School praised on 25 years of instruction

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"Indian control of Indian education" has been a prominent goal of Saskatchewan's First Nations leaders for several decades. Chiefs have long seen the problems inherent in an education system designed by and for non-Aboriginal residents, including a strong cultural bias in instruction and grading, and a lack of appreciation for First Nations issues and history.

In 1968, the participants at an all chiefs conference of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) first ratified this goal, calling on the province and their own people to rise to the education challenge. They decided the time was long overdue to provide concrete measures by which First Nations people, both children and adults, could obtain the same quality of education that was available to the general populace.

The Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT) was one of the institutions that arose from this call to action. Opened in 1976, SIIT strives to improve the quality and availability of First Nations education. On the occasion of the school's twenty-fifth anniversary, SIIT staff and past graduates gathered at the Saskatoon campus to reflect on the institution's history, celebrate past triumphs, and identify the opportunities and requirements that will shape SIIT over its next 25 years.

"We have always firmly believed that education is a treaty right," said Joe Quewezance, Saskatoon Tribal Council chief and former chair of the SIIT board of directors.

When originally established, SIIT was known as the Saskatchewan Indian Community College.

"We offered skills training and basic education programs on reserves," said Quewezance. "It was Canada's first First Nations controlled community college. We had 232 students in July of 1976."

The college provided instruction on-site, and worked directly with First Nations communities to determine what courses to offer. Demand for the college's services grew, and trade, vocational and technical training were soon added to complement the skills and adult education programs initially offered.

"That era is also noted because we worked without core funding for education," Quewezance pointed out.

Lack of funding and lack of accreditation for its courses were, in fact, the primary problems the institution faced during most of its existence. This gradually changed during the 1980s, as the college responded to the needs of the 69 First Nations communities it then served by developing accredited course offerings such as the Indian Diploma Nursing program. Satellite colleges were established in larger centres across the province.

In 1985, the Indian governments of Saskatchewan enacted the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) Act, formally recognizing the institution for its tireless efforts to improve Aboriginal education, and necessitating a name change. Though SIIT was now recognized as a full post-secondary institution by Indian government, it was still a community college to the provincial government, and not qualified for much of the funding it so desperately needed. Unaffected by the political battles being fought, the institute's popularity continued to grow, with enrolment reaching 800 by the end of the decade.

Program developments continued throughout the 1990s, with new courses offered both at the satellite college level and through partnerships with other, provincially-recognized post-secondary institutions. In 1996, enrolment had reached 1,285, and by 2000 the figure stood at 1,639.

Finally in 2000, after years of pushing, the Saskatchewan provincial government enacted its own Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies Act, acknowledging the school as a full post-secondary institution in the eyes of all people, not just First Nations communities. It was a victory for everyone who had fought for so many years for quality Indian education, and it paved the way for greater growth in the new century.

Joan Greyeyes, president of the institution, cannot stress enough what he 2000 act meant for SIIT.

"One of the problems for us was recognition of SIIT as a post-secondary institution in the province of Saskatchewan," she explained. "That's very important -it is the first First Nations post-secondary institution in Canada to have provincial recognition from their non-Indian government. We do have recognition from our Indian governments, which is also very important, but to have it from the non-Indian government is very important because now we have transferability of credits for all our programs, right across Canada. We are able to negotiate with other post-secondary institutions, something we've never been able to do before. That's something that SIIT is very proud of. We're also able to now go to employers and industries with our students, and say that these certificates are good certificates. This is a quality education that SIIT has delivered to these students, and they can do the job that any other student can do, anywhere else in Canada. I think that's very important."

"SIIT is very proud of our 2000 act," agreed SIIT director of communications Tom Semganis, who has seen many changes and improvements in his 14 years of association with the school. "We have grown immensely, both size-wise and also in our student population. We only used to have five satellite colleges, and now we have nine."

To ensure the institution continues to enjoy the same level of growth over its next 25 years, SIIT is promoting its programs and past achievements to a new generation of Aboriginal youth. Four prominent and successful past graduates are being featured on posters distributed to schools throughout the province.

Ed Bellegarde, the acting president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, is one of these individuals, and he is only too happy to serve as a role model for today's children and teens.

"I certainly would recommend SIIT to others," he said. "It's certainly a challenge these days to get education out to our people, and tat's what SIIT is all about-bringing the education to the communities, building stronger communities with stronger people with strong educational backgrounds. I think back, to almost 10 years ago now, and it [SIIT instruction] wasn't quite received as the same quality of education. I think my record, and the record of other SIIT grads, speaks for itself, in terms of performance and overall quality of what they can bring to the workplace."

Greg Ahenakew, first vice-chief of the FSIN and another past SIIT grad, shares Bellegarde's sentiments.

"This institution has really contributed to the push for Indian control of Indian education," he said. "It is a role model for the rest of the country."

The numbers certainly support these sentiments. Since its inception, SIIT has graduated more than 6,000 students from 75 diverse programs. It has been more than 30 years since the chiefs of Saskatchewan issued their challenge, and through the tireless work of SIIT and other Aboriginal education initiatives, their goal is finally coming to fruition.