Education News Fall2013/Winter2014 | Page 8

Page 8

Protecting Our Sacred Water : Partnership Infuses SUNTEP With Renewed Energy

By Shuana Niessen
Photo by Shuana Niessen Photo by Brenna LaPlante
Janice R . Thompson , SUNTEP Coordinator
John MacDonald , Sessional Instructor , with students

The Gabriel Dumont

Institute ( GDI ) offers the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program ( SUNTEP ) 4-year Bachelor of Education program in cooperation with the Faculty of Education , University of Regina , with an emphasis on Métis and First Nations history and culture . Among students of this program , however , there is great diversity of background and cultural knowledge . As Janice R . Thompson , SUNTEP coordinator , says , “ You can ’ t assume that all students are connected to the land .”
Carissa MacLennan , Project Manager for Protecting Our Sacred Water , Jane Goodall Institute of Canada
SUNTEP student presentation
Photo by Shuana Niessen Photo by Shuana Niessen
SUNTEP endeavors to develop student connections with the land along with Indigenous perspectives , so students , in turn , can incorporate cultural perspectives into their preservice and inservice teaching . Indigenous perspectives have much to offer science education in particular .
Thus , over the past eight months , Janice and Carissa MacLennan , Project Manager for Protecting Our Sacred Water and Director of Education and Youth Engagement for the Jane Goodall Institute
What makes me feel good about this partnership is that it gives us a voice , and recognizes how important cultural and traditional knowledge is to us . It supports what we do with our students , and helps us to feel proud of who we are and where we come from .
~ Janice R . Thompson , SUNTEP Coordinator
of Canada ( JGI ), have been engaged in discussions , which have developed into a new partnership for the continued development of both SUNTEP students and the Protecting Our Sacred Water resource .
Carissa MacLennan was introduced to Janice by Claudette Moran at the Dumont Technical Institute . Carissa says , “ JGI was looking for input to the resource Protecting Our Sacred Water , to ensure the Métis perspective is included . Claudette suggested that JGI connect with the SUNTEP program at the University of Regina .”
Janice explains that the Protecting Our Sacred Water resource is a living document , which supports preservice teachers in making connections to provincial curriculum with Métis and First Nations cultural and traditional values and knowledge . continued on page 9