By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press
November 13, 2024
Manitoba’s newest scholarship fund is for First Nations students who want to join the health-care workforce.
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization, Business Council of Manitoba and provincial government are contributing a combined $450,000 on 150 new post-secondary awards over the next five years.
Grand Chief Jerry Daniels called the bursaries, 30 of which will be granted annually to students from SCO member nations, an important part of the political organization’s “health human resources strategy.”
“Our nations want more of our people delivering health care,” Daniels said in a news release Tuesday.
SCO has earmarked $150,000 for the project and automobile businessman Larry Vickar is donating $75,000. The province is matching those contributions to the Indigenous Education Awards.
Local business leaders have been donating to the business council’s awards program for more than two decades.
The new dollars are under the umbrella initiative that has historically raised and disbursed funds to Indigenous students from all over the province in all fields of study.
The business council is made up of members who are passionate about their province and want to make it a better place to work, live and invest, said Jesse Steckley, who oversees its Indigenous Education Awards program.
“That’s why reconciliation is on their agenda,” he said, noting Call to Action No. 92 in the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report.
The 2015 report put onus on the corporate sector in calling for equitable access to jobs, training and educational opportunities for Indigenous people.
Advanced Education Minister Renée Cable said she hopes Tuesday’s announcement is a blueprint for future collaborations.
“This partnership will help ensure that there are more First Nations students in health-care, hopefully than we’ve ever had before,” Cable said.
The minister added the scholarships are not tied to books or tuition, so students can use the dollars for transportation or other needs.
Applications for the first round of scholarships for students registered in a recognized post-secondary institution in the province (including Yellowquill University College, a new addition) are open until May 31.
SCO, an advocacy organization representing 33 First Nations in southern Manitoba, indicated it intends to establish an endowment fund for future awards.
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maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca