'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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.