STRENGTHENING Métis culture and heritage

Students of Métis heritage, such as Janine Landry, are finding Lakehead University to be an increasingly supportive environment in which to live and learn.

For the past year, Landry and others at Lakehead University have been implementing a number of recruitment, retention, and research initiatives that have come about as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Métis Nation of Ontario and Lakehead University, signed in September 2011.

For Landry, a fourth-year student of Indigenous Learning at Lakehead, the MOU is creating many new opportunities on campus to celebrate her culture. "It's important for people to know where they come from," she says, "It builds a sense of identity and with identity comes confidence and being comfortable in your own skin."

The MOU covers key areas such as increasing Métis participation in, and access to, Lakehead programs and services, engaging in joint Métis research initiatives, promoting Métis content across the curriculum, and fostering ongoing involvement in the development and implementation of Lakehead's new Faculty of Law, which will open in fall 2013.

Lakehead University is committed to meeting the educational aspirations of Canada's Aboriginal peoples and is focused on increasing its enrolment of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students. The implementation of the initiatives outlined in the MOU is being coordinated by the Office of Aboriginal Initiatives and Aboriginal Cultural and Support Services.

As of April 2012, there were approximately 1,140 Aboriginal students enrolled at Lakehead, including about 260 Métis. To put these numbers into perspective, there are about 73,000 Métis people in Ontario, which represents approximately 30% of the total Aboriginal population in Ontario. And, according to the 2006 Census, the Métis are the fastest growing segment of the Ontario population.

In April 2011, Lakehead University hosted a Research Rendezvous with the Métis community during which participants explored research projects currently under way and discussed research priorities. At the same time, the Métis Nation of Ontario, in partnership with Lakehead's Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, hosted a panel discussion that brought together lawyers, academics, and the Métis community to discuss current developments related to the recognition of Métis and their rights within Ontario.

Cameron Burgess, the Métis Nation of Ontario's Region 2 Councillor, believes that Lakehead University has an important leadership role to play in developing all Aboriginal youth, including Métis youth. He is excited about the fall 2013 opening of Lakehead's new Faculty of Law and the impact it will have on the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the region.

"Although Métis people were integral to the interaction between First Nations people and early European traders, their contributions to the development of the country have not been adequately recognized and valued," says Burgess. "This is beginning to change," he adds.

Lakehead's Acting Vice-Provost, Aboriginal Initiatives Yolanda Wanakamik was encouraged by the synergy that was generated at April's Research Rendezvous. The session was attended by about 30 Lakehead students, faculty, and staff from both campuses and 15 representatives from the Métis community and the Métis Nation of Ontario including Chris Paci, who manages the Education and Training division. "During breakout sessions participants discussed their shared research interests in the fields of lands, resources, and consultation, health and wellness, and education and training," says Wanakamik. "Lakehead identified many research funding opportunities and potential partnerships with the Métis community and is committed to delivering on the goals identified in the MOU. The Research Rendezvous is just the beginning of a longterm relationship based on respect, trust and mutual interest."

In November 2008, the Government of Ontario and the Métis Nation signed a Framework Agreement which recognizes the unique history, identity, and rights of Métis communities in Ontario and sets out a collaborative process for the parties to work together to build stronger Métis people, families, and communities. Lakehead University is contributing to this end, says Burgess, by reaching out to the Métis community and ensuring that students like Janine Landry are part of its vibrant academic community.