Summit to focus on Aboriginal post-secondary education

Posted: May 15, 2013 10:00 a.m.

Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO of Indspire - a national organization dedicated to raising funds to deliver programs and provide the necessary tools for Indigenous people, especially youth, to achieve the fullest potential possible. Photo: Courtesy of Roberta Jamieson

The Lloyd Barber Summit on Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education: Identifying Best Practices is a two-day summit that will take place on May 23 and 24 of this year.  Organized by the University of Regina, the summit will explore best practices in post-secondary education and the delivery of quality education for Aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan and beyond.  
One of the featured keynote speakers will be Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO of Indspire – a  national organization dedicated to raising funds to deliver programs and provide the necessary tools for Indigenous people, especially youth, to achieve the fullest potential possible. In her keynote address, Jamieson will discuss changes needed and progress being made to close the post-secondary education gap between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population in Canada.

“I will speak to the tools in which change can and will promote equitable access to education,” said Jamieson. “Post-secondary institutions need to not only attract Indigenous students, but need to also provide the support to be successful in their studies.”

A key point for the success of Indigenous education, Jamieson says, is to demystify ways of working with Indigenous communities.

“The University of Regina and the First Nations University of Canada are well-positioned to take leadership roles by having built solid relationships with Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan.”

One way Jamieson sees of narrowing the education gap is to share approaches that are already working at other post-secondary institutions. Another way she suggests is the creation of academic support centres like the University of Regina’s Aboriginal Student Centre, which provides academic services and cultural and social activities to help with a successful transition into University and to help realize students’ educational goals.
A Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Ontario, Jamieson comes to the Aboriginal Summit with many years of experience and knowledge of Indigenous youth issues and opportunities. She was the first First Nations woman to earn a law degree, the first non-parliamentarian appointed an ex-officio member of a House of Commons Committee, the first woman Ombudsman of Ontario, and the first woman elected Chief of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.

She has earned numerous awards, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (Law and Justice 1998), the Indigenous Bar Association’s highest award, the Indigenous Peoples Council Award (IPC) and 22 honorary degrees. She has been named three times to the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 list and is a Member of the Order of Canada.

Registration and additional information about the Lloyd Barber Summit on Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education: Identifying Best Practices can be found at: www.aboriginalsummit2013.ca.