Indigenous Education

News and Events

Orange Shirt Day 2024

September 20, 2024

Phyllis Webstad, whose orange shirt was taken away when she attended Residential School in the 1970s, started the Orange Shirt movement by sharing her story. Since 2013, the Orange Shirt Society has raised awareness of the impacts of Residential Schools and the work Survivors and their families do to heal Indigenous communities. September 30 has been declared the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and recognized as Orange Shirt Day to honour Residential School Survivors, their communities, and the children who never came home.

In honour of Orange Shirt Day, RRC Polytech has partnered with Anishininew artist and alumna Erin Ringland to create an original Orange Shirt design and with Red Rebel Armour, owned and operated by alumnus Sean Rayland-Boubar, to produce the Orange Shirts.

The design features a family of loons, birds that are common all over Turtle Island and carry with them Teachings from many different Indigenous communities. Her inspiration for the design was drawn from a story that came out of Maine a few years ago in which a loon had killed an eagle to protect its chicks.

The gathering of loons and the lengths they’re willing to go to protect their families is a demonstration of how strong the bond is between parent and child. It’s a testament to the strength of community and family – it’s a statement on how powerful love is, and how that love can protect and heal our families from trauma.

Erin Ringland, Digital Media Design, 2017

The Orange Shirts will be available through the Campus Store and all proceeds from Orange Shirt sales go to the Mínwastánikéwin Truth and Reconciliation Award when applications open for 2025.

Show your support for Truth and Reconciliation by wearing the RRC Polytech Orange Shirt on Friday, September 27 on campus.

Purchase your 2024 Orange Shirt through the Campus Store.

Learn more about Phyllis Webstad and the Orange Shirt Society on their website.

Read more about Erin and this year’s Orange Shirt design on the Alumni Blog.

Truth and Reconciliation and Community Engagement Week 2024

August 27, 2024

All students, staff and faculty are invited to participate in RRC Polytech’s sixth annual Truth and Reconciliation and Community Engagement Week, September 23 to September 27. Every year, RRC Polytech hosts Truth and Reconciliation-focused programming for all members of the College community to gather, learn, and prepare to reflect on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, otherwise known as Orange Shirt Day, on September 30, 2024.

Through in-person events and self-guided learning offered by departments across the College, you’ll deepen your knowledge and understanding of Canada’s true history, Indigenous cultures, and spark conversations and take action in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation.

We look forward to fostering learning, healing and building stronger relationships.

Fill out this form to register for events. Please read descriptions – some events may have alternate registrations.

Please stay tuned to this page for session updates. Reminders for new events will be added to Staff/Student News.

If you have any questions, please email Terri-Lynn, Truth and Reconciliation Coordinator at tlanderson@rrc.ca.

Monday, September 23

Exchange District Campus

Fall Equinox Celebration
10:00 – 1:00 | The Roundhouse Auditorium (E240)

The Fall Equinox is one of the four transitory events that marks the changing of the seasons, along with the Winter and Summer Solstices and the Spring Equinox. The Fall Equinox is the moment in the Earth’s cycle when the Sun crosses the equator into the southern hemisphere. In the Fall, we harvest our crops and prepare for the long winter when the land is protected by a blanket of snow.

To acknowledge the changing of the season, we come together with Ceremony and a Feast. The morning will start with a Pipe Ceremony led by Elder-in-Residence Paul Guimond and Knowledge Keeper-in-Residence Richard Curé and will close out with a Feast.

No registration is required.

Elements of Indigenous Style at RRC Polytech
Robin Ringland
3:00 – 4:30 | P107

Elements of Indigenous Style by Gregory Younging, published in 2018, is the world’s first attempt to standardize writing about Indigenous topics within the context of English-written publications – it is an attempt to articulate Indigenous values and concepts in the English-speaking and -written world when Indigenous languages and ways of knowing the world have, historically, evolved outside the Western scope of understanding. Developing and integrating Indigenous style into contemporary publishing practices is one way we decolonize the way we talk about Indigenous Peoples and re-evaluate the ways in which we express meaning. In the spirit of journalism, we ask: how do we truthfully express truths when many truths are true at once?

Robin Ringland is a Two-Spirit Status Anishininew (Oji-Cree person) with familial roots in Garden Hill First Nation, Treaty 5 territory. She is a Communications Officer with College and Public Relations at RRC Polytech and has been in her role for two years since graduating Creative Communications. Robin is currently working on an internal style guide for RRC Polytech to ensure that written work the College produces can authentically involve Indigenous perspectives, storytelling, and Oral Tradition.

Notre Dame Campus

Living Library
11:00 – 12:30 | Library

You will hear from Indigenous storytellers what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action mean to them and how they incorporate Indigenous teachings and principles into the workplace. The Living Library format is interactive by nature, involving small-group discussions between a storyteller and participants in a safe and supportive environment. Groups of 5-6 participants will spend 15 minutes with a speaker, rotating through different storytellers.

Storytellers include Jamie Wilson, Michael Lachance, Jessica Bloomfield, Corey Whitford, and Rebecca LaRiviere.

Register here.

Cedar Bath Teachings
Ivana Yellowback
11:30 – 12:30 | A137

Ivana Yellowback is a member of Manto Sipi Cree Nation (Treaty 5) and a relative to Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (Treaty 6 ), and was born and raised in the inner-city of Winnipeg, Manitoba (located in Treaty 1).  

Ivana is an Associate Producer, Writer, Cree host, and English co-host of Eagle Vision’s 7th GEN. She also acted as principal characters in both DJ Burnt Bannock and Little Bird, all of which are available to watch on APTN Lumi. Ivana is also a co-creator, host, writer, and executive producer of the Indigenous supernatural podcast show: Creepee Tepee.  

Ivana completed a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree with an Honours in Sociology at the University of Winnipeg, and a Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of Manitoba. She is currently working on her Masters of Social Work degree at the University of Manitoba.  

Along with her film work, and academics, Ivana is an Executive Training Facilitator with Indigenous Leadership Development Institute Inc., an Executive Board Member of Sākihiwē Festival, a Registered Social Worker with the Manitoba College of Social Workers, and an Action Therapist. She is also a co-creator of the venture: miteh atôskê (heart work), which provides various trainings, workshops, and healing programming through individual and group counselling through a two-eyed seeing, and Indigenous-based lens. Lastly, Ivana is a traditional hand-drum and rattle singer of the family group: Kind Hart Women Singers.

Métis History & Culture
Shirley Delorme-Russell
12:00 – 1:00 | The Indigenous Support Centre (F209)

Join Shirley for a brief history of the Red River Métis. This will include the birth of the Métis Nation, important periods in history, and foundational cultural knowledge – like the Red River Jig!

