The University of Saskatchewan is hoping a partnership with a Métis organization will help clear up any identity issues down the road.
The Agreement on Métis Citizenship and Identity was signed at the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan’s fall legislative assembly.
“We’ll take ownership now but we need to be able to have the capacity to be able to do that,” says Metis Nation-Saskatchewan President Glen McCallum. “Even when you look at the universities – they’ve done a lot of research on Indigenous people but let’s be more focused in regards to how we do that now so that it’s supporting ongoing programming on the ground that is based on identity, culture and values.
“And that’s what I love about signing this because it opens a lot more doors than it had before.”
McCallum tells APTN News the university will rely on the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan’s citizenship registry.
University of Saskatchewan president Peter Stoