SIAST consults the community

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The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) wants to know how it can attract more Aboriginal students and staff, and is looking to the province's Aboriginal community for the answers.

The institute is consulting with Aboriginal groups within SIAST and across the province about how to better meet the needs of Aboriginal students and staff.

The consultation process was officially launched with a sacred bundle ceremony conducted as part of SIAST's annual Aboriginal student conference held at Cedar Lodge south of Saskatoon on Oct. 18.

Aboriginal students, counsellors and advisors from each of SIAST's four campuses, Elders and SIAST administration all contributed items to the sacred bundle. Among the items included were money and school supplies representing the investment students must make into their education, a copy of SIAST's vision and values statement representing the institution's commitment to serving Aboriginal people, a Metis sash and dreamcatcher representing the Aboriginal people of the province, and sacred elements such as sage, cedar, tobacco and sweetgrass.

SIAST's goal is to consult with about 200 people across the province, including Aboriginal students and staff, Aboriginal alumni, and representatives of Aboriginal groups.

Aboriginal students currently make up about 18 per cent of the institute's total enrollment, but given the burgeoning population of Aboriginal youth in the province, the school needs to do more to attract both Aboriginal students and Aboriginal staff, explained Blaine Jensen, SIAST's dean of students. While the institute already has programs and practices in place designed to recruit Aboriginal staff and students, the results of the consultation will allow SIAST to take the process one step further.

Jensen anticipates a report on the consultations will be completed by the end of the year, and is hopeful the report will contain recommendations that can be acted upon right away.

"Although the consultation process that we're into right now is going to be positive for us, I think it's going to turn into a living process, one that is not just going to be a report that's brought in and sits on a shelf. Because the momentum that it's gathered and the participation that we're seeing from staff and students, shows a grassroots growth that a report and recommendations will only support. I think that's where the key is, is we're building the support internally. It's almost a living process, and all the report is going to be able to do is to help us channel some of our energy."