Saskatchewan Polytechnic is talking about the agreement they recently signed with the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation.
This week it was announced the First Nation and the post secondary institution had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Paul Carter, dean of the School of Continuing Education said the institution believes it is important given their commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) calls to action to engage with First Nations.
“It’s our opportunity and our responsibility to respond to the calls for action … we signed off on those as an institution, we take that very seriously,” he said.
The MOU is a five year agreement and will see the two parties work together to develop educational programs to help meet the needs of Muskeg Lake. The agreement was primarily negotiated over the past couple of months. Carter said they already have some specific areas of focus.
“We’re beginning to do some carpentry training, to provide, to build some construction capacity in the nation,” he said.
Carter explained Muskeg Lake is also interested in getting people trained to do environmental protection work as there are plans to open a park in the future. The dean added they are hoping to see the program grow to include other programs.
The agreement with Muskeg Lake is not the first one of its kind for the Saskatchewan Poly Tech; Carter said the institution has engaged with First Nation communities and organizations in a number of ways in the past.
“We work with some of the tribal councils, we work with some of the nations directly and then we also work with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner as well,” he said.