UNews - Red Crow Community College

U of L and Red Crow College to launch Niitsitapi Teacher Education Program next fall

caroline.zentner — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 21:32:32 +0000

The Faculty of Education at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, in partnership with Red Crow Community College, is pleased to offer the Niitsitapi Teacher Education Program, beginning in the fall of 2018.

“We look forward to working with the U of L on the Niitsitapi Teacher Education Program,” says Roy Weasel Fat, president of Red Crow Community College. “The program will prepare students to teach from a Blackfoot perspective and ultimately, to pass along language and culture to future generations.”

“We are happy to once again offer the Niitsitapi Teacher Education Program in collaboration with our partners at Red Crow Community College,” says Dr. Nancy Grigg, acting associate dean of the Faculty of Education. “We first offered the program in 2004 to a full cohort of students and we look forward to building on that success.”

The program is for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students or interested non-Indigenous students, who want to become qualified teachers and work with Blackfoot children and youth. The program is offered as a five-year combined degree or a two-year, after-degree program. Students will first complete courses—Kipatapisanooni I and II—which address Blackfoot language, values and ways of knowing. These classes form the foundation of the program, which is designed to meet all the expectations and competencies of the Alberta Teaching Quality Standard and to further prepare teachers to work within the Blackfoot culture.

“We learned a lot of lessons from the first Niitsitapi program so we have a better understanding of what our students need,” says Dr. Chris Mattatall, an education professor and a member of the Niitsitapi steering committee. “We have been planning with our partners at Red Crow College from the start so we have a shared vision.”

The upcoming academic year will focus on recruitment and anyone interested in the program can contact Student Program Services at edu.sps@uleth.ca.

New FNMI Gathering Place creates environment for campus community to celebrate culture, heritage

trevor.kenney — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 19:35:55 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge officially opened the new temporary location for its First Nations, Métis and Inuit Gathering Place on Thursday, Dec. 4, the first step in the creation of a permanent home for the space.

In September 2011, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Dr. Mike Mahon asked professor Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04), Roy Weasel Fat (Red Crow Community College President) and Dr. Jane O’Dea to develop an overarching strategy that would create support for FNMI students, faculty, staff and community members at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. The resulting report identified the need for an FNMI Gathering Place on campus, which is being officially opened today.

The FNMI Gathering Place will call the Paterson Centre home until a permanent location is created as part of phase two of the Destination Project, the revitalization of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall. On Thursday, the centre was officially given its Blackfoot name of Iikaisskini, meaning Low Horn, to represent the stance of a charging buffalo, its head down and horns low to the ground.

“Our campus is located in the heart of Blackfoot territory, and as such, we are ‘Itaohkanao’pi’, the meeting place,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Provost Dr. Mike Mahon. “We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone on campus and it is important to respect and celebrate our Blackfoot culture and heritage.”

The FNMI Gathering Place is an integral and unique feature of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus. It is designed asa welcoming home away from home, a space appropriate for ceremony, smudging and celebration, where students and other members of the university community can gather together and collaboratively support one another in their educational aspirations.

“In keeping with First Nations tradition, the Gathering Place will acknowledge, respect and honour the values, history, customs and culture of the Blackfoot speaking nations on whose territorial lands the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge resides,” says Dr. Judith Lapadat, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s associate vice-president (students). “But it will be open and welcoming to everyone, asking them to respect the protocols of the territory while honouring the diversity of values and beliefs among Aboriginal communities.”

For students, the gathering place will provide a place to meet with Elders and share stories, teaching and wisdom. It will be a vibrant and empowering cultural community, where Blackfoot and other Aboriginal languages can be spoken, and where students can explore new knowledge together.

“Within the broader academic community, the Gathering Place will play an important educational role by fostering appreciation and respect for FNMI heritage throughout the university and beyond,” adds Mahon. “It will be open and welcoming to all members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and broader southern Alberta community.”

Drawing on experience

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:00:46 +0000

Of everything that sets the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge apart from other post-secondary institutions, its deeply-rooted relationship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples, and specifically the Blackfoot nation, is intrinsically unique.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ can justifiably take pride in being among the first universities in Canada to include a major in Native American Studies among its liberal education components. It can also take pride in the extensive range of innovative academic programs, research and creative activity related to FNMI peoples developed across Faculties, coupled with active student services support programs.

And yet there are gaps in those supports and incongruences across campus in the delivery of academic programming related to Aboriginal Peoples.

Roy Weasel Fat, the interim director of the FNMI Centre, sees education as a means to self determination.

In September 2011, President Mike Mahon asked professor Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04), Roy Weasel Fat (Red Crow Community College vice-president academic) and professor Dr. Jane O'Dea to develop an overarching strategy that would create support for FNMI students, faculty, staff and community members at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The FNMI Report to the President (available at www.uleth.ca/president/fnmi) was the result, and the development of an FNMI Centre, of which Weasel Fat is now the interim director, is a key recommendation of the report.

"Like all Native centres in Alberta, it's basically focused around student support – what can the centre provide in terms of supporting students so that we can improve their retention and completion rates," says Weasel Fat.

A master's degree holder in education and major player in establishing the current relationship between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and Red Crow College (he served 17 years there, most recently as the vice-president academic), Weasel Fat speaks to the importance of education in bettering the Aboriginal community.

"Education is the most recognized path to reach self determination," he says.

"There are many people from my generation who are going back to school and their kids will follow and also become educated. Once the parents become educated, then it's an expectation for their children, and that helps bring our people out of that cycle of poverty."

He understands better than most that this cannot be accomplished without the proper support systems for Aboriginal students and the FNMI report identifies seven major recommendations to help achieve that goal.

From the creation of a Niitsitapi Gathering Place to the establishment of an Elders Program and Aboriginal Education Policy, the report is closely aligned with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's 2009-2013 Strategic Plan.

One aspect especially important to Weasel Fat is the involvement of band elders.

"When we looked at other centres across B.C. and Alberta, what I noticed was that there was very minimal elder involvement," says Weasel Fat. "This is something our students have asked for and one of the mandates of the FNMI Centre, to increase the elders' presence here so that they can be available to the U of L community."

He describes the role elders play in traditional Blackfoot communities as integral.

"Their role in the community is to act as traditional mentors, to provide spiritual support and to keep our history and culture alive," he says.

Weasel Fat sees the Niitsitapi Gathering Place as a community room that would benefit the entire ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"There is a lot of Aboriginal activity across campus through programs in virtually every Faculty but a centre like this can provide a venue for dissemination and collaboration of research for those who are working in these areas across the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," he says.

Weasel Fat speaks quietly, but with an eagerness that is genuine in its belief. He is a product of what an education can achieve, and he has passed those lessons on to his family through his example. He recently had two sons graduate from the U of L (Roy Jr. BA '12 and Cy BA '11) and quickly move into managerial roles on the Blood Reserve, while his daughter Triscia is a fourth-year student and looking to enter the Faculty of Education next fall.

"When I first started out in education, my first instinct was to go back home and help my people," he says. "Education has been of benefit to my own family as well as my community and I will continue to promote education to our community plus share the Blackfoot culture with the U of L."

This story first appeared in the October 2012 issue of the Legend. To see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

2012 Honorary Degree recipients

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:32:47 +0000

The 2012 Honorary Degree Recipients

JIM COUTTS

Jim Coutts has made significant contributions to Canada, through his public service, conservation efforts and philanthropy, and to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, to which his donations include over 200 pieces for the Art Gallery and a homestead property near Nanton, Alta.

Coutts has had a fruitful career in law, business and public service, and served as Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, Lester B. Pearson in 1963. He was also the Principal Secretary to Pierre Trudeau during his tenure as Prime Minister, spending six years in this role.

In 2011, Coutts donated to the U of L the land homesteaded by his grandfather, near Nanton. This land brings a major opportunity for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to develop its programming and community connections.

PATRICK O'FARRELL

One of the founders of modern molecular biology, Patrick O'Farrell introduced technical innovations that revolutionized the study of proteins and made the use of proteins in medical diagnostics possible.

In 1969, while a graduate student pursuing a PhD in Biochemistry in Colorado, O'Farrell thought of using separations in two dimensions to resolve complex mixtures of proteins on electrophoretic gels. While his goal was to follow molecular events during the embryogenesis of the particular alga that he was studying, the 2-D gel electrophoresis technique that he developed could be applied to protein mixtures from any source. While still a student he prepared a paper describing this method. This paper is now the sixth most cited paper in biology and chemistry.

RICHARD DAVIDSON

The 11th Chancellor of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Richard Davidson represented the institution with pride, emphasizing its connections with the community.

Davidson's first formal appointment with the U of L was with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Senate in 1983. He served as a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Senator for two terms (eight years), becoming the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Chancellor in 2007, a position he held until 2011. During this time he tirelessly and proudly represented the institution, presiding over many Convocation ceremonies.

Davidson has also been a valuable community volunteer, working for several organizations and supporting many charitable causes. As a volunteer he has worked for, among others, the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation, the Kinsmen Club of Lethbridge, the Regional Hospital Foundation, and the United Way. In 2010, he was recognized by the local Rotary Club as the Lethbridge Citizen of the Year and was named by Alberta Venture as one of the 50 most influential people in the province.

PETE STANDING ALONE

A respected Blood Tribe Elder, Pete Standing Alone is a teacher, cultural guide and leader who has been an integral part of the U of L's commitment to Aboriginal education.

He is committed to maintaining and promoting the traditions of his people, and has served as a cultural advisor to several organizations and to Red Crow Community College. At the U of L, Standing Alone has led the opening ceremonies of Native Awareness Week for several years. He is consulted by the Blackfoot people on all aspects of traditional and contemporary Blackfoot culture, including ceremonies, sacred societies, protocol, education, history and social and cultural issues.

A traditional Blackfoot Knowledge Keeper and educator for over 50 years, Standing Alone continues to devote his time and energy to his community and to serving as a role model for others.

This story first appeared in the May issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Senator Mitchell praises positive contribution from U of L program

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:30:36 +0000

Senator Grant Mitchell recently addressed the Senate to discuss the unique Support Program for Aboriginal Nursing Students (SPANS) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Following is text from his address.

Honourable Senators, it is my pleasure to speak about an exciting program offered at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in Alberta. It is the Support Program for Aboriginal Nursing Students (SPANS).

This program was created in response to the shortage of Registered Nurses in rural and First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across Canada. There is an urgent need for members of these communities to become nurses to address the health issues experienced among Aboriginal people and to provide appropriate health services within their communities.

The main objective of SPANS is recruiting and retaining Aboriginal students who are academically capable and interested in pursuing a nursing career. Assistance and support is then offered toward providing the necessary academic background needed to complete a BN within the existing Bachelor of Nursing program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. It is hoped that when the students have completed their program, they will consider returning to their home communities to work.

SPANS is a partnership amongst the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Health Sciences, Red Crow Community College, Blood Tribe Department of Health, Aakom-Kiyii Health Services (Piikani Nation), Siksika Health Services and the Blackfoot Confederacy.

There are several elements to this unique program. One element is the pre-nursing year, a transitional year that provides students with an opportunity to enroll in required courses for admission to the nursing program. And they are supported in the often-challenging transition from home and family life to university.

Another element is the integral role that Elders have in the program. Their discussions with students help them to examine concepts related to nursing and health care from a Blackfoot perspective.

In addition to learning from Elders, the Aboriginal nursing students have also benefitted from a Mentorship Program, which has involved current Registered Nurses who work in the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Opportunities for social networking and tutoring are also provided to support the students.

Designated staff and infrastructure provide additional academic and personal support. Thanks to the leadership of the learning facilitator and administrative assistant, the students can feel supported in all that they do.

The success of this program can be measured in a few important ways.

The program has recently expanded to assist students working towards degrees in Addictions Counselling and Public Health. The program has grown from seven students to approximately 60 in four years.

The retention rate of the program is also an indicator of success: of all the Aboriginal nursing students who started in SPANS, only one is no longer enrolled in a post-secondary program. The majority of Aboriginal students remain in a health-related program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Another impressive measure of success is that the students in this program have the opportunity to complete their clinical practicum in their home communities on local reserves and to become role models for other community members.

Honourable Senators, please join me in commending the students and staff of the Support Program for Aboriginal Nursing Students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. They are truly a part of an innovative and visionary endeavour that will benefit First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across Canada for years to come.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Red Crow Community College

U of L and Red Crow College to launch Niitsitapi Teacher Education Program next fall

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2012 Honorary Degree recipients

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