The First Nations University of Canada is getting $225,000 from the provincial government to administer the Dene Teacher Education program. Post secondary students who are enrolled this fall from La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation will receive a four-year scholarship into the Bachelor of Indigenous Education Program.

“The program has proven to be a great success and we are so proud of our graduates,” CRDN Councillor Randy Janvier said. “The DTEP has lifted our community in so many ways and we look forward to this new cohort.”

Over time, the program is expected to improve recruitment and retention of teachers in the north, increase student participation and graduation rates, and improve transitions to post-secondary education, training and the workforce. In 2016, the initial DTEP intake resulted in 21 graduates, 96 percent of whom are currently teaching in northern Dene communities.

“Currently, La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation are the only communities in Canada where Dene students can learn in their first language from elementary school through to post-secondary,” said Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant.

Graduating students of the Bachelor of Indigenous Education Program will be able to instruct the Dene language as part of the K-12 curriculum.

(Photo courtesy of First Nations University of Canada Facebook.)