants confirms to us all, that there does not have to be an either/or approach to managing the lands and resources, there is a lot to be learned from working together. We are grateful for our partnership with NWCC and Alcan in achieving this objective and passing it on to so many students who have participated to date. We definitely look forward to even more memorable trips, friendships and connections with students in the future.
“Huchsduwach continues its magic! Another group of students has experienced a life changing week in a watershed that for generations has provided the soul with nourishment. This initiative is critical to the relationships that we hope will flourish in the next decade.”
The Field School also takes students on a guided tour through Alcan’s Kemano campsite and power house to learn of the monumental engineering structure that provides hydro generated electricity to Alcan’s smelter operations in Kitimat. Students also learn of Alcan’s ongoing conservationist activities from their Environmental Engineers.
“For the last five years, Alcan has had the pleasure of co-sponsoring the Kitlope Field Study along with the Haisla Nation’s Na na kila Institute and Northwest Community College for students enrolled in the college’s anthropology and geography courses. Alcan’s role is to assist in the development of students understanding of the intricate relationship between industry and nature and Alcan’s role in protection and sustainability in regards to its environmental footprint. Each year the students present an account of their Kitlope experience to Alcan officials which proves the value of the endeavour and the enrichment of the course through the field trip,” states Colleen Nyce, Manager of Corporate Affairs and Community Relations for Alcan.
Learning to read in the great white north
A first-of-its kind report, Get Ready, Get Set, Get Going: Learning to Read in Northern Canada, released October 15th, is guaranteed to spark interest in both the Canadian and international policy-making and education communities.
Highlighting extraordinary examples of grassroots education initiatives, providing 43 evidence-based best principles, and 16 recommendations to help northern educators and parents support children’s early reading efforts, Get Ready, Get Set, Get Going: Learning to Read in Northern Canada offers a concrete, doable plan for reading success.
“Despite the hundreds of reports on early reading, this is the first to focus solely on the children of Canada’s North. It celebrates and attests to the power of good teaching,” says Report Principal Investigator Dr. Julia O'Sullivan, former Dean of the Faculty of Education, Lakehead University, when the Report was undertaken, now Dean of Education at the University of Western Ontario.
“This report lends a voice to children of the North. It has numerous strategic implications for reading success, and is an excellent resource for those working with children in Northern communities,” says Rui Wang, Acting National Director of the Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs, Lakehead University.
“The Centre is to be commended for this evidence-based report,” says Helen Raham, Research Director, Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education (SAEE), B.C. “The use of layman’s language and practical recommendations will make the report highly useful in the field, offering valuable guidance to policy makers. The need for additional research on effective literacy programs for Northern and Aboriginal learners resonates with the findings of SAEE’s research Sharing Our Success.”
All Canadian schools and communities face challenges providing quality educational opportunities for their young children, but what makes the North unique is the additional challenge of providing a range of relevant learning opportunities for a small, culturally and linguistically diverse population living in a vast and remote region made up of communities that differ immensely in size and economic base.
Get Ready, Get Set, Get Going: Learning to Read in Northern Canada recognizes the unique issues surrounding early reading in the North. “This is a comprehensive, pan-Northern Canada report which provides a sweeping set of recommendations, every one of which would make a difference in how well Northern children learn to read,” says Lyn McLeod, Founding Chair of the National Advisory Board for the Centre of Excellence.
Get Ready, Get Set, Get Going: Learning to Read in Northern Canada is a collaborative effort initiated by Lakehead University’s Centre of Excellence. It involves many partners including a 10-person International Expert Panel comprising Aboriginal, English, and French specialists in northern Canadian education, joined by colleagues from the U.S., Norway, and Finland.
It is available online in English, French, Ojicree, and Inuktitut at http://www.coespecialneeds.ca and on cd with over 500 copies distributed across Northern Canada.
Math Corner: Attention Grade 4 & 5 math students!
Dear students and teachers:
Since the first set of the Math Contest preparatory questions were published in the October Issue of Native Journal some math teachers from reserve schools of Alberta and Saskatchewan have contacted us willing to discuss these materials with their students. We are thanking all teachers willing to collaborate with us.
Below you will find the second set of preparatory questions for the Math Contest and the answers for the first set.
Yours, Elder Wiseman
Question 1:
20 + 17 =
(A) 2017 (B) 217 (C) 27 (D) 37
Question 2:
The product of 4 and 22 is
(A) 88 (B) 422 (C) 44 (D) 26
Question 3:
(10 + 20 + 30 + 40) – (40 + 30 + 20 + 10) =
(A) 100 (B) 200 (C) 0 (D) 1
Question 4:
It is 2:15 p.m. now. What time was three and a half hours ago?
(A)10:45 a.m. (B) 3:30 p.m. (C) 5:45 p.m. (D) 12:00 p.m.
Question 5:
The Woodhouse family bought souvenirs for each member of the family at the annual Pow Wow. Each of the two parent’s souvenirs cost $15. Each of the four children’s souvenirs cost $5. How much money did the family spend for souvenirs.
(A) $20 (B) $50 (C) 45 (D) 30
Answer Key for Set 1 (which appeared in the October 2007 edition)
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. B 6. A
Please mail, fax or email your solutions and comments to
Dr. Arzu Sardarli,
Phone: (306) 790 - 5950 ext. 3338; Fax: (306) 790 - 5993
Email: asardarli@firstnationsuniversity.ca
Mail: First Nations University of Canada
1 First Nations Way, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 7K2, Canada
Please mail, fax or email your solutions and comments to
Dr. Arzu Sardarli,
Phone: (306) 790 - 5950 ext. 3338; Fax: (306) 790 - 5993
Email: asardarli@firstnationsuniversity.ca
Mail: First Nations University of Canada
1 First Nations Way, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 7K2, Canada