En'owkin Centre programs offer Native perspective

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Nestled between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake in the Okanagan Valley in Penticton, a place exists where First Nations people can go to learn how to give form to their creativity, either through words or visual means. That place is the En'owkin Centre, a post-secondary institute for Native students that offers its teachings in a First Nations context.

En'owkin, pronounced en-Ow-kin, is an Okanagan word that means "the process of consensus." The En'owkin Centre was established in 1979 by seven bands of the Okanagan Nation. The centre is a non-profit organization with a mandate to "record, preserve and enhance First Nations cultures through education."

The centre is governed by the Okanagan Indian Educational Resources Society, run by a board of representatives from the Okanagan, Westbank, Penticton, Oosyoos, and Upper and Lower Similkameen bands, as well as from the Upper Nicola band of the Thompson tribe, and from various First Nations service organizations, the Elders Council, the Central Interior Friendship Society, the Round Lake Treatment Centre, and United Native Nations.

The centre is located on Green Mountain Road on land given to the centre by local landowners. The centre has been operating out of its present location since August 1998.

One of the mandates of the En'owkin Centre is provision of education, offering an Okanagan language program, as well as adult and post-secondary education programs.

Among the education programs offered by the En'owkin Centre is a two-year creative writing certificate program, and a two-year certificate program in visual arts, both offered through the En'owkin International School of Writing.

The School of Writing has been operating since 1989, and has had an affiliation agreement in place with the University of Victoria since 1991. The two programs are accredited through the University of Victoria, with certificates awarded jointly by the University of Victoria and En'owkin .

To qualify for enrollment in the creative writing and visual arts programs, applicants must be of North American Aboriginal ancestry. Prospective students must either by eligible for university entrance, or have completed one or more years of an undergraduate degree, or be eligible for mature student status.

The courses included in the two-year creative writing program cover a variety of formats for written expression, including non-fiction, poetry, writing for children, fiction and drama, all taught from a First Nations perspective.

The visual arts program covers drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking, as well as art theory and history, and interdisciplinary and multi-media courses, again taught in a First Nations context.

Anna Lizotte is executive assistant with the En'owkin Centre. She said the decision was made to offer the two courses through the centre because of the number of stories coming out of publishing houses and various other media being written about Native people by non-Native writers.

"We wanted to have our voice out there, telling our stories our way, through our own voice, through our own experience," Lizotte said, adding that by having Native people writing about Native people, it helps to eliminate myths and stereotypes in stories dealing with Native people and culture.

Although the centre has an affiliation agreement with the University of Victoria, the courses making up the two certificate programs can only be taken by students registered with the En'owkin Centre, and can only be completed on site.

What sets the centre's programs apart from similar programs offered by mainstream institutions is the integration of an Aboriginal perspective within all the normal academic programs. In addition, all instructors are Aboriginal people.

The quality of instruction is the same as that offered in a university setting, with all instructors for the two certificate programs holding either masters degrees or bachelor of fine arts degrees. As well, students must meet the sam academic standards as they would in a mainstream institution.

In addition to learning from an Aboriginal perspective, students at En'owkin Centre also benefit from learning in a small environment, where class sizes are kept under 20, allowing for one-on-one communication between student and instructor.

According to Lizotte, studying at the En'owkin Centre helps prepare students who want to continue their studies in a mainstream university setting, giving them the opportunity to learn all the foundation skills they will need for university, but in a smaller environment where there is more personal contact and instructors can make sure their students fully understand all the information being covered.

Many of the students enrolled in the programs at the En'owkin Centre have used them as preparation for university, Lizotte said, with about half of the student population completing the School of Writing programs going on to further university studies in a mainstream institution.