Provincial funding announced to support Dene Teacher Education Program

The First Nations University of Canada (FNU) is delivering the Dene Teacher Education Program (DTEP) to post-secondary students, with help from funding from the provincial government.

The province announced their investment of up to $225,000 for the program at FNU on Wednesday. The funding will cover the student’s tuition and books, as well as the costs of instruction from the university.

The program is the product of a partnership between the province, FNU, University of Regina, Clearwater River Dene Nation, and Northern Lights School Division.

Fifty per cent of the program funding comes from the Clearwater River Dene Nation and the Northern Lights School Division, with the province’s investment covering the other half.

Students who enrolled this fall from La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation will receive a Bachelor of Indigenous Education, and upon graduation, will be able to instruct students in the Dene language as part of the K-12 curriculum.

“It’s been certainly a challenge in northern Saskatchewan to attract teachers and so when we can attract teachers who would teach in Dene, in their native language in northern Saskatchewan, that’s good for the delivery of education programs in northern Saskatchewan,” said Gordon Wyant, advanced education minister.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts sent to your device

Bob Kayseas, vice president academic, said DTEP is community-based, with instructors being sent up north and virtual classes carrying out the program.

“The thing about the community is that there’s a lot of supports there,” he said. “They have childcare supports, family support, so all that contributes to their success.”

These 24 post-secondary students will be the second cohort to go through DTEP, with the first being in 2016.

That initial program started out with a little over 30 students and finished with 21.

Heather Piche from Clear Water River is one of those initial graduates and said the program made it possible for her to get an education because she didn’t have to uproot her family.

“They made it possible for me to get an education at home and helped me succeed because it has our values, the cultural values, our traditions, and our customs,” said Piche speaking in a video played at the announcement on Wednesday morning.

She went on to say the university has shown her what she can do to make herself culturally better as an educator and a person.

“I plan to teach in my language, in my hometown to preserve my language,” she added.

Of the group in 2016, 96 per cent are currently teaching in northern Dene communities.

“That’s a pretty good number to take to a four-year degree. We’re going to hopefully do the same with this group,” said Kayseas.

In a release, FNU president, Jacqueline Ottman, said the university is honoured to deliver the program as it is important to not only meet the language learning needs of Dene people in the north, but is also a real response to a TRC Call to Action.

“We have a collective responsibility, as demonstrated in this collaboration, to ensure that Indigenous languages survive as valuable Indigenous knowledges are embedded within them,” Ottman said.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Call to Action number 16, calls upon post-secondary institutions to create university and college degree and diploma programs in Indigenous languages.