More Sask. students will learn in Cree, Dene thanks to Indigenous teacher ed. funding

More young students in Saskatchewan will have the opportunity to learn in Dene or Cree thanks to a funding boost for a pair of Indigenous teacher education programs.

The provincial government is providing $108,800 to the First Nations University of Canada to support the school’s Dene Teacher Education Program in Hatchet Lake and its Cree Teacher Education Program in Waterhen Lake First Nation.

Students in those programs, which are delivered in partnership with the University of Regina, graduate with a Bachelor of Indigenous Education degree, allowing them to teach K-12 in an Indigenous language or with a focus on Indigenous practices.

Bernadette Besskkaystare, a student in the Dene program, said giving university students the ability to take classes in their home communities lets them spend more time with their families and reduces the stress of learning.

The programs will also help keep the Indigenous languages alive for future generations, she added.

“It is important that we keep our Denesuline language alive because there are many young people who cannot speak it,” Besskkaystare said in a statement.

“This teaching program will make a big difference in a few years for the community.”

READ MORE:

• Sask. commits $50,000 a year in new funding to help restore Indigenous languages
• Donation made to University of Regina to preserve Indigenous languages
• ‘Just listen:’ Cree speakers weigh in on revitalizing language

During the 2023-24 school year, 216 students were training in seven different Indigenous teacher education programs in northern Saskatchewan, which the Ministry of Advanced Education said represents a 40 per cent increase over the previous year.

Gordon Wyant, Saskatchewan’s minister of advanced education, said improving access to Indigenous education is a priority for the provincial government, especially in remote areas.

“Our government is proud to be a part of this partnership supporting the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages in the province,” Wyant said in a statement.

More information on the programs can be found on the First Nations University of Canada website.