Cégep Kiuna, the only Indigenous post-secondary institution in Quebec, opened a branch in Wemotaci in Mauricie last year as a pilot project. The experiment will be confirmed this year – and tried elsewhere.
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“We want to make it easier for young people from isolated communities to access education,” explains Prudence Hannis, general director of Kiuna, a CEGEP in Odanak, Center-du-Québec. Kiuna is a term that means “our” in Abenaki. “It’s easier to study if you stay in their community. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Prudence Hannis, managing director of Kiuna
Around fifteen students completed a certificate in Indigenous education at Wemotaci last year – and there will be just as many this year. “It’s really going to change things for us,” Wemotaci councilor Miguel Kookoo said. “The need for training is great. Our young people can lead a professional life here and remain close to their families and their culture. » In addition to the educational cohort, one CEGEP student completes an administrative certificate and another completes a complete college program (DEC).
Véronique Pittikwi, the school mobilization agent for Wemotaci’s class, notes that most of the students – all women at the moment – are young mothers. “They can come home and feed their kids lunch. You have almost the same schedule as her. They can then work in the daycare center. »
This year also saw the opening of a satellite course in Alma at the Mamik Center, which serves the Lac-Saint-Jean Indigenous community. “There were students who were often unable to leave the region for family reasons,” says Ms. Pittikwi. That’s why we opened a course for this year. I don’t know if she will come back next year. »
Kiuna CEGEP was significant in the careers of several indigenous peoples, including Miguel Kookoo from Wemotaci. “I trained in water treatment and worked for five years,” he says. My friend, an Anishnabe, decided to complete addiction training with Kiuna. I followed her the following year. It gave me back the desire to learn. My courses in the history of Indigenous claims and treaties led me to a BA in Law at the University of Sherbrooke. When I was elected city councilor, I returned to Wemotaci. I support the deputy chief in these matters. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Kiuna CEGEP has been important to the careers of many indigenous peoples.
Manitou College Heritage
“In the 1970s there was Manitou College in the Laurentians, but it only lasted a few years,” notes Prudence Hannis. Before Kiuna CEGEP opened, “there had been a desire to re-establish an Indigenous post-secondary institution in Quebec for almost 20 years.”
Manitou College opened in 1973 on a former military base that was used for missile testing and is now home to the La Macaza Federal Penitentiary. Manitou struggled with chronic deficits and closed its doors at the end of 1976. In total, the school trained about a hundred students in English and French.
Founded in 2011, Kiuna is in the process of training the indigenous leaders of tomorrow, just like Manitou College, believes Emmanuelle Dufour, an anthropologist at the University of Montreal.
“Ghislain Picard and Lise Bastien, among others, studied in Manitou,” says Ms. Dufour. Mr. Picard has been President of the Quebec-Labrador Assembly of First Nations since 1992. Ms. Bastien is a long-time leader of the First Nations Education Council (CEPN).
At Manitou College, “there were certainly management issues,” Ms. Bastien says. It was a guiding principle of Indian Affairs, but we never specified what the management problems were. One thing is certain: the government did not want a hotbed of Indigenous activism in Quebec.”
According to Ms. Dufour, the final blow was Ottawa’s decision to allocate money from Manitou College to the various communities. “We told them, ‘If you want to continue funding Manitou, it’s your decision,'” Ms. Dufour says.
PHOTO FROM JACQUES WATSO’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Jacques Watso
On the way to technical training?
According to Odanak Abenaki Council member Jacques Watso, Kiuna has transformed Odanak for twelve years. “It allowed us to build connections with all communities. And of course it enables young people to stay locally and receive the training they need for the jobs that exist here. » Future electric battery factories planned not far from Odanak suggest technical training to Mr Watso.
I have seen young people leave Kiuna as adults with greater pride in their identity.
Lisa Bastien
She herself came to Manitou “on the move” at the age of 18 after dropping out of high school. “Similar to Kiuna, Manitou made a big difference to many people, even if it only lasted four years. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
According to Odanak Abenaki Council member Jacques Watso, Kiuna has transformed Odanak for twelve years.
Indigenous settlements in western Canada
Indigenous post-secondary institutions emerged in Western Canada shortly after Manitou, but they never closed Sheila Carr-Stewart of the University of Alberta, who published the collection Knowing the Past, Facing the Future on Indigenous education in 2020.
“That’s why we see a lot of Indigenous professors at universities in the prairies and British Columbia,” Ms. Carr-Stewart says.
However, the difference in Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendance in post-secondary institutions is smaller in Eastern Canada than in the Prairies and British Columbia, according to a Statistics Canada study released in June. This is likely due to Indigenous peoples in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces attending non-Indigenous universities, according to Ms. Carr-Stewart.
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150 Kiuna CEGEP has awarded 150 diplomas since its founding in 2011.
Source: Kiuna CEGEP