Teacher Training Becomes a Priority

One of the primary functions of Manitou College was to train future Indigenous teachers. In 1972, the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec mandated the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) to set up the Indigenization of schools program proposed by the Indians of Quebec Association. (Centre d’études amérindiennes 2005, 3) It was a colossal task aimed at replacing the Indian residential school system by schools that were administered by First Nations and Inuit communities and were focused on ensuring the survival of Indigenous languages and culture. Between 1975 and 2003, UQAC awarded an astounding 579 degrees and certificates in Indigenous education and technolinguistics, nearly half of which were degrees in preschool and primary school education. (Ibid., 3)

Marie-F. Raphaël, from the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh, is one of the first Indigenous people to earn a bachelor’s degree in education from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. After graduating, she taught in the Atikamekw community of Opitciwan for two years, followed by two years teaching in the Cree community of Mistissini. After that, her professional career took her to Mani-utenam on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, where she held various positions, including teacher, education consultant and principal at École Tshishteshinu. Along with Huguette Courtois from Mashteuiatsh and Marcelline Picard-Kanapé from Pessamit, Ms. Raphaël is one of the first Indigenous university graduates to head a First Nations school. This 2008 photo was taken at UQAC, when she was acting director of the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite.

Photo credit:  Pierre Lepage

The 1975 signing of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) allowed McGill University to play a key role in delivering teacher education programs for Cree and Inuit communities whose second language is English. McGill’s Office of First Nations and Inuit Education continues to work in collaboration with the Cree and Kativik school boards, as well as with the educational services of several Indigenous communities having English as their second language, including Kahnawake, Kanesatake and Listuguj.

In 2016, McGill broke new ground in becoming the first university in Canada to offer an entire bachelor of education program in an Indigenous community. Eighteen students earned their degree in the Mi’gmaq community of Listuguj in the Gaspé. (Bérubé 2016, 1) The experience was so successful that McGill is partnering with the Kahnawake community to enable Mohawk teachers to earn a bachelor’s degree in education on reserve starting in fall 2018. Teachers in Kahnawake who hold a certificate in education will be able to work during the day and study at night 

to get their BA. (Nadeau 2018) 

Photo credit:  Pierre Lepage

Alaqsite’w Gitpu School in Listuguj, in the Gaspé.

Photo credit:  Pierre Lepage

The Centre Des Premières Nations Nikanite Is Integral To Academic Success

The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi continued its pioneering work in university studies for First Nations members with the creation, in 1991, of the Centre d’études amérindiennes, later renamed the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite. Always looking to meet the needs of First Nations communities, the centre has developed numerous study 

programs in administration, art and culture, education and intervention, in addition to general education and specialized training programs. School perseverance being a key concern, the centre held the third edition of the Convention on Perseverance and Academic Achievement for First Peoples in October 2017. UQAC found a creative way to encourage student retention and success by setting up summer camps and workshops for Secondary III, IV and V First Nations students. At the end of May 2018, young people got a chance to attend a mini medical school and parti­cipate in a dissection and sutures workshop given by none other than Dr. Stanley Vollant, the first Indigenous surgeon in Québec. According to the centre’s management, Dr. Vollant is behind UQAC’s career orientation camps in health care for First Nations. (nikanite.uqac.ca/)

In November 2016, the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) opened its new Rio Tinto Aboriginal culture pavilion, which houses the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite, among other services.

Photo credit:  UQAC

Photograph of the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite’s devoted team. Left to right: (top) Marco Bacon, Director, Hélène Leclerc, Lydia Robichaud, Mathieu Gravel, (bottom) Caroline Lester, Nathalie Carter, Sophie Riverin and Lynda Courtemanche.

Photo credit:  Samuel Taillon, UQAC

In 2014, UQAC opened a pavilion in Sept-Îles to give First Nations youth on the north shore, particularly Innu, a chance to get a postsecondary education in their home region.