UM granted 1M in funding from Rideau Hall Foundation for Bachelor of Education partnership
The Faculty of Education and Frontier School Division will use the funding over four years to deliver a community-based Bachelor of Education in 11 northern Manitoba Indigenous communities
The Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF) announced 12 new Indigenous-led partnerships focused on recruitment and retention of Indigenous teachers. This year’s investments by RHF, made possible with support from the Mastercard Foundation, total $8.6 million, including 1 million to the Manitoba Indigenous Teacher Education Partnership (MITEP) between the University of Manitoba Faculty of Education and Frontier School Division. The funding will be used over four years to deliver a community-based Bachelor of Education in 11 northern Manitoba Indigenous communities. This will significantly increase the number of qualified First Nation, Inuit and Métis educators in northern Manitoba.
Centering Indigenous knowledge and leadership
“Supporting Indigenous teacher education means much more than training teachers — it’s about nurturing Indigenous knowledge, language, and cultural continuity,” says Rachel Mishenene, RHF Director of the Indigenous Teacher Education Initiative and an Indigenous educator herself. “These projects are led by Indigenous communities who know best how to positively impact the next generation of educators to teach in ways that are deeply connected to identity, and honour distinct worldviews and practices.”
Building on past experience and addressing community needs
Associate Dean of Indigenous Education at the Faculty of Education, Marti Ford, and Frontier School Division Chief Superintendent, Tyson MacGillivray, collaborated on the proposal and played pivotal roles in securing funding for this programming.
Ford’s own experience motivated her to find a solution for teacher shortages in remote communities, “When I was working at Frontier School Division we were unable to hire enough qualified teachers to fill all teaching positions. The people teaching the students required a lot of mentoring and support, and I felt that we needed to provide training to enable them to build their skills. Offering a B.Ed. program to local people would not only fill a need but also provide a long-term solution to the problem.”
This initiative builds on recent successes, including the graduation of the Anisininew Post-Baccalaureate cohort from St. Theresa Point last fall. With a similar strategy, Ford’s hope is to train local people to be teachers in the community so they do not have to leave their families and children in order to get a degree in education.
19 Indigenous teachers from St. Theresa Point comprise the Ansininew Cohort in Inclusion and Reconciliation (Faculty of Education)
Commitment to reconciliation and educational equity
Dean Jan Stewart has championed many Indigenous programming initiatives at the Faculty of Education and is continuously working to forge educational partnerships with Indigenous communities. “We are deeply grateful to the Rideau Hall Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation for their generous support of the Manitoba Indigenous Teacher Education Partnership. This funding represents a transformative opportunity to empower Indigenous communities through education. By supporting local teacher training in northern Manitoba, we are not only addressing critical staffing needs but also honouring Indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultures. This partnership reflects our commitment to Reconciliation and educational equity, and we are proud to walk alongside Frontier School Division in this important work.”