We’re proud to showcase past and present scholarship students and the programs they have chosen, ranging from technical college courses to graduate studies at universities. We wish them all the very best as our future leaders in wise decision-making for the land and people!
The University of Victoria offers certificate and Master’s programs in Indigenous Language Revitalization. One of these is a two week certificate program offered in Yellowknife through a partnership with the Government of the NWT, and the En'owkin Centre in Penticton, British Columbia.
The University of Alberta also offers a certificate in Indigenous Languages through the Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute
These programs aim to support a generation of language experts who will have the language and academic skills to participate and lead successful language revitalization efforts in Indigenous communities. The graduate programs also serve to develop language scholars who will have the expertise to support post-secondary instruction in the revitalization, recovery and maintenance of Indigenous languages.
Andrew Speakman was raised in Délı̨nę and spent time in Yellowknife afterwards. He has a degree in math and physics, with a minor in religion. After three years of working in the statistics field, it's time to refocus on computational linguistics. How can computers help Dene Kede grow and thrive? Andrew enjoys politics, the concept of Denendeh, soccer, minimalism, and boiled eggs.
Jennie Vandermeer is Sahtúgot'ı̨nę (person from Great Bear Lake) and grew up in Délı̨nę, Northwest Territories (NWT). She is pursuing a Master's degree in Indigenous Language Revitalization from the University of Victoria. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Royal Roads University. She has a lot of experience working with communities across the NWT on water quality, environmental assessment, forestry and protected areas. She has worked with the department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of Northwest Territories, in a variety of roles, including as Environmental Impact Advisor, Watershed Management Advisor and Coordinator of NWT Protected Area Strategy. Jennie is also an entrepreneur, having started a successful wellness business and more recently a tourism business with her partner.
Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning [http://dechinta.ca] is a northern initiative delivering land-based, University of Alberta-credited educational experiences led by northern leaders, experts, elders and professors. Located off the grid in a remote eco-lodge accessible only by bush plane, snowmobile or dog team, learning from the land while living in community is central to the Dechinta experience. Gather under the northern lights to discuss Dene Political Theory around a fire. Ski or canoe to check fish nets, and gain hands on experience about ecosystems management. Collect medicines and learn regional history from expert elders. Contemplate the importance of land to community and life with a diverse group of students, volunteers and elders. Live in log cabins heated by woodstove, and enjoy amenities such as a sauna, hot tub, and organic gardens. Hunting, fishing and wild harvesting are integrated into the curriculum, led by dynamic and diverse faculty with direct experience in research and leadership in the subject areas.
The Environment and Natural Resources Technology Program (ENRTP) is a two-year Diploma program at Aurora College in Fort Smith that is a popular choice for our scholarship students.
For those who need some additional academic credits to enter the ENRTP Diploma program, Aurora College offers s a 10 month access program, including courses in English, Math, Science and Introduction to Computers and an Environment Natural Resources Technology Foundations course.
The ENRTP Diploma program links opportunities to learn from experience in the field with academic coursework in the classroom and skill training in the laboratory. Graduates of the program possess the ability needed to succeed as technicians and officers in natural resource and environmental management careers including wildlife, forestry, marine and freshwater fisheries, planning, water resources, environmental protection, parks, land claim resource management, oil and gas, and mining. The program places emphasis on learning through experience.
2023-2024 Scholarship
Anne Marie is Kasho-Gotine, from Fort Good Hope. She was raised traditionally and seasonally on the land, apart from the settlement and mainstream society. Her long-term career goal is to contribute back to her community or any First Nation community in the NWT, by pursuing her academic degree in Environmental studies.
Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary area of study at universities, where culture and nature are understood to be deeply integrated, and where the social sciences, humanities, arts and natural sciences meet and inform each other. Environmental Studies students are encouraged to consider ecological, political and economic constraints and possibilities, and to explore how ideas and practical matters come together. This field provides opportunities for reflexive, rigorous, critical and creative thinking to inform policies and programs in environmental management.
Taylor Schear graduated from Kalemi Dene School in June 2023. She is a member of the Tłegǫ́hłı̨ Got’įnę Government (Norman Wells Land Corporation) and the Fort Good Hope Dene Band and has been accepted to the University of Alberta for the 2023 fall term to pursue a Bachelor of Arts, Recreation, Sport and Tourism. Taylor has participated in Northern Youth Leadership Camps. She has done many paddling trips in the Sahtú. Taylor enjoys learning survival skills and developing her leadership skills.
Madison is from Norman Wells and she graduated from Mackenzie Mountain School. She completed her Environment and Natural Resource Technology Diploma at Aurora College in 2024. Madison is now pursuing an undergraduate degree at Yukon University.
Hailey was born and raised in Délı̨nę. She is fluent in North Slavey. Hailey has been accepted to the Business Administration Diploma Program at Camosun College in Victoria, BC. She plans to return to Délı̨nę once she completes her program to make a difference and help her community.
Phone: 867-374-4040
Email: info@srrb.nt.ca