Universities and Colleges: Aboriginal Canada Portal (DGM Module 4-1)

http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/site.nsf/en/ao20012.html

This section of the Aboriginal Canada Portal website “contains a list of the university and college programs, courses and services intended for an Aboriginal clientele.” In theory and on the surface, this is a great idea. Aboriginal students can look for post-secondary programs in environments that are designed with their cultural context in mind. However, I am wary of the accuracy of information provided. For example, in Ontario, Algoma University is still listed as Algoma University College more than a year after receiving their independent university charter. Shingwauk University, a First Nations-run university on the Algoma campus in Sault Ste Marie, isn’t even mentioned. One of the two links for Laurentian University (there should be several more including our new school of education, which includes a smudge room on site) is to something listed as “Native Style”, but takes you to a web-page describing my colleague Dr Hoi F. Cheu’s research in Bibliotherapy. While Bibliotherapy is fascinating, and I consider Dr Cheu a friend, it really doesn’t have much to do with the Indigenous experience on our campus.

I also wonder about the purpose and effect of such a website. While there may be positive aspects to being able to find institutions that publicize an integration, or at least an acceptance, of Aboriginal culture, the web-site also gives the impression that these are the only options for Aboriginal students. This implication is reinforced by the following statement and links:

For more information on programs and services available to all Canadians, please visit the following Web sites: Services for Canadians – Jobs, Workers, Training and Careers and Youth.

This section, like most of the Portal, includes a short “Did you know?” fact, sharing bits of trivia about Aboriginal culture and presence in Canada. On the Colleges and Universities pages today, you can find the following tidbit: