The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) is looking to remind post secondary students about their scholarship program.
The First Nations owned gaming authority is offering over 40 separate scholarships which combined are worth around $50,000.
Pat Cook, vice president of corporate affairs for SIGA said some of the awards on offer are bit more specific than others.
“One is a memorial scholarship for Shauna Bear, the Shauna Bear Memorial Scholarship for aspiring Indigenous human resource professionals and then the other one is the SIGA justice, Paul Favel Indigenous Award for outstanding leadership and community involvement,” she said.
SIGA as well offers awards which are targeted specifically for First Nations students. Cook said students who are applying will need to demonstrate financial need, community involvement, commitment to culture along with academic achievement.
When it comes to awarding the scholarships, Cook explained there is a group of people who will come together after the application deadline has passed.
“There’s a committee that comes together and that committees’ been in place for some time, they come together and review all the applications and then they make their decision based on a number of criteria that have been set out,” she said.
People who are interested in applying for a scholarship are encouraged to visit SIGA’s website where they can find information and fill out an application form. The deadline for applications is Aug. 13.
Cook said SIGA has been operating their scholarship program for over 10 years. She explained the gaming authority believes it is important for them to help Indigenous students as they move towards financial self reliance through their education. She added the company as well would welcome the chance to have some students come join them in the future.
“We also have opportunities for those students once they complete their post secondary, they might want to come back and work at SIGA, so that’s definitely an opportunity and one of the reasons why we definitely support a scholarship program,” she said.
(Top Photo: SIGA head office in Saskatoon. Photo courtesy of SIGA Facebook.)