UCFV launches Aboriginal Resource centre 

The University College of the Fraser Valley is taking advantage of special provincial funding to launch two aboriginal-related initiatives. 

UCFV is one of 21 post-secondary institutions that received special grants last fall from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology to promote programs geared to aboriginal students around the province. The aboriginal special project fund helps post-secondary institutions to promote relevant, high-quality educational projects, programs, and activities for aboriginal learners.

The two grants UCFV received under the initiative were $25,000 to set up a First Nations Learning centre, and $40,000 to fund curriculum development designed to increase aboriginal student success.

"What's important for people to understand is that many people at UCFV have worked in aboriginal education for 20 years or more, and the ideas we put into the proposals have been cooking for a long time," says UCFV instructor Wendy Burton who worked with UCFV First Nations Access coordinator Theresa Neel to draft the grant proposals.

"We've been waiting for a long time for the opportunity and money to put these ideas into practice. We finally got it!

"It's important for aboriginal students to have a place and recognition of their presence in the institution. It's sometimes hard for First Nations students to find each other as there's often only one in a class. They need a place and opportunity to swap ideas, get peer support, access resources, and so on," says Burton.

The Aboriginal Resource Centre (ARC) was officially opened on the Chilliwack campus in November with a traditional Sto:lo ceremony, the first ever performed at UCFV.

"The Chilliwack campus is in traditional Sto:lo territory so we thought it was appropriate to have a Sto:lo ceremony," says Theresa Neel, who will oversee the activities in the ARC. "It was a wonderful experience and really kicked off the centre in a good way."

The objectives for the ARC are to; provide a "home" for skills development and social connection, create a cohort of students, provide the services of an elder in residence, collaborate with local First nations organizations to provide support services in a learning centre, host monthly student-oriented events on themes of cultural relevance.

Along with regular drop-in hours for students, the ARC has already held a very successful three-day workshop designed to help students to reach their educational goals, develop healthy lifestyles, and understand the consequences of the choices they make. Two aboriginal student volunteers went through Peer Helper training and they are available to help students. Upcoming activities include a workshop on Natural Healing in January and one on Families and Boundaries in February, meetings and discussions with local elders, and social gatherings. 

A library has already been initiated in the centre and includes fiction and non-fiction books, education and career resources, aboriginal newspapers and newsletters, political papers, information on the treaty process, resource materials from local and provincial First Nations community organizations, and other materials of interest to aboriginal students. Plans for the library also include a video collection of films and documentaries. 

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Point to coordinate First Nations student success package at UCFV

Gwen Point has been hired by the University College of the Fraser Valley to coordinate a First Nations student success program which includes curriculum development, aboriginal education initiatives, and partnerships between UCFV and aboriginal communities.

Under the Access to Success initiative, three transition courses will be designed in science, communications, and Indigenous studies. A curriculum development handbook for educators working with aboriginal adult learners will also be produced.

The Access to Success program is one of two initiated by UCFV with grants from a provincial aboriginal special projects fund. UCFV received $40,000 to fund curriculum development designed to increase aboriginal student success and $25,000 to set up an aboriginal resource centre (ARC) which is already up and running.

"UCFV is continuing to forge close partnerships with our native communities," says UCFV President Skip Bassford. "These projects are the result of a lot of hard work by the Aboriginal Community Council and the Aboriginal Education Working Group chaired by Kevin Busswood. It's a real privilege for UCFV to be able to add the expertise of Gwen Point to this work, to help move these initiatives forward."

Gwen Point has an extensive background in education and curriculum development. She worked for three years with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology in Aboriginal Education for the Fraser Valley, and has been the Program Manager at Sto:lo Nation since 1993. She also sat on the UCFV Board of Governors for several years in the mid 1990s.

"We're really fortunate to have Gwen on board," says Busswood. "She brings an absolute wealth of experience and skills as an educator and administrator and she is highly respected in native and non- native communities."

First Nations Access coordinator Theresa Neel is also excited about Points's appointment.

"Having Gwen is a real gift for us and our students," says Neel. "She has always been very committed to aboriginal education and to working with UCFV. With Gwen here, we'll be able to accomplish even more than we'd hoped."

Point is looking forward to working with UCFV and First Nations communities in her new position.

"The position of coordinator here interested me because it's local and I like to be involved in my own community," says Point. "I'm looking at working together in a partnership that includes local First Nations people, which are Sto:lo, to develop curriculum in all the different faculties that will focus on First Nations needs.

"It's important that this partnership doesn't just include the Sto:lo, simply because we have many other First Nations and aboriginal students who attend this institution. However, as the University College sits in Sto:lo Territory, it's important that the Sto:lo First Nations communities are a strong partner/voice in planning and implementing these new courses. So, I'm really looking forward to connecting with the different faculties and working with them to increase understanding of First Nations, and to provide First Nations students entering the University College a meaningful experience that reflects and supports who they are."

Busswood, who has worked for many years in First Nations communities, agrees.

"UCFV must take a supportive, rather than leadership role." says Busswood. It's important that the direction comes from the native communities and we must find ways to support them in the best possible way. This becomes even more important now with the treaty process underway because new systems of governance and administration will be put into place and I would hope that UCFV would have a role in supporting those processes."

"I think the ARC is ideally positioned to do three things," Busswood continued. "First is to provide one- to-one contact with aboriginal students so they feel comfortable and welcome here and not alienated. Second is to provide a liaison between UCFV and aboriginal communities to help other UCFV departments to respond to native needs in education and administration. The third is to found partnerships with native communities to support the post-treaty process."

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