Clearwater River Dene School in 2015 (Raymond Dauvin/History of La Loche))

By Logan Lehmann

Indigenous Education

Saskatchewan to provide $250K to deliver Dene education in the North

Aug 31, 2022 | 10:16 AM

The Government of Saskatchewan is providing up to $255,000 to the First Nations University of Canada to deliver the Dene Teacher Education Program (DTEP) in Northern Saskatchewan.

Post-secondary students who are enrolled at the La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation will receive a four-year Bachelor of Indigenous Education. After graduating, newly trained teachers will be able to instruct students in the Dene language as part of the K-12 curriculum.

“Our government is proud to support this partnership to deliver DTEP and help meet the demand for qualified, Dene-speaking teachers in northern Saskatchewan,” Advanced Education Minister Gordon S. Wyant, Q.C. said. “Currently, La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation are the only communities in Canada where Dene students can learn in their first language from elementary school through to post-secondary.”

The program is expected to improve recruitment and retention of teachers in the north, increase student participation and graduation rates, and improve transitions to post-secondary education, training, and the workforce.

DTEP’s first year in operation was in 2016, which resulted in 21 graduates, 96 percent of whom are currently teaching in northern Dene communities.

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“DTEP benefited me by letting me take the program right at home, and I was able to give back to my community by teaching at our local elementary school in the Dënësułinë language and helping revitalize our culture,” DTEP and FNUniv Alumna, Erika Herman said.

The Clearwater River Dene Nation and the Northern Lights School Division fund fifty percent of the program, with the province’s investment covering the other half. The First Nations University of Canada delivers the program.

“First Nations University of Canada is honoured to deliver the DTEP. This very important program not only meets the language learning needs of Dene people in the North, it also is a real response to a TRC Call to Action and contributes to the preservation, revitalization, and promotion efforts outlined in the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2023) statements,” President of FNUniv, Dr. Jacqueline Ottmann said. “We have a collective responsibility, as demonstrated in this collaboration, to ensure that Indigenous languages survive as valuable Indigenous Knowledges are embedded within them.”

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann