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On March 23, Dr. Murray Gray, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
announced that the University will offer a new graduate program in First
Nations Education.
The new program will offer both a Master of Education in First Nations
Education and a Doctor of Philosophy in First Nations Education. It
will be housed within the Department of Educational Policy Studies, and
Drs. Stan and Peggy Wilson will jointly coordinate the program.
Both coordinators are from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba and
were already on the faculty at the University of Alberta. Dr. Stan
Wilson completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of
Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. at the University of California in Santa
Barbara. Dr. Peggy Wilson holds a Bachelor of Education from University
of Saskatchewan and both an M.A. and Ph.D., from the University of
California in Santa Barbara.
In approving the program proposal, the University sought to bring equal
access to Aboriginal scholars. Until now, officials felt that graduates
of Native teacher education programs or similar specialized areas within
the field of Indigenous knowledge could only pursue advanced degrees if
they abandoned their First Nations focus and chose a different program
specialization.
"Our objective," said Stan Wilson, "is to enlarge the pool of
professionals who have maintained their Aboriginal culture and who are
prepared academically to work in either mainstream universities or in
Aboriginal setting."
The new program seeks to incorporate the knowledge base of Indigenous
peoples from around the world.
"We will do this," said Dr. Peggy Wilson, " by using adjunct faculty
from around the world. We are also seeking students from all over.
This will guard against the program becoming narrow or provincial in
outlook."
Initial adjunct faculty members include Dr. Howard Adams (a Metis and
professor emeritus from University of California at Davis), Dr. Paula
Gunn Allen (a Laguna Pueblo/Sioux and professor of English at UCLA), Dr.
Vine Deloria (a Lakota, professor and writer), Dr. Beatrice Medicine (a
Lakota and professor emeritus at University of California, North Ridge)
and Dr. Terry Tafoya (a Taos Pueblo and psychotherapist).
Another goal of the new program is to maintain and respect the values
and integrity of Aboriginal peoples.
"During our establishment phase, we felt it was important to have
Elders participate from all the four directions. We were helped by Tom
Porter from Cornwall Island, N.Y. by Josephine Padilla and Lionel
Kinunwa from New Mexico, by Ethel Billy from British Columbia and by
Gerty Tom from the Yukon. Each of these people stayed with local Elders
Regina and Ralph Cardinal while in Edmonton. The body of Elders will
change over time as we draw from the available pool.
"To encourage an Indigenous process, we are seeking both faculty and
students who have lived in an Indigenous way, not just come to this
recently."
In its first year, the program will have four masters and four Ph.D.
students. From the second year onward, they will accept six students
annually at each level. All students will take four core courses:
Foundation Theories in First Nations Education, Indigenous Research
Methodology, Reviving Traditional Languages and From Oral Tradition to
Written Languages. Beyond this core each student will complete courses
that enhance their special focus. All Ph.D. candidates will compete a
dissertation; Masters students can produce either a thesis or a project.
Students at both levels will be expected to meet regular university
entrance requirements for graduate school and will be interviewed by a
panel of Elders, Indigenous scholars and external faculty members.
The first four doctoral students have been selected and attended an
orientation on April 11 and 12. They will begin their course work in
June. Their fist course will require that they attend and make a
presentation at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education
being held in Albuquerque, N.M.from June 15 to 23 of this year.
Students interested in the Masters degree program can apply to the
Department of Education Policy Studies until May 31. Interviews will be
held in October, and the first Masters classes will begin in January,
1997.
The Department of Education Policy Studies is also already accepting
applications for the next intake of doctoral students.
In summing up her feeling at the program's progress to date, Dr. Peggy
Wilson said: "It's kind of a life endeavor that's coming true for both
Stan and me. Hopefully the program will continue to change as time goes
on. Each time we get a new batch of students, with their different
backgrounds and experiences, the program should adjust to reflect these
differences. Once we are underway, we intend to conduct a scholars'
conference very second year."
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