Elders vital to school's success

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The Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) has become important in the education of Aboriginal students from all over British Columbia.

Nestled in the scenic Merritt area, the Institute first opened its doors with 13 students, housed in a basement, in 1983. The facility has grown to boast an enrolment of more than 200 full- and part-time students. Ninety per cent are of First Nations ancestry.

Verna Billy-Minnabarriet is dean of academics at the institute.

"At Nicola Valley Institute of Technology we have programs that are accredited and transferable," she explained, adding that NVIT has developed an Aboriginal component through all its courses.

The Institute works with communities to design continuing education programs.

"One example is our Aboriginal Community Economic Development program, which gives students a diploma. We have national certification with B.C.'s CANDO - Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers - and it can lead to a degree with Simon Fraser University," she says.

Other degree programs include an Aboriginal social work program that is offered in affiliation with the University College of the Cariboo.

"It's a four-year program and we deliver all four years here on campus," she said. The popular program has been at NVIT for five years. Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students attend, which has the added benefit of them working together as friends and classmates towards their degrees while sharing their cultures.

"We offer many other one- and two-year programs in business administration, early childhood education, college readiness, and Indigenous studies, most of which transfer out to at least one of the big three universities in the province," added Billy-Minnabarriet.

The majority of the 55 full- and part-time faculty members are Aboriginal as well, most with master's degrees.

All prospective NVIT students meet with an academic advisor, and an individualised program is designed that enables them to start at their own level.

"They may be able to go directly into university transfer programs, but if they need upgrading in their math or English, we accommodate that as well."

Students from the nearby Coldwater, Upper Nicola, Lower Nicola, Nooaitch, Shackan and Siska bands attend NVIT, but most come from further away.

Off-campus offerings include the economic development officer, early childhood, adult basic education and counselling programs, which are offered at other locations throughout the province, said Billy-Minnabarriet.

"These have taken us to Nanaimo, Chilliwack, Prince Rupert, Hazleton, Cranbrook - we've been all over." This allows home-based beginnings for the post-secondary education experience.

An Elders' council is very involved in the planning and governance of NVIT, including participation on the board of governors, counselling, and sharing circles within the classrooms and within the programs. As well, students who are from distant First Nations are assigned a foster family, expanding the extended family concept which is prominent in Aboriginal culture.

"There are universal similarities between our cultures and we can feel at home together," explained Billy-Minnabarriet.

Emphasising the importance of the Elders and culture in everyday activities has made the new $9 million campus a comforting and enjoyable place for students. It was the Elders who first envisioned the campus and worked directly with the architect.

Kylie Cavaliere, NVIT's public information officer, noted that the Elders provide an active and integral contribution to the planning and implementation of everything at NVIT.

"The new campus is the combined result of a community's desire to educate all First Nations in a quality, relevant, state of the art facility, a vision by the elders."

She laughed as she quoted a recent article in the Toronto Sun in which architect Peter Busby lauds the unique environment and comments that rarely does a "bunch of grandmothers design and uild a campus."