WIPCE 2017: Interview with Rebecca Jamieson, President of Six Nations Polytechnic

IDLG Project Coordinator Charlie O'Connor produced this interview for CKUT Community Radio.  You can download or stream the audio from the CKUT Soundcloud.

“My hope is that educators - regardless of their background - will take this opportunity come and learn first-hand from Indigenous educators.”

Rebecca Jamieson (Tuscarora, Six Nations) is the President of Six Nations Polytechnic, one of the two organisations that are hosting the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE), which will take place July 24 - 28, 2017. In this interview, she speaks about why she chose to work in the field of Indigenous Education, and some of the decisions, and the process that was involved in bringing this international conference to Toronto, and the Six Nations community. She describes some of the conference activities, including the opening ceremonies, and master classes in Indigenous languages, as well as four distinct programming streams for youth. Bringing the focus back to Six Nations Polytechnic, she emphasises the importance of Indigenous language revitalisation, and talks about “the only stand-alone degree in Ogwehoweh languages in the country,” where students can enroll in an undergraduate degree in Cayuga and Mohawk languages. In a milestone event, the first group of students graduated from this program in June, 2017.

For more information about the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE):
wipce2017.com

Six Nations Polytechnic celebrates Inaugural Convocation of Ogwehoweh Language Degree
snpolytechnic.com/news/six-nations…-language-degree