Chief Long Lodge Education Centre gives Indigenous students a second chance
Carry the Kettle First Nation opened a new education centre focused on giving Indigenous people a second chance to finish high school.
Chief Long Lodge Education Centre, located just outside of Indian Head, is inviting young adults on the reserve who may have left school before they graduated to complete their Grade 12 requirements.
“We are trying to ensure that these kids reach those same heights, the same as any other child in their province,” Bob Kowalchuk, director of education for Carry the Kettle, said.
Currently there are 13 students between the ages of 16 and 21 participating in classes to receive their high school diplomas.
Kowalchuk said it is important to integrate the students back into the education system for their future.
“Many jobs require an entry level of Grade 12 standing. Many jobs, or university certainly, want you to have a high enough standard to get in,” Kowalchuk added.
Brady O’Watch, Chief of Carry the Kettle First Nation, said the idea has been fully supported since it was first brought to council.
“We all understand how important education is. We all know the opportunities it can bring,” Chief O’Watch said.
He added the First Nation is ensuring the students are getting the education needed to go to post secondary, but also education around Indigenous culture.
“We have teachers in here teaching that western way, but also we have a teepee, we have elders come speak about how important education is for themselves and how important it is for our people,” O’Watch stated.
The students will participate in traditional ceremonies, like pipe ceremonies, learn the Nakota language and learn about spirituality.
Sixteen-year-old Cheryl Francis is a student at the school. She said the program allows students to take their time to understand the course material and it’s not as strict as other schools she has been in.
“There’s good communication with the educators and the staff,” Francis said.
She said she hopes to go to business school and open her own business, adding getting her Grade 12 diploma will allow her to do that.
Carry the Kettle council believes Chief Long Lodge Education Centre is just the beginning.
It hopes to add a college or post secondary education to campus in the future.
“I want everything, we are going to push for every kind of program, everything that we can possibly get here,” councillor Conrad Medicinerope said.
Chief O’Watch said his dream is to educate the people on the reserve from birth until they are adults.
Currently, Chief Long Lodge Education Centre is fully funded by Indigenous Services Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.