Six Nations Polytechnic in Ohsweken, Ontario is now able to offer Indigenous language university degrees, the first Aboriginal-run school in the province to be able to do so without having to partner with a university.
Ministers from the Ontario government made the announcement earlier this week. The new initiative lines up with one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action — that post-secondary schools offer degrees and programs in Indigenous languages.
Now, students can complete their degrees in Cayuga and Mohawk closer to home and, hopefully, this is one step to preserving Ogwehoweh languages.
The institute’s president, Rebecca Jamieson, told the Hamilton Spectator that the degree and language programs are part of a path to reconciliation and will “ensure our Indigenous languages do not disappear from the earth.”
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