Happy Holidays from AARN!

Boozhoo!!

It is that time of year, to reflect on what has come to pass and prepare for the year to come.

AARN is continuing to grow, and we are excited about the future. The institutional update project is well underway, which will provide a new option for prospective Aboriginal students to learn about their post-secondary options in and around Alberta.

For the first time, AARN was invited to share information about our organization with ELAA at their counselor update in Red Deer on November 14-15. We were honoured to be invited and look forward to further developing the ELAA- AARN collaboration.

We are pleased to announce our newest Associate Member, First Nations University of Canada! For more information on their programs and services, please visit their website http://www.fnuniv.ca/

Spring travel planning is underway, with a number of events already planned for February and a few in March. If you are hosting (or planning to host!) an Aboriginal career fair, education fair, open house or other event where you would like AARN members to attend, please contact us! aboriginal.recruitment.alberta@gmail.com 

Our next meeting will be a virtual meeting in January. The host will be MacEwan University in Edmonton, but we are encouraging virtual participation to alleviate travel costs and environmental concerns. If you are a member, you will receive the meeting details in the new year. 

Congratulations to Bow Valley College (Calgary, AB) on the opening of their new Aboriginal Centre: Iniikokaan! For more information, please visit http://www.bowvalleycollege.ca/campus-services/iniikokaan-aboriginal-centre.html 

The province of Alberta recently announced the creation of two Aboriginal women's councils: First Nations Women’s Economic Security Council and the Metis Women’s Economic Security Council which will report directly to the Minister and will serve to provide advice and recommendations on ways to improve economic outcomes for Aboriginal women in Alberta. For more info: http://alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=3552471A4D81A-C496-0D97-C0C881353154D3F4

As always, if you have information that you would like to share with AARN, please contact us via email at aboriginal.recruitment.alberta@gmail.com 

Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday season!!!

Warmest regards, 

Tori and Amber

October is upon us!

Hi Everyone!

Well October is almost over and it is time to break out the costumes for Halloween! Cultural appropriation can be a big issue at Halloween so we thought it is a great time to share information about a victory. Halloween often means seeing traditional Native American cultural practices misappropriated as a costume (headdresses, buckskin outfits, face-painting, etc.). One of the biggest misappropriations facing Aboriginal people is that of sports teams named things such as "Redskins". In Canada, Ian Campeau launched a Human Rights complaint over the use of this name for the Nepean football league. Recently, the Nepean Football organization agreed to change it's name. This is a big victory in educating people as to why cultural appropriation is harmful. It is also a great opportunity to work with Aboriginal students and encourage them to be proud of their heritage and culture. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/19/a-tribe-called-red-nepean-redskins-change-name_n_3956010.html

In Calgary, Alberta on November 4 and 5, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be hosting "Share Your Truth". These events will be hosted at the Executive Royal Hotel 2828 23rd St. NE from 9-5 each day. This is a great opportunity to learn more about and bear witness to the legacy of the Residential School system. For more information contact George Calliou, Executive Director-Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC) 403-270-7379 or gcalliou@afccalgary.org Health Support Workers will be available on-site.

James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Rights visited Canada for six days in early October. He visited First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities and made recommendations to the government about how to engage with Canada's Indigenous people in a respectful manner. One of the issues he spoke on is the First Nations Education Act- a new piece of legislation from the Conservative government that is being met with a significant amount of distrust. For more information on the outcome of Mr. Anaya's visits and the First Nations Education Act, see http://globalnews.ca/news/903556/un-investigator-urges-ottawa-not-to-rush-first-nations-education/

We hope you are having a great fall, and as always- if you have any questions or want to share an Aboriginal career fair or invite AARN members to your community, please contact us!!

Cheers,
Tori and Amber

Welcome Back!

Aaniin! Boozhoo! 

September is now almost gone and we are well into the Autumn weather here in Alberta! Students are back in classes as the Fall 2013 semester gets underway. 

Some important things to note are application dates for Fall 2014 will be coming up soon! Some institutions open applications for next year as early as October 1 2013. Check institutional websites often for updates and important deadlines to make sure you are on-track for your plan to post-secondary!

Some AARN members will be participating in many ELAA events http://elaa.ab.ca/ so be sure to check if the institution you are interested in will be visiting a school near you. 

A great resource for Aboriginal students and educators was recently launched through the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) Check it out for information on admissions, applications, scholarships and even stories from current Aboriginal students from various institutions across Canada http://www.aucc.ca/canadian-universities/aboriginal-student-resources/  

AARN is currently working to complete institutional updates for Aboriginal communities in Alberta to be compiled into one CD. If you are interested in receiving one of these CD's, please email us at aboriginal.recruitment.alberta@gmail.com

As always, if you have any questions about AARN, or you would like to invite AARN members to come to your career or education fair, please contact us!

Happy Autumn!

Tori and Amber

 

 

Greetings! Aaniin! Oki! Bonjour! Tansi! Boozhoo! Danit'ada!

Hello from the Alberta Aboriginal Recruitment Network (AARN) co-chairs!

In case you haven't met us in person, we'd like to take a moment to tell you a little bit about ourselves:

Amber's family is from Mnjikaning First Nation in Ontario, but she grew up in the Calgary area. Amber works at the University of Calgary, having held the position of the Aboriginal and Multicultural Recruiter for the past two years.  She is currently in her final year of the M.Ed. Interdisciplinary Inclusive Leadership program offered through the U of C.  On a recent trip to Hong Kong, she took a day trip to Macau to complete the World's Highest Bungy Jump (233 m!).

Tori's family hails from Berens River in Manitoba.  He has been at Mount Royal University for three years, coordinating the Aboriginal Education Program (AEP).  Prior to that he was a teacher in Treaty 7 for ten years.  He is the proud father of two sons, ages 2 and 11.  He is looking forward to golfing and rafting when the rivers subside here in Calgary.

Feel free to reach us primarily through the general AARN email:

aboriginal.recruitment.alberta@gmail.com

We will post information here about the intended travels of our group and interesting items related to Aboriginal Education such as job postings, scholarships and education events.

Cheers,
Tori and Amber