Shirley Delorme-Russell (Aboriginal Languages 2007) is a proud Métis woman and humble Anisinaabkwe currently at the University of Manitoba as an Indigenous Librarian Intern and is earning her Master’s of Library & Information Studies from the University of Alberta.

At RRC Polytech, she was on the R-Crew and the Student Association. Trained as teacher and living life as history nerd, Shirley was the Instructor of Métis Culture & Education at the Louis Riel Institute and a teacher in Winnipeg School Division.

Jordan’s Principle and Spirit Bear
Brenda Still
2:00 – 3:00 | The Indigenous Support Centre (F209)

Learn about the origin of Jordan’s Principle and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #3:

We call upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle.

All levels of government must implement Jordan’s Principle, a policy which is used to resolve jurisdictional disputes within governments over the required funds for government services provided to Aboriginal children.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

In this session, you will learn how to engage with the 94 Calls to Action through the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society resources. The session will explore the discrepancy of funding for First Nations children living on reserve dating back to Residential Schools and the important role Canadian children have in reducing disparity in social funding for children in Canada.

You will be invited to make a heart marker to for the gardens at RRC Polytech for Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams.

Land Acknowledgement Workshop
Marilyn Dykstra
4:30 – 5:30 | The Indigenous Support Centre (F209)

You will learn how to facilitate a session with your students on how to write a personal reconciliatory land acknowledgment. You will focus on areas where they have lived, worked, and played and learn about the Indigenous communities and treaties within those areas.  Once you have done that, you will choose an Indigenous nation to focus on from one of the territories you have resided within to learn about. Investigate what a community is asking for on their reconciliatory path and how to integrate Indigenous perspectives into the ways in which you acknowledge the land and the people that are part of it.

Tuesday, September 24

Re-Search, Storytelling, & Humanizing How We Come to Know
Dr. Kathy Absolon
1:00 – 2:30 | Virtual

Dr. Kathy Absolon is the Director of the Centre for Indigegogy at Wilfred Laurier University. She has a PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. The Centre for Indigegogy offers programming for Indigenous Educators’ Certificate in Indigegogy and Decolonizing Certificate for educators. The Centre for Indigegogy offers experiences for learning steeped in Ceremony, Circle Work and Medicines. 

Click here to add the meeting to your calendar.

Exchange District Campus

Living Library
12:00 – 1:30 | Library

You will hear from Indigenous storytellers what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action mean to them and how they incorporate Indigenous teachings and principles into the workplace. The Living Library format is interactive by nature, involving small-group discussions between a storyteller and participants in a safe and supportive environment. Groups of 5-6 participants will spend 15 minutes with a speaker, rotating through different storytellers.

Storytellers include Jamie Wilson, Jessica Bloomfield, Zach Unrau, Brittany Ross, and Sharon Bear.

Register here.

A look at the National Inquiry into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (and Two Spirit people)
Dr. Karine Duhamel
12:00 – 1:00 | The Roundhouse Auditorium (E240)

Dr. Karine Duhamel (she/her) is an Anishinaabe historian and a Status member of Opwaaganasiniing (Red Rock Indian Band) in northwestern Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education, a Master’s degree and PhD in History.

She served as Director of Research for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) from 2018 to the end of its mandate in 2019. In 2021, she was awarded the Bruce and Lis Welch Community Dialogue Award through the Simon J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University for her work with the Inquiry. In 2022, she joined the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada as Director of Indigenous Strategy, working to implement the three federal research funding agencies’ strategic plan to better support Indigenous research and research training in Canada.

In addition to her role as a public servant, she is an official Speaker for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, an Indigenous fellow at Simon Fraser University, and a Research Affiliate of the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba.

The Matriarch Circle
2:00 – 4:00 | The Roundhouse Auditorium (E240)

These sessions will provide experiences specifically for instructors to learn how they can incorporate circle work and Indigenous ways of teaching and learning into their learning activities/instructional practice.

Kisa MacIsaac is proud to be Metis – her family on her maternal side is from the community Lac Ste Anne, Alberta – Treaty 6 – and her roots trace back to Red River Settlements in both St. Francois Xavier and St. Boniface. She also has Scottish/European ancestry and honours all her grandparents. Kisa is a mother, educator, and artist with 20 years working with children and families in community; she is now proud to teach Early Childhood Education here at Red River College Polytechnic, sharing her love for land-based curriculum and arts education.

Rebecca LaRiviere is a member of the Métis Nation with family ties to St. Norbert and St Rose du Lac, and now resides in St. Boniface on Treaty 1 territory. She has spent her career learning from and working with Indigenous caregivers on and off-reserve across Turtle Island by providing training and professional development, promoting collaboration and peer mentorship, and advocating for the strengths that already exist in community. Rebecca seeks to bridge Indigenous worldview and traditional childrearing practices with contemporary child development research.

Innovating with Sweetgrass: A Two-Eyed Seeing Approach
Branden Wyryha
2:00 – 3:00 | P107

Gain an understanding of the Two-Eyed Seeing Approach and its application in harmonizing Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific methods in the context of cuisine. In this session, you will explore the development and potential applications of sweetgrass extract and develop insights into integrating traditional Indigenous Medicines respectfully and innovatively in contemporary frameworks. You’ll engage in a reflective discussion about the Two-Eyed Seeing Approach to foster a deeper understanding of its role in reconciliation and innovation.

Branden Wyryha is the Acting Research Coordinator at the Prairie Research Kitchen (PRK). He graduated from RRC Polytech’s Chemical and Bioscience Technology Co-op program (Science Laboratory Technology) in 2014 and later earned a B.Sc. in Bioanthropology from the University of Winnipeg. Branden values the collaborative environment at PRK, where he contributes to applied research projects aimed at developing innovative solutions to industry challenges. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the province on hikes with his two dogs.

Notre Dame Campus

A Collaborative Approach to Decolonizing the Collective Agreement
Nora Sobel
11:00 – 12:00 | The Immersion Room

By the end of this session, you will be able to identify key concepts in our current collective agreement that need decolonization work, explain the process of a collaborative approach for decolonization discussion and implementation, and apply this collaborative approach to decolonization work in other areas of the organization.

The session will provide a guided reflection with questions so you can apply the session information to your own academic or administrative environment.

A Two-Eyed Seeing Approach to Assessments & Evaluations
Joanna White
12:00 – 1:00 | The Indigenous Support Centre (F209)

In this session, you will learn how to approach assessments and evaluations using Two-Eyed Seeing, which is a way of perceiving things from both Indigenous and Eurowestern ways of teaching and learning.

Joanna White is the Indigenous Educational Developer in the Truth and Reconciliation and Community Engagement Department. She approaches her work by creating holistic and relational experiences for staff, faculty, and students to engage in to learn about Truth and Reconciliation and what this means for their professional practice or studies. 

Education – National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Sandra Bender
2:00 – 4:00 | The Indigenous Support Centre (F209)

Sandra Bender (she/her) is a lifelong human rights advocate and brings her passion for public education to her work. As a second generation Canadian of grandparents who came to this land as adult immigrants and refugees, she is a staunch Indigenous ally and strives to use her position of privilege to further understanding and reconciliation through outreach and education.

Sandra is a proud member of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, feminist, and neurodivergent, and believes in bringing an intersectional lens to every aspect of her life. Past work has included Indigenous land claims advocacy, work with the unhoused communities in Winnipeg and Atlanta, work with newly-arrived refugees, and advocacy with the local 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. Sandra holds several undergrad degrees and a Master’s, is an ex-opera singer, fitness & hiking enthusiast, and runs the music program at a church in downtown Winnipeg.

Wednesday, September 25

Exchange District Campus

Wilfred Buck (2024) documentary screening
1:00 – 4:00 | The Roundhouse Auditorium (E240)

He’s from the “fresh-out-of-the-bush, partly civilized, colonized, displaced people,” and he’s here to take us to the stars. Lisa Jackson’s portrait of Cree Elder Wilfred Buck moves between earth and sky, past and present, bringing to life ancient teachings of Indigenous astronomy and cosmology to tell a story that spans generations. Adapted from Buck’s rollicking memoir I Have Lived Four Lives, the film weaves together stories from his life, including his harrowing young years of displacement and addiction. Seamlessly fusing present-day scenes with cinematic re-enactments and archival footage, this intimate yet expansive documentary takes us on an inspiring journey to the space beyond, and to the spaces between us all.

The National Film Board of Canada

Join us for a screening of Wilfred Buck’s biographical documentary to learn more about his work and journey into Indigenous astronomy.

Notre Dame Campus

A Holistic Approach to Classroom Instruction and Learning Activities
Melinda Walden & Joanna White
11:00 – 1:00 | The Selkirk Lounge

In this session, you will have the opportunity to experience a holistic approach to both learning activities and classroom instruction. 

Melinda Walden is an instructor in the Early Childhood Education Workplace Program. She has been incorporating a holistic approach to instruction and is committed to Reconciliation by honouring, valuing and respecting Indigenous ways of teaching and learning.

Joanna White is the Indigenous Educational Developer in the Truth and Reconciliation and Community Engagement Department. She approaches her work by creating holistic and relational experiences for staff, faculty, and students to engage in to learn about Truth and Reconciliation and what this means for their professional practice or studies. 

Wiiji’idiwag Ikwewag – Indigenous Birth Helpers: Restoring Birthing Practices and Knowledges 
Misty Bear & Lorraine McLeod
11:00 – 12:00 | A137

Wiiji’idiwag Ikwewag provides culturally rooted teachings and practices that build confidence and promote the restoration of traditional birth practices, sacred family bonds and healthy relationships. We recognize that each family situation is unique, our customized approach respects the diversity of families and honours their personal values and beliefs.

Archives – National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Karen Ashbury & Lynn Jones
11:30 – 12:30 | The Indigenous Support Centre (F209)

Karen Ashbury is a Reference and Access Archivist at the NCTR. She manages and coordinates reference requests made to NCTR Archives, including requests made by Residential School Survivors and their families. Originally from Fort Frances, Ontario, Karen completed her Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology at Queen’s University. Her prior experience includes working as a collections manager for a small community museum and archives and with the National Museum of Bermuda. Prior to joining the NCTR, Karen worked as an archivist at the NWT Archives in Yellowknife, where she conducted research and was responsible for the coordination of reference requests made by residential school Survivors that attended residential schools in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Lynn Jones is an Inininiw (Cree) woman whose family comes from the First Nation of Manto Sakahikan (God’s Lake Narrows). She was born in Arborg, MB. and is the youngest sibling from a family of eight. She has worked in Manitoba Justice for the past 17 years in both the capacity of an Aboriginal Court Worker and most recently with Victim Services. Lynn will be graduating with her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba.

Thursday, September 26

Exchange District Campus

Red Dress Pin-Making Workshop
12:00 – 1:00 | P407 (Indigenous Support Centre)

Gerri-Lee Pangman (McPherson) is a member of Peguis First Nation, born and raised in the heart of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a wife, mother to two sons and two daughters and Kohkum to one grandson. 

On April 29, 2013, her sister Jennifer Dawn McPherson was murdered in Hanson Island, B.C. and her Aunt Jennifer Johnston was murdered in Winnipeg in 1980.

Gerri participates in community activities and programs, including facilitating weekly beading circles with other MMIWG2S families through Medicine Bear Counselling. She also facilitates beading circles in schools, universities, colleges, and community centers, and has traveled across Canada with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls to do Healing through beading sessions with MMIWG2S family members and staff of the Inquiry. 

Gerri has turned to and introduced her family to traditional Teachings and Ceremonies such as Sundance to aid in her healing journey and to break the cycle of colonization. Her vision is to continue raising awareness and holding institutions accountable in preventing more Indigenous women and girls from going missing or being murdered. She welcomes all to join her in her vision and encourages others to come back home to our traditional Ceremonies and ways of life.

About J.D.M. Indigenous Designs and Jennifer Dawn McPherson

Jennifer was well-known for her craftiness and creative ideas, so in 2013, Gerri and her older sister Kim created J.D.M. Indigenous Designs to honour Jennifer and keep her memory alive. They carry on her inspiration by creating beaded earrings, dreamcatcher ornaments during the Christmas holidays, stained glass, and red dress pins.

J.D.M. Indigenous Designs promotes awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S). They use art as a medium to express their spirit during their journey of healing while grieving the loss of their sister, auntie and other MMIWG2S in the community. On April 29, 2021, the 8th year anniversary of Jennifer’s death, they presented their first bursary to help four students from Ka Ni Kanichihk with $250 each.

Email Sara McIvor-Prouty at smcivor@rrc.ca to register.

Immersive Stories
2:00 – 3:00 | P107

The Immersive Stories Program is designed to give students, faculty, and staff a first-hand opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding about multi-layered socio-cultural identities and lived experiences. As outlined in our new Strategic Plan, this program is part of the College’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, and the pursuit of equity, diversity and inclusion in everything we do.

Participants will develop skills that will allow them to regularly check their personal, social, and cultural assumptions so that they can avoid making quick conclusions and judgments. This in turn will help to foster a diverse and inclusive College environment for students and faculty.

Each session in the Immersive Stories Program will involve a discussion with a member of our RRC Polytech community, during which they will share their unique lived experiences, and invite participant questions and dialogue. These conversations will provide participants an opportunity to gain insights into the lived experiences of our diverse community and will assist in becoming aware of our own biases.

Clint Ducharme will talk about certain aspects of his life from childhood to the present time, gaining a deeper understanding of his Métis heritage and seeking ways to share it in his family and with others. He will likely touch on themes of sustainability, land and nature stewardship, language, stereotypes and racism, and food as medicine.

Métis Beading Workshop
Jennine Krauchi
4:30 – 7:30 | The Skyfold Classrooms (E235, E236, and E237)

Jennine Krauchi is a Métis beadwork artist and designer who creates clothing and does replica work for many organizations such as the Manitoba Museum, Parks Canada, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as well as for other institutions in Scotland, France, and the United States.

Jennine teaches beadwork, quillwork, moccasin/mukluk making in schools and at festivals in Canada and Europe.

Beading kits will be provided.

Notre Dame Campus

Acak Wuskwun, Spirit Cloud – Indigenous Star Lore Planetarium Experience
Wilfred Buck
9:00 – 4:30 (1-hour sessions delivered every hour) | The South Gym

While researching Inninew star stories, Wilfred found a host of information which had to be interpreted and analyzed to identify if the stories were referring to the stars. Explore the cosmos and the history of the world through the stars in the night sky through the Indigenous star lore planetarium experience, Acak Wuskwun – or Spirit Cloud in Inninimowin.

Wilfred Buck is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. He obtained his B.Ed. & Post Bacc. from the University of Manitoba. As an educator, Wilfred has had the opportunity and good fortune to travel to South America, Central America, and Europe where he met, shared with, and listened to Indigenous Peoples from all over the world.

The Matriarch Circle
11:00 – 1:00 | The Selkirk Lounge

These sessions will provide experiences specifically for instructors to learn how they can incorporate circle work and Indigenous ways of teaching and learning into their learning activities/instructional practice.

Kisa MacIsaac is proud to be Metis – her family on her maternal side is from the community Lac Ste Anne, Alberta – Treaty 6 – and her roots trace back to Red River Settlements in both St. Francois Xavier and St. Boniface. She also has Scottish/European ancestry and honours all her grandparents. Kisa is a mother, educator, and artist with 20 years working with children and families in community; she is now proud to teach Early Childhood Education here at Red River College Polytechnic, sharing her love for land-based curriculum and arts education.

Rebecca LaRiviere is a member of the Métis Nation with family ties to St. Norbert and St Rose du Lac, and now resides in St. Boniface on Treaty 1 territory. She has spent her career learning from and working with Indigenous caregivers on and off-reserve across Turtle Island by providing training and professional development, promoting collaboration and peer mentorship, and advocating for the strengths that already exist in community. Rebecca seeks to bridge Indigenous worldview and traditional childrearing practices with contemporary child development research.

Culture and History Presentation – Manitoba Inuit Association
Gayle Gruben
12:00 – 1:00 | F209 (Indigenous Support Centre)

Gayle Grubin has been an artisan for 33 years creating traditional Inuit garments with furs and hides. She is Inuvialuk and from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the western Arctic. Gayle is proud to share her Inuvialuit culture and traditions with anyone willing to learn.

Two Spirit Drag Show
The Bannock Babes
5:00 – 7:30 | The Cave

The Bannock Babes are a collective of Indigenous drag artists based in Winnipeg. They blossomed in the spotlight in March 2019 and have since performed for the No Stone Unturned concert, Read by Queens at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and a mural unveiling by artist Peatr Thomas in St. Boniface. The Bannock Babes regularly raise funds for local charities, including the 2 Spirit Pow Wow. You may not see them making bannock, but these babes from three different provinces are hard to forget.

Friday, September 27

17 Sustainable Development Goals, 94 Calls to Action
Ginger Arnold & Stephanie Fulford
12:00 – 1:00 | Virtual

Join Ginger Arnold, Instructor in the School of Indigenous Education, and Stephanie Fulford, Sustainability Specialist for an online, 45-minute discussion on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Learn how the SDGs support Truth and Reconciliation, the College’s commitment to advancing the SDGs, and how Ginger has used the SDGs as a learning tool in the classroom. 

Notre Dame Campus

Red Dress Pin-Making Workshop
12:00 – 1:00 | F209 (Indigenous Support Centre)

Gerri-Lee Pangman (McPherson) is a member of Peguis First Nation, born and raised in the heart of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a wife, mother to two sons and two daughters and Kohkum to one grandson. 

On April 29, 2013, her sister Jennifer Dawn McPherson was murdered in Hanson Island, B.C. and her Aunt Jennifer Johnston was murdered in Winnipeg in 1980.

Gerri participates in community activities and programs, including facilitating weekly beading circles with other MMIWG2S families through Medicine Bear Counselling. She also facilitates beading circles in schools, universities, colleges, and community centers, and has traveled across Canada with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls to do Healing through beading sessions with MMIWG2S family members and staff of the Inquiry. 

Gerri has turned to and introduced her family to traditional Teachings and Ceremonies such as Sundance to aid in her healing journey and to break the cycle of colonization. Her vision is to continue raising awareness and holding institutions accountable in preventing more Indigenous women and girls from going missing or being murdered. She welcomes all to join her in her vision and encourages others to come back home to our traditional Ceremonies and ways of life.

About J.D.M. Indigenous Designs and Jennifer Dawn McPherson

Jennifer was well-known for her craftiness and creative ideas, so in 2013, Gerri and her older sister Kim created J.D.M. Indigenous Designs to honour Jennifer and keep her memory alive. They carry on her inspiration by creating beaded earrings, dreamcatcher ornaments during the Christmas holidays, stained glass, and red dress pins.

J.D.M. Indigenous Designs promotes awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S). They use art as a medium to express their spirit during their journey of healing while grieving the loss of their sister, auntie and other MMIWG2S in the community. On April 29, 2021, the 8th year anniversary of Jennifer’s death, they presented their first bursary to help four students from Ka Ni Kanichihk with $250 each.

Email Sara McIvor-Prouty at smcivor@rrc.ca to register.

Student Sweat Lodge
10:00 – 3:00 | The Medicine Wheel Garden

Students are invited to participate in a Sweat Lodge Ceremony hosted by Elder-in-Residence, Paul Guimond. Indigenous and non-Indigenous students will have the opportunity to connect spiritually through a Ceremonial Sweat Lodge, followed by a Feast. Please meet in F209 for 9:30am and walk together to the Medicine Wheel Garden to start preparing the site at 10am.

To register, please send an email to Sharon-Rose Bear at sbear40@rrc.ca with the following information: 

  • Name 
  • Student number 
  • Any dietary restrictions for the Feast 
Manitoba Metis Federation Mobile Office
11:00 – 3:00 | West Lot 4 – corner of Lorimer Ln. & Buhr Blvd.

Visit the Manitoba Metis Federation in their mobile office on September 27, 2024, to apply for or renew your Red River Métis Citizenship card, Harvester card, and more.

Contact citizenship@mmf.mb.ca for more information. No registration required.

Active Learning Builds Community for All
Peter Newbury & Jo-Anne Spencer
12:00 – 1:00 | FM28 + Virtual

Learn to analyze how familiar active learning strategies provide students with opportunities to practice new knowledge and skills and get feedback; list students’ knowledge, skills, and experiences that, if shared, would enhance the learning of other students and the instructor; and reshape familiar active learning strategies so that each student learns from the community and the community learns from each student

The Active Learning Community of Practice meets monthly to discuss challenges and opportunities of active learning. Since the September meeting occurs during Truth and Reconciliation Week, we will discuss ways in which active learning supports Indigenous ways of knowing and learning.

Add the meeting to your calendar.

Immersive Stories
12:00 – 1:00 | The Selkirk Lounge

The Immersive Stories Program is designed to give students, faculty, and staff a first-hand opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding about multi-layered socio-cultural identities and lived experiences. As outlined in our new Strategic Plan, this program is part of the College’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, and the pursuit of equity, diversity and inclusion in everything we do.

Participants will develop skills that will allow them to regularly check their personal, social, and cultural assumptions so that they can avoid making quick conclusions and judgments. This in turn will help to foster a diverse and inclusive College environment for students and faculty.

Each session in the Immersive Stories Program will involve a discussion with a member of our RRC Polytech community, during which they will share their unique lived experiences, and invite participant questions and dialogue. These conversations will provide participants an opportunity to gain insights into the lived experiences of our diverse community and will assist in becoming aware of our own biases.

Haley Pratt will be this session’s storyteller and she will discuss topics like the Indigenous experience in the workplace, supporting Indigenous students at college, discrimination, being an ally, and being proud of your identify.

Treaty 1 Anniversary – August 3, 2024

August 6, 2024

153 years ago, Treaty One was signed at Lower Fort Garry in 1871. Representatives of Britain and the Chiefs of seven First Nations: Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Long Plain First Nation, Peguis First Nation, Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, Sagkeeng First Nation, Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, and Swan Lake First Nation signed an agreement that allowed settlers to live on this land and opened the way for the subsequent Numbered Treaties.

The Treaties are still active today but throughout Canada’s history, the Treaties have not been wholly honoured by the state or understood by settlers. The result is, and has been, immeasurable harm against Indigenous Peoples—in the forms of Residential Schools, institutional discrimination, interpersonal violence, intergenerational trauma, and more.

In 2023, RRC Polytech raised the Treaty One flag, along with the Red River Metis flag and the RRC Polytech original Inclusive Pride flag, in recognition of the land we live on and the people that have been here since time immemorial.

Vic Savino, Director of Communications at Treaty One Nations, shared his story on the Alumni Blog last year, detailing his journey in connecting with his culture and engaging with Truth and Reconciliation.

Learn more about the Treaties:

Mino Bimaadiziwin – Living the Good Life at RRC Polytech

July 26, 2024

Mi – no Bi – MAH – di – zi – win: The Good Life

Over the course of three weeks in three-day blocks each week, staff and faculty at RRC Polytech had the opportunity to learn Anishinaabemowin and experience Anishinaabe ways of being with the guidance of gekinoo’amaaged, instructor, Corey Whitford of Sandy Bay First Nation and gichi-Anishinaabe, Elder, Paul Guimond of Sagkeeng First Nation.

Staff, now gikinoo’amawaaganag, or students, learned what it means to live authentically with the land, the seasons, and each other – what Anishinaabeg, the people, call Mino Bimaadiziwin, or the good life.

Whitford and Elder Guimond shared stories and memories, thoughts and feelings in a mix of Anishinaabemowin and English to expose students to the distinct cadences and inflections of either language. Much of Anishinaabe culture and history is rooted in the land, which Whitford heavily integrated into the course delivery – the pilot program was scheduled for early summer, so the Immersion Camp centred around the preparation for Sundance.

First week of camp included drumming and storytelling.

The first block comprised of storytelling and Teachings shared by Elder Guimond and Whitford to teach students about seasonal protocols associated with the six traditional Anishinaabe seasons and to associate Anishinaabemowin expressions with their meanings through experiential techniques, actions and gestures.

Whitford utilized the spaces at Notre Dame Campus to demonstrate that connection to space the language has – he guided students to the tiipii, or wigiyam, outside F Building and the Medicine Wheel Garden and the Sweat Lodge area, where Elder Guimond shared Teachings and histories about the traditional structures. Whitford outlined the next block deliveries in relation to the wigiyam and the Sweat Lodge, explaining how by the time the Immersion Camp came to a close, students will have helped prepare both a wigiyam and lodge for the Sundance in Sagkeeng First Nation in June.

“Corey taught us all the fundamentals of speaking, understanding the Anishinaabemowin alphabet and pronunciation, and the Teachings from Elder Paul about the wigiyam, the Buffalo Teachings, the Teachings about the Sweat Lodge, and Sundance Ceremony were incredible. The many sharing circles and discussions were community-building at its finest – we truly felt like family at the end of 9 days,” said Gerald Sereda, instructor.

Whitford coordinated several activities to relate the nature of Anishinaabe culture to participants – including the rope exercise, which he learned from an Inuk teacher. A thick rope is tied together at the ends to create a circle, which participants hold and lean back to create tension. A woman is lifted onto the rope, and walks around in a circle, touching the heads of the people holding the rope as she walks by. The exercise is meant to represent the strength that the community has, particularly men in the community, have and use and share to hold up the women in their lives.

Marie Rogge, instructor, says that the experience of walking the rope was spiritual and emotional.

“I was a bit speechless after stepping off the rope, but now wish I’d thanked the guys more and encouraged them to be strong for all the women in their lives – their grandmothers, mothers, wives or partners, daughters, friends, colleagues… Because we need each other to be all Creator meant us to be so partnerships, families, communities, colleges, businesses and nations can be strong and healthy,” said Rogge.

The second block comprised of harvesting the poles for the wigiyam.

The second block took place in Sagkeeng First Nation where students engaged in land-based learning and walked through raising a wigiyam. Students went out on the land to harvest cedar and birch before stripping the trunks of their branches, leaves and bark to prepare as poles, then returned to the Sundance grounds to set up the wigiyam under Whitford’s guidance.

Students returned to Sagkeeng First Nation for the third and final block, where they washed and prepared buffalo skulls for Sundance while learning the significance of the practice with two women from Sagkeeng.

“Participating in the washing of the buffalo skulls in preparation for Sundance felt incredibly special. Using cedar water to wash the skulls was a powerful and spiritual experience, one that almost defies words. I am on my own grieving journey, and being able to participate in this ceremony was impactful and healing for me,” said Haley Pratt, Navigation Coach.

The Immersion Camp closed with a Sweat Lodge Ceremony in the lodge that students helped build with Elder Guimond and Whitford.

Jonah Schroeder, a recent graduate of Whitford’s Introduction to Anishinaabemowin class this past spring, says that learning the language has been indispensable in creating new friends and the Immersion Camp was the perfect opportunity to practice the language with new learners.

“It feels good to be in a community of fellow language learners, with great diversity in our life journeys and in our individual knowledge of Anishinaabemowin. We all support each other and have a special place in the circle we share,” said Schroeder.

The third block comprised of building the wigiyam.

He shared that during one of his walks through downtown Winnipeg, he passed through Central Park, where he says is a lively hub of kids playing soccer and friends sharing stories in an assortment of languages. An Anishinaabe man and his wife seated at a picnic table said something to Schroeder in Anishinaabemowin, not expecting him to respond – instead, Schroeder gave him a friendly greeting: “Boozhoo, boozhoo! Aaniin ezhi-ayaayeg?” Hello, hello! How are you two?

The three struck up a conversation in a mix of English and Anishinaabemowin, discussing their families, their homes and communities; why the couple were in Winnipeg, and why Schroeder was learning the language.

Schroeder says they must have chatted for twenty minutes before the new friends parted ways.

“I have been trying to learn Anishinaabemowin for a few years on my own, but it is in community where the language really comes alive. We need to hear the sounds and feel the words. It opens doors…or perhaps better yet, it builds relationships – it creates family. At least, this has been my experience over and over again, and this story is but one example,” said Schroeder.

“Together, we all learned to motivate our activities using our relationality techniques –  we used our head to think; heart to feel;  and hands to do the task-at-hand; to present each activity in an Anishinaabe lens,” said Whitford.

Glossary

WordPronunciationTranslation
Anishinaabeah-nish-in-AH-bayperson
Anishinaabegah-nish-in-AH-bekpeople
Anishinaabemowinah-nish-in-AH-bay-mo-inthe language
Gekinoo’amaagedgeh-kin-OOH-(short pause)-ah-MAH-gedteacher, or instructor
Gichi-Anishinaabegih-chih-ah-nish-in-AH-bayold person, Elder
Gikinoo’amawaaganaggeh-kin-OOH-(short pause)-ah-MAH-gah-nawgstudent
Mino Bimaadiziwinmih-no bih-MAH-dih-zih-winthe Good Life
Wigiyamwih-gi-yahmtiipii
Aaniin ezhi-ayaayeg?ah-neen ezh-ih-(short pause)-ay-YAH-yeg?How are you? (plural/asking more than one person)

Moose Hide Campaign Day – May 16

May 16, 2024

This year, people from all walks of life are invited to participate in the Moose Hide Campaign Day on May 16, in-person in Victoria, B.C. or virtually from anywhere. The Moose Hide Campaign has scheduled a sunrise ceremony livestream, a general plenary livestream, multiple live virtual workshops, a livestream of the Walk to End Violence Against Women and Children in Victoria, B.C., and a fast-breaking ceremony livestream. Participants can register here.

MediaEdge Publishing is hosting a walk to end gender-based violence as part of the Moose Hide Campaign today to join in solidarity with similar walks organized all over the country. The walk in Winnipeg will start at the Human Rights Museum at 12pm and end at Louis Riel’s gravesite in St. Boniface.

Staff and students can pick up moose hide pins from either Indigenous Support Centre (F209 at NDC and P407 at EDC) to wear to show support of the campaign and as symbol of their promise to not perpetuate violence against women and children.

National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People – Sunday, May 5

May 3, 2024

The following message includes topics that may trigger strong emotions, especially for those with lived experiences. It is recommended that we all check in on ourselves and access the resources available to us to ensure we are taking good care of our mental health. For mental health and self-care resources, visit here.

The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People, otherwise known as Red Dress Day, is observed on Sunday, May 5.

Red Dress Day began with Jaime Black’s REDress Project, initiated in 2010, in which she hung red dresses in public spaces to represent the missing and murdered women, girls and Two Spirit people to honour their lives and their families.

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S) released their Final Report in June 2019. The report detailed over 2,380 accounts from family members, survivors of violence, experts and Knowledge Keepers during two years of evidence gathering. Two volumes of the report conclude that persistent human and Indigenous rights violations are the root cause of Canada’s high rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people.

Sections 11.1 – 11.2 call on educators across all levels to provide awareness to the public about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit people and about the issues and causes of violence they experience. In this digital age, we have the ability to spread the truth, but we are also at odds with misinformation borne from ignorance and racism. It is our duty to their families and communities to advocate for the truth of Canada’s complacency in crimes against Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people.

Many Indigenous organizations have additional programs that support the National Inquiry and education on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People like the Southern Chiefs’ Organization Inc. MMIWG2S and Violence Prevention.

This year, Giganawenimaanaanig, or the MMIWG2S+ Implementation Committee, will be speaking at Pow Wow on the impacts that loss has on Indigenous communities. Indigenous students and families who are the mourning the loss of loved ones will also be recognized for their perseverance and strength.

The flags at Notre Dame Campus and PGI will be lowered to half-mast on Friday and remain lowered through the weekend to pay respect to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People.

Moose Hide Campaign – Walk to End Gender-Based Violence, May 16

May 2, 2024

MediaEdge Publishing is hosting a walk to end gender-based violence as part of the Moose Hide Campaign on Thursday, May 16, 2024, to join in solidarity with similar walks organized all over the country.

The walk in Winnipeg will start at the Human Rights Museum at 12pm and end at Louis Riel’s gravesite in St. Boniface.

To register yourself or your company to join the Walk to End Violence, please send an email confirmation including name/company name and number of attendees to ashleyh@mediaedgepublishing.com before May 13.

Read more about the Moose Hide Campaign on their website.

Students and staff can pick up a moose hide pin in either of the Indigenous Support Centres at Notre Dame Campus (F209) and Exchange District Campus (P407) to demonstrate their commitment to ending gender-based violence.

Explore the World of Tech!

May 1, 2024

Wednesday, May 15 – Powered by IG Wealth Management

High school students are invited to come to RRC Polytech and explore the world of Information Technology! You will have the opportunity to explore sessions that focus on our programs Application Development and Delivery, Information Security, IT Operations, Data Science and Machine Learning, and Game Development. The day will also include a tour of RRC Polytech and panels of representatives currently working in the field.

9:30 AM to 3:00 PM

RRC Polytech – Roblin Centre – 160 Princess Street

Agenda

  • 9:30 AM – Welcome
  • 10:10 AM – Session A: Game Development
  • 11:20 AM – Session B: Pentesting
  • 12:20 PM – Lunch 
  • 1:30 PM – IT Panel
  • 2:30 PM – Campus Tour

Register here! Admission is free for all Indigenous students.

Social Innovation and Community Development: A Rundown

April 25, 2024

Do you want to bring your perspective to the decision-making level?

With an education in Social Innovation and Community Development, you can help generate community-based solutions to barriers, design a business plan to launch your future in entrepreneurship, and hone your expertise in policy-making to address systemic barriers at the institutional level.

If you’re committed to…

  • Life-long learning
  • Problem-solving
  • Adapting to challenges
  • Social justice and reconciliation
  • Innovative community solutions

… Social Innovation and Community Development can help you build the foundation you need to launch your career in creating positive social and economic impacts for communities at both the local and global scales. Whether you want to generate community-based solutions to barriers, become an entrepreneur, or effect change at the policy level, Social Innovation and Community Development can get you there.

Prepare for a Career in Social Innovation and Community Development

Social Innovation and Community Development has wide applications and specializations which you will explore in-depth in the first-year stream.

Once you finish the general first year, you can exit with a one-year certificate or continue into one of the two second-year specializations: Community Development or Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship. With Community Development, you can become an agent of change in communities experiencing barriers to development using community assets, promoting inclusion and participation at all levels, and understanding structural dynamics and ethical issues. With Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship, you can transform your values and passions into a venture that positively impacts the world.

First-Year Outcomes

Once you complete the first-year stream, you may exit with the one-year certificate to start your career early. You’ll be able to advise on and facilitate responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action; use business administrative skills to support, build, monitor, and report on economic development opportunities and initiatives; and apply communication techniques to mobilize and empower communities through facilitation, education, capacity building, and advocacy. The first year provides a strong foundation to start your career early, or to strengthen your direction once you choose a second-year specialization. The Indigenous Academic Advisor can help guide you on what course of action can best suit your career goals.

Careers in Community Development

Incorporates Indigenous worldviews to articulate economic and organizational goals – including mission, vision, and values.

Recognizes and interprets different governance structures, regulations, and Indigenous traditional knowledge systems to develop business models and philosophies within the Social Enterprise sector.

Creates business solutions to social problems by applying theory, models, and tools, along with innovative and critical thinking to enhance opportunities for Indigenous communities.

Potential roles could include:

  • Project coordinators
  • Program managers
  • Policy analysts in all levels of governments
  • Community developers
  • Political policy researchers and writers

Learn more about Community Development in the Catalogue.

Careers in Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship

Supports community planning by designing, implementing, and reporting on research conducted to map assets, assess needs, and monitor trends and new practices in community development

Work with communities to build and maintain social capital that supports socially-inclusive community ownership and teamwork.

Identifies funding sources to generate revenue for community development initiatives. Writes grant proposals to secure funds for various community initiatives.

Potential roles could include:

  • Business owners
  • Activists
  • Social responsibility managers in for-profit business
  • Customer relations and sales managers
  • Cultural program planners

Learn more about Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship in the Catalogue.

At-a-glance descriptions to help you know what to expect

Year 1

Term 1 (fours months)

  1. Communication Strategies: You will enhance your interpersonal skills, intercultural competence, and digital fluency by engaging in project-based activities that encourage critical thinking and collaboration.
  2. Computer Applications for Social Innovation: You will explore various current software applications supporting community development and social innovation, learning essential networking, collaboration, research, and project management tools alongside them.
  3. Indigenous Knowledge and Leadership: You will on Indigenous community practices, exploring traditional knowledge systems, protocols, ceremonies, relationships with the natural environment, worldviews, leadership structures, and international agreements on a local, federal, and global scale.
  4. Foundations of Social Innovation: This course provides an understanding of how new ideas are generated, developed, and applied to address social inequality through community-based initiatives, introducing you to various social enterprises and community development agencies, while emphasizing values, principles, concepts, and strategies for effecting change.
  5. Financial Literacy: This course will introduce you to different banking products, budget creation techniques to strengthen their financial knowledge and skills – teaching you how to manage income, personal debt, and track expenses.
  6. Project Management for Social Innovation and Community Development: This course provides the fundamental aspects and principles of project planning including initiating, planning, executing and controlling a project from start to finish, on budget and on time.

Term 2 (four months)

  1. Financial Documentation: In this course, you will learn fundamental accounting principles used in community development and social entrepreneurship, including budgets, cash flow projections, monthly financial statements, and annual reports.
  2. Communication for Social Innovation: You will further develop their communication skills in social innovation and community development by mastering professional, inclusive, collaborative, and empathetic communication techniques across various written and spoken channels to effectively engage diverse audiences.
  3. Social Innovation Capstone: You will be matched with a community organization to undertake a project addressing the client’s challenge, providing work-integrated experience and an opportunity to work closely with a potential employer.
  4. Applied Economics: You will be introduced to different perspectives on, and examples of economic reconciliation, and throughout this course, you will develop your own understanding of reconciliation.

Elective Courses

Additionally, you may choose elective courses to build a learning plan suitable to your career goals:

  • Accounting Fundamentals
  • Financial Accounting
  • Introduction to Canadian Business
  • Research Methods
  • Introduction to Supply Chain Management
  • Business Law
  • Organizational Behaviour
  • Communication Skills for Business and Applied Arts 1
  • Accounting Fundamentals
  • Financial Accounting
  • Introduction to Canadian Business
  • Research Methods
  • Introduction to Supply Chain Management
  • Business Law
  • Organizational Behaviour
  • Communication Skills for Business and Applied Arts 1
  • Anishinaabemowin Culture and Language 1
  • Anishinaabemowin Culture and Language 2
  • Conversational Anishinaabemowin
  • Business Mathematics
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Marketing Foundations
  • Project Management
  • Basic Project Management

Year 2

Terms 3 & 4 (Community Development)

Term 3

  1. Communications for the Workplace: You will apply speaking, writing, and collaboration strategies to get the job, adjust to the job, and develop long-term career goals.
  2. Community and Economic Development: You will explore local examples of Community Development initiatives through guest speakers and field trips, and you will complete a multi-course project with an opportunity to develop the skills required to plan, organize, and facilitate a community event.
  3. Working Across Differences: You will examine the mechanics of oppression and privilege, and various learning techniques that help us work together more equitably, inclusively, and respectfully as allies and agents of change.
  4. Facilitation in Community Development: You will learn facilitation techniques including the ability to set objectives, design and plan empowering group sessions and meetings, lead groups to work together in collaborative ways and finally to gather feedback to evaluate community gatherings, workshops and other types of community meetings.
  5. Community Development Capstone 1: Teams will consult with organizations, define the project, design a plan for completion, assign responsibilities, monitor progress, and present the completed project to the CD organization, the class, and invited guests. The project will provide you with work-integrated experience and an opportunity to work closely with a potential employer while gaining transferable experience in the community development field.
  6. Human Resources and Operations Management: You will study the activities and functions of community development organizations and explore ways to analyze common problems, manage strategic planning, and create a positive culture in a flexible organization.

Term 4

  1. Current Trends and Best Practices in Community Development: You will study the activities and functions of community development organizations and explore ways to analyze common problems, manage strategic planning, and create a positive culture in a flexible organization.
  2. Funding Community Initiatives: You will expand the skills required to participate in the full cycle of funding proposals, including defining and documenting business models, responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), maintaining organizational transparency and accountability, and negotiating with financial institutions and project stakeholders.
  3. Healthy and Sustainable Communities: You will be introduced to the universally accepted determinants and models of human health and the health of the planet. The course will introduce various schools of thought about creating healthy and sustainable communities through design and development.
  4. Governance Structures: You will be introduced to a range of governance models traditionally adopted in community development organizations. This focus will expand to incorporate innovative governance models used in social innovation organizations.
  5. Community Development Capstone 2: You will be matched with a community development organization, or coalition of organizations, which will serve as mentors for the project and receive the project design for their own use. The team will define the project, design a plan for completion, assign responsibilities, monitor progress, and present the completed project to the organizations, the class, and invited guests.
  6. Research and Managing Projects: You will explore human resources functions and operations management using examples from community development and social enterprise settings.

Terms 3 & 4 (Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship)

Term 3
  1. Communications for the Workplace: You will apply speaking, writing, and collaboration strategies to get the job, adjust to the job, and develop long-term career goals.
  2. Social Enterprise: You will explore the meaning and purpose of social enterprise, including the origins, structures, scope, principles, and potential, using examples of social enterprise for illustration.
  3. Design Thinking for Social Innovation: You will learn to place the needs and interests of our ecosystem at the centre of the process and why this is essential to success in social innovation, how to cultivate creative confidence in yourself, your colleagues, your clients, and the community.
  4. Human Resources and Operations Management: You will explore human resources functions and operations management using examples from community development and social enterprise settings.
  5. Marketing Principles: You will be introduced to marketing principles including primary and secondary markets, demographics, psychographics, messaging, brand identity, marketing strategies, and marketing campaigns.
Term 4
  1. Governance Structures: You will be introduced to a range of governance models traditionally adopted in community development organizations. This focus will expand to incorporate innovative governance models used in social innovation organizations.
  2. Capstone Project for Social Entrepreneurship: You will work in small teams matched with a social enterprise (SE) and will build or improve an organizational process, project, or infrastructure determined by the needs of the SE. Using current project management tools and procedures, teams will define the project, design a plan for completion, assign responsibilities, monitor progress, and present the completed project to the SE, the class, and invited guests.
  3. Finance: You will explore financial management in order to develop the financial infrastructure to launch a social enterprise.
  4. Marketing Campaigns: You will plan a marketing campaign, set realistic and motivating campaign goals, launch the campaign, define the marketing metrics to track the campaign goals and measure the performance of the campaign.
  5. Customer Relations and Sales: You will learn how to set up and use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to store customer and prospect data, track customer interactions, and manage customer relationships.

Elective courses

Term 4 of Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship includes a selection of electives to help shape the foundation for your upcoming career:

  • Introduction to Canadian Business
  • Research Methods
  • Introduction to Supply Chain Management
  • Business Law
  • Organizational Behaviour
  • Client Relationships
  • Impact of Climate Change on Communities
  • Conflict Resolution for Community Development
  • An Introduction to Anishinaabemowin
  • Conversational Anishinaabemowin
  • Project Management

Check out the Catalogue Pages for Social Innovation and Community Development (first year), Community Development, and Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship for complete details on each of the program courses. The Indigenous Academic Advisor can help you build an academic plan that will suit your future goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Social Innovation and Community Development cost?

The total cost of Social Innovation and Community Development for the first year is about $7,430. The prices are broken down into tuition ($5,175); books, laptop, and supplies ($2,000); and health and dental coverage ($255).

The second-year Community Development stream costs about $5,377, which is broken down into tuition ($4,877) and supplies ($500).

The second-year Indigenous Social Entrepreneurship stream costs about $5,377, which is broken down into tuition ($4,877) and supplies ($500).

For a two-year diploma, the total cost over two years will be about $12,807.

If you need help locating financial aid, you can connect with one of our Navigation Coaches or the Financial Aid Officer through the Indigenous Student Support Team. They can also help you navigate processes for awards, scholarships and bursaries, which you can start researching to help offset the cost of tuition.

Some Indigenous-specific and entrepreneurship-specific awards include:

  1. Business Council of Manitoba Indigenous Education Awards ($2,000+)
  2. Canada Post Indigenous Education Incentive Award ($2,000)
  3. Indspire Post-Secondary Education Bursary Award (multiple)
  4. The Southern Chiefs’ Organization Every Child Matters Scholarship ($1,500)
  5. Manitoba Hydro Bursaries (multiple)

The Library and Academic Services have a laptop-loaning program for a period of 4 weeks in case you need more time to secure a reliable laptop. You can see the laptop specifications here if you’re not sure what you’re looking for.

When does the program start? Where is it?

Social Innovation and Community Development starts on August 26, 2024, at the Exchange District Campus in Winnipeg.

Is the program in-person?

Delivery is based on course by course. Some courses will require you to be present in-person, and other courses will allow you to work remotely as part of the college’s current hybrid approach to content delivery.

What do I need to apply?

You’ll need a Future Student Account with RRC Polytech so you can keep track of any document submissions you make. You can sign up here and everything will be displayed on your account. You can submit documents via PDF files using a digital signature or you can scan your physical paper document using a scanner or a scanner on your phone. Linked here are tutorials on both creating a digital signature in Google Docs and using the scanner on iPhones in the Notes app.

You’ll need to provide proof of completion of the admission requirements within 15 days from when you applied.

Where can I find more information?

You can check out the program explorer page on our website for Social Innovation and Community Development as a source for accessing all the information you need. If you prefer to talk to a person, you can contact an Indigenous Student Recruiter at indigenous.recruitment@rrc.ca.

If you’re ready to apply for Social Innovation and Community Development, contact an Indigenous Student Recruiter at indigenous.recruitment@rrc.ca.

RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

Learn more ›