A screen shot from a promotional video on the 2022 Science Camps for Indigenous Youth in Saskatchewan. (U of R Faculty of Science/YouTube)

By Derek Craddock

YAY SCIENCE!

Indigenous youth in Sask. take part in summer science camps

Jul 16, 2023 | 1:00 PM

Dozens of Indigenous youth had a chance to learn the fundamentals of science during different summer camps put on by the University of Regina and the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv).

The Science Camps for Indigenous Youth were held last week in Prince Albert and previous camps took part in Regina with others scheduled for Fort Qu’Appelle later this summer.

Camp Leader Karin Rustad said even though they didn’t have everyone who registered come by, those who did come enjoyed it.

“One said, ‘I was so excited to get here, I was up at six.”

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As for why these camps are important to run, Rustad said it’s because, often, Indigenous youth don’t get to experience hands-on learning with science.

“Kind of show students that it’s more than sitting at a desk and reading a textbook,” she said. “It’s the hands-on science. It’s also trying to tie it back to Indigenous knowledge and showing there are more parallels than are maybe seen.”

Part of the way the camps try to tie it back to Indigenous knowledge is by having Elders compare their knowledge with the standard Western teaching of science.

“A lot of these students also don’t have access to Elders or their cultures and traditions so it’s giving them a safe space to do this as well.”

The upcoming camps in Fort Qu’Appelle are scheduled to run Aug. 10-11.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow