Assiniboine hosting activities as part of Indigenous Awareness & Education Week

Assiniboine Community College will host its first-ever Indigenous Awareness and Education Week running September 30 to October 4 across its five campuses.

“This week is about recognizing and celebrating Indigenous culture and perspectives and offering a time for reflection,” said Kris Desjarlais, Director of Indigenous Education at Assiniboine. “In doing so, we also aim to educate staff, students, and the public on Indigenous history, while providing a venue for compelling visions of the future.”

Each day of the week centres around a specific theme, including Every Child Matters, Indigenous Languages, Indigenous Worldviews, and Reconciliation. On Friday, October 4, the college will be recognizing National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, with both a student-led and a faculty-led presentation to the college community.

The public is invited to attend activities throughout the week, including two free evening lectures at the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts located on the college’s North Hill campus in Brandon.

Wednesday, October 2, at 7 p.m.

Jody Linklater, Manager of Pewapun (A New Day) Construction, from Nisichawayasihk First Nation, shares information on his ground-breaking initiative for First Nation training and economic development with YouthBuild Canada.

Thursday, October 3, at 7 p.m.

Jamie Saulnier will share information on his exciting initiative Working Warriors, a cloud-based management platform that assists Indigenous communities with identifying their workforce and assets related to economic development, as well as managing their industry partnerships.

A full list of activities and events across campuses is available at www.assiniboine.net/IndigenousEdWeek.

Other organizations, including the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council, Brandon School Division, and Brandon University, have additional activities planned throughout the week. City of Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest has proclaimed the week of September 30 as Indigenous Education & Awareness Week.

About Jody Linkater

Jody Linklater is the Manager of Pewapun (A new day) Construction Ltd., a for-profit company of the Atoskiwin (A place of learning) Training and Employment Centre of Excellence (ATEC). A member of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, he was the first First Nation Cree in North America to receive his commercial helicopter license and was featured in SAY magazine. He has two diplomas; one in Business Wildlife Conservation and the other in Business Administration. He also received a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the University of Winnipeg. A published author, Jody is currently in the process of writing his second book on Indigenous YouthBuild Canada with a focus on Labour Market Intermediaries for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

About Jamie Saulnier

Mr. Saulnier graduated from NAIT in Edmonton in 1994 as a journeyman welder. In 2001, he started an industrial construction company focusing on maintenance and capital projects in the mining, forestry and oil sectors. Ten years later, his flourishing construction company specializing predominantly in the mining industry was passionately cultivating new Indigenous training & development initiatives. In 2008, with the realization of a pending labour shortage facing Canada, Jamie set out to build a training program that would give Indigenous people the tools needed to enter into the Canadian workforce. What followed was the creation of Running Deer Resources, a firm that builds Customized Engagement Strategies to maximize opportunities for Indigenous people and Industry, and Working Warriors, a human resource agency that connects employers to an extensive inventory of Indigenous talent.