Approximately 500 students from nine northern Saskatchewan communities learned about science during a virtual program in May and June held by the University of Saskatchewan.
The Science Ambassador Program usually has university students go to the communities to instruct the workshops in-person, but went virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, supplies were sent to schools beforehand so students could still participate in activities teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Cree Longjohn, a member of Sturgeon Lake First Nation and the student coordinator for the program, said it was important to give students the opportunity to do these workshops even during a pandemic.
“I feel like we’ve had the privilege to provide diverse representation to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in STEM,” she said. “We were able to promote higher education in some of these communities.”
The ambassadors worked with knowledge keepers from different communities to ensure Indigenous ways of knowing were present within the workshops.
One way they did so was by creating a bank of science terms translated into Michif, Cree and Denesuline.
Longjohn said using the students’ Indigenous language and culture within the program was essential.
“It’s important that culture and language are embedded in the workshop, inside of the sessions, because it’s important for Indigenous youth to see their culture represented in the sciences.”
She said if she would have been able to see herself in workshops like these when she was young, she may have been more interested in science earlier on.
“I’m Plains Cree and I feel like I would’ve been more interested in science when I was in elementary school and I would’ve been more excited to join the sciences, get a career in science and even taken more science classes,” Longjohn said.
The participating communities included Beauval, Buffalo Narrows, Ile a La Crosse, Pinehouse, Cumberland House, Fond Du Lac Denesuline First Nation, Green Lake, Wollaston Lake and Stony Rapids.
(PHOTO: Top, A student from Twin Lakes Community School in Buffalo Narrows participating in an activity building a pneumatic puppet. Bottom, Cree Longjohn is the student coordinator for the program and is in her final year of a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Both photos courtesy of the University of Saskatchewan.)