New Indigenous language scholarships were announced today at First Nations University of Canada, that will help support up to forty language students per year, for years to come. The announcement of $50,000 support from the Government of Saskatchewan was greeted with great speeches Tammy Joan Ratt and Darian Agecoutay and Solomon Ratt, for whom one of the scholarships is named. The photo featured above shows (L-R): Tammy Joan Ratt, FNU President Dr Jacqueline Ottman (Misiaykimigookpaypomoytung), Solomon Ratt, Saskatchewan Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant, MLA Jim Lemaigre, Darian Agecoutay (âcikahtê). To each of those future students, we send our wishes for success upon success throughout their academic careers and beyond.
The new scholarships are named:
- First Nations Language Instructor Certificate Scholarship;
- Indigenous Language Revitalization Entrance Scholarship;
- The Solomon Ratt Indigenous Language and Language Literacy Scholarship.
Details and application guidance for the three new scholarships can be found at First Nations University of Canada.
Quoting from the government announcement:
Our languages hold complex knowledge systems and are a gift from our ancestors,” Indigenous Languages Program Coordinator and Lecturer Andrea Custer said. “Despite efforts to eradicate our languages, our grandfathers and grandmothers held on to them for us younger generations. As part of the First Nations University of Canada’s mission we are here to support the Indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan who want to reclaim their languages, through a variety of language programs. The new scholarship funding provided by the Government of Saskatchewan will further support students in their determination to reclaim their languages.
Thanks to Shannon Dumba for sharing her photos:
