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March 17, 2008
First Nations celebrate pioneering plan at SFU

This week, SFU’s Burnaby campus is alive with the sounds of First Nations voices and drums celebrating the launch of a pioneering approach to Aboriginal post-secondary education at the university.

First Nations elders, representatives from Cowichan Tribes and Burquitlam MLA Harry Bloy will acknowledge SFU’s launch of the first comprehensive university-wide plan for First Nations education to be implemented in Canada.

Bloy’s presentation at noon, March 17 at the Halpern Centre is on behalf of the provincial government, which has contributed $86,000 towards the implementation of SFU’s new First Nations plan.

SFU VP-Academic John Waterhouse can explain the plan’s founding principle: “that First Nations students should have access to and support within all programs offered by the university.” Lisa Sterling, SFU’s Special Advisor/Director of Aboriginal Affairs, can elaborate on the historical context for the plan. Sterling emphasizes: “The plan’s success rests on its ability to gain the trust of First Nations people, which means addressing their historic, current and future needs.”

For more details on a four-day First Nations workshop series (March 17-20), feast and Pow Wow Ceremony (Convocation Mall at 1:30pm on Thursday, March 20) that are coinciding with the unveiling of the new education plan, see the following websites. Sterling and Jenna La France can provide details of the workshops.

http://www.sfu.ca/pamr/media_releases/media_releases_archive/media_release03140802.html
http://www.sfu.ca/pamr/media_releases/media_releases_archive/media_release03140803.html

Lisa Sterling, 778.782.7058, 778.868.9585 (cell), lisa_sterling@sfu.ca
Jenna La France, 778.782.3555, 778.999.1337 (cell)
John Waterhouse, 778.3927, john_waterhouse@sfu.ca