'This is the perfect time for you to be our leader': First Nations University of Canada welcomes new President.
The First Nations University of Canada welcomed its new president, Jacqueline Ottmann, who’s originally from Fishing Lake First Nation.
She started her educational career as a teacher over 30 years ago and has finally worked her way back from Alberta to her homeland.
“I’m feeling gratitude, I’m feeling excitement and I’m very ready to step into this presidency,” she said after the ceremony.
Ottmann said one of the primary goals she will be focusing on is expanding the university’s curriculum in several topics with the sciences being a priority.
“So, there’s Indigenous perspectives, philosophies, practices related to sciences,” Ottmann said. “So that will be important for us to evolve and develop even further.”
During the induction ceremony, Chief of Cowessess First Nation Cadmus Delorme spoke about the importance of the FNU as an institution and how its work is more important now than ever.
“The last four months have been pretty tough on Indigenous people in this country… this is the perfect time for you to be our leader of the First Nations University of Canada, because this institution is going to lead Canada. Every proud Canadian should be walking through these hallways to know that truth.”
Moving forward, Ottmann hopes to bring more attention to the university in order to spread its message and its knowledge.
“We’d also would like to draw attention to the First Nations University of Canada nationally and internationally,” she said. “There aren’t too many universities that have Indigenous knowledge as a foundation to the essence of the institution.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.