Are you interested in learning more about a career in IT? Join us for a presentation on our new Pathway to Information Technology (IT) Programs (rrc.ca/pit) on July 12 at 1pm or at 6pm. This is a unique opportunity for Indigenous students who have not had the opportunity to participate or succeed in post-secondary education due to social, economic, or cultural factors. This program will prepare you and increase your readiness for one of the three information technology programs offered by RRC Polytech:

• IT Operations (rrc.ca/ito)
• Business Information Technology (rrc.ca/bit)
• Information Security (rrc.ca/inf)

At the presentation, you will learn about:

1. What is Information Technology?
2. What is the Pathway to Information Technology Programs and its benefits?
3. Information about the three IT programs you can go into after completing the Pathway to Information Technology Programs
4. Supports and Services at RRC Polytech
5. How to Register for the program

To register for one of these information sessions, click below:

• July 12 at 1pm

• July 12 at 6pm

We look forward to seeing you there! If you are not able to attend either of these sessions, you can contact Jamie Chahine (Access Pathways Manager) jchahine@RRC.CA for information about the program.

Collision
Bi zi kwa daa dim (Anishinaabemowin)
Māmawītēnamãtōwin (Cree)
Thakakshkowan (Oji-Cree)
Tawahikawtayw (Michif)
Bohtake (Dakota) 
ᑐᓗᕐᑐ ᑦ Tulurqturq (Inuktut)

All these words are inviting you to an RBC Reaction by Collision event – a Celebration of Indigenous Cultures, Arts, Languages, and Entrepreneurship! Collide with culture, ideas, artists and innovation from an Indigenous lens.

The perfect precursor to your National Indigenous People’s Day and Summer Solstice festivities, this event features a jam-packed agenda with stellar musical performances (dance and instrumental) with local legends, intimate story-telling and teachings with Knowledge Keepers and Elders, an Indigenous maker’s market, community booths, and a special announcement from RBC and RRC Polytech’s School of Indigenous Education.

Monday, June 20 | 2:00 – 7 pm
Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, 319 Elgin Ave.

Thank you to our Sponsor

The School for Indigenous Education Reaction by Collision event is generously supported by RBC Future Launch.

Inspiring stories from RRC’s Indigenous Alumni

How do successful people get to where they are? What did that journey look like? What did they learn and how did they stay the course? What does it mean to be an Indigenous student in post-secondary?

The Stay the Course speaker series is a hand from one generation to the next, hosted by Carla Kematch, Manager, Truth and Reconciliation and Community & Engagement. Incredible RRC Indigenous Alumni share their experiences on their journey to success. Advancing Indigenous achievement at RRC means listening to Indigenous stories. This is just one of the many ways we can embed the efforts of Truth and Reconciliation in our daily lives.

Angelina Pelletier

Born and raised in Treaty 1 Territory, Angelina Pelletier is a passionate community advocate who specializes in educating and empowering young people with a focus on systems change. Currently, she is transitioning from a leadership position with a Housing First program, Wi Che Win at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, to a new position as Manager of Cities, Communities Building Youth Futures with a national non-profit organization, Tamarack Institute.

Her education is rooted in legal administration, human rights and community economic development and she is a trained facilitator in Intergroup Dialogue through the department of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. Angelina has volunteered her time as a note-taker for students with disabilities at the University of Winnipeg, as youth mentor for newcomer and refugee children at N.E.E.D.S. Centre and sat as Treasurer for the Indigenous Student Council at Red River College Polytech.

More recently, she sat as one of two Indigenous representatives as Director and Secretary of the Board at Main Street Project, and currently sits on the Board of Directors at Inspired By Wonder Inc. As a daughter, auntie and mother, family is what grounds Angelina both in her work and identity and is her biggest motivator in executing systemic change. She is the proud mother of two beautiful children, Tayshaun and Aminata and life partner to Abdou.

What: FREE Indigenous IT Youth Camp
When: Thursday, May 12 | 9:30 to 2:30 PM
Where: Virtual on MS Teams (Platform)
Who: Indigenous Youth ages 14-18-years-old

Join us at Red River College Polytechnic to explore what a career in Information Technology (IT) looks like, hear from Indigenous working in IT, and learn to build a simple website.  Learners will explore innovation in Canada and create a website (using Glitch.com) about their chosen recipient of the Governor General Innovation Award. 

Note: There are capacity limits for this event, please register as soon as possible to save your seat.

RRC Polytech’s annual Pow Wow returns in-person! Please join us to celebrate Indigenous students as we send them off on a continued journey to success. Ray ‘CoCo’ Stevenson will lead us as Master of Ceremonies in a day filled with ceremony, dancing, drumming, singing, food, vendors, special messages from leadership, and of course, honouring graduates.

Host Drum: Walking Wolf
Arena Director: Marcel French

Pow Wow 2022
Friday May 6, 2022
Notre Dame Campus, North Gym

10:00 am – Pipe Ceremony
12:00 pm – Grand Entry  
2:00 pm – Graduate Awards Presentation
4:30 pm – Feast

RRC Polytech Indigenous Students, please register here.

Dancers, drum groups, artists/makers – email Pow Wow planner Rhonda Monkman at rmonkman90@rrc.ca to register.

Thursday, April 28 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Indigenous Support Centre, Notre Dame Campus, F209

Take a break from studying and join Indigenous Student Supports to play board games! There will be pizza, chips, and pop as well as three door prizes to be won. We can’t wait to see you in-person. (Mask required, except when eating or drinking.)

Register by emailing Terri-Lynn at tlanderson@rrc.ca

Earlier this week, Miss Una Swan held a small pipe ceremony (watch her message) with students to honour and welcome in the Spring Equinox, a day where day and night are equal. Not only is the Spring Equinox recognized by many Indigenous cultures ceremoniously as new beginnings and rebirth, but there are many teachings and stories about Spring.

We’ve pulled together a few tales and teachings on the blog. (Click on the title to watch.)

Sisikwun: The Rattle by Wilfred Buck

Wilfred Buck is a local Elder who shares many teachings, including star teachings. Here he shares a teaching about Spring constellations and the rattle.

K’i Tah Amongst the Birch (National Film Board of Canada)

Filmmaker/activist Melaw Nakehk’o has spent the pandemic with her family at a remote land camp in the Northwest Territories, “getting wood, listening to the wind, staying warm and dry, and watching the sun move across the sky.” In documenting camp life—activities like making fish leather and scraping moose hide—she anchors the COVID experience in a specific time and place.

The Lake Winnipeg Project (National Film Board of Canada)

As our lakes and rivers begin to thaw and we all start to take advantage of these gifts, it’s important to know the context and history of our lakes and Indigenous communities. We also recommend viewing this series.

The Lake Winnipeg Project is a four-part documentary series that calls attention to stories of ingenuity and resilience in four diverse communities surrounding Lake Winnipeg, at a time when many external forces are imposing change.

Research Interviews with Red River College Polytechnic

We are looking for Indigenous students that are currently enrolled, or those who have recently graduated from the Pathways to Nursing, Nursing Baccalaureate, or Licences Practitioner Nursing programs at Red River College Polytechnic. Those who choose to participate will be asked to complete a short anonymous survey and participate in a 1-hour one-on-one interview with the researcher.

The Purpose of the Interviews

The interviews will assist in developing the parameters for the Bill and Shirley Loewen Indigenous Nursing annual bursary. The parameters will be co-developed by the Truth and Reconciliation – Indigenous Strategy and Business Development Department, Dean – School of Indigenous Education, Department of Advancement and Development, and the Student Financial Aid and Bursaries. 

The fund purpose:

This fund will support Indigenous students attending the Pathways to Nursing program and related Nursing programs at RRC Polytech. The fund’s goal is to ensure that Indigenous students who want to devote their careers to Nursing have all the support needed to graduate and gain their desired employment. 

The fund will support all Indigenous student needs, including but not limited to:

• student support (educational and mental), 

• equipment required for successful completion of the program, 

• external accommodations, 

• scholarship/awards/bursaries (the goal is to provide full tuition support), 

• room and board.

Questions on the research or interested in participating?

Please contact Kyra De La Ronde

kdelaronde2@rrc.ca

Thursday, March 31 – 7:00pm – 8:30pm

After a successful first bingo family fun night, Indigenous Student Supports is back with a another night of online bingo! Feel free to join with your family, friends and classmates.

We will do four rounds of full cards for each direction (North, South, East, West) and there are prizes to be won! The grand prize is an incredibly cozy Sherpa lined with fleece exterior bedroom set from Dene Cree Designs. The event will be hosted via Microsoft Teams. Everything for this event is online – no dabbers required.

Inspiring stories from RRC’s Indigenous Alumni

How do successful people get to where they are? What did that journey look like? What did they learn and how did they stay the course? What does it mean to be an Indigenous student in post-secondary?

The Stay the Course speaker series is a hand from one generation to the next, hosted by Carla Kematch, Manager, Truth and Reconciliation and Community & Engagement. Every month, incredible RRC Indigenous Alumni share their experiences on their journey to success. Advancing Indigenous achievement at RRC means listening to Indigenous stories. This is just one of the many ways we can embed the efforts of Truth and Reconciliation in our daily lives.

Dean Davis

Dean Davis is Indigenous from Ebb and Flow First Nation who has worked in Winnipeg as a technologist in many industries over the past 30 years. These industries include Repair/Calibration Services, Telecom, Medical Devices and the latest Aerospace which he hopes to be the last. He is a graduate of a two-year engineering technology program at Red River College.

His education and work experience has developed him into a Configuration Control Specialist in the Helicopter Division at Standard Aero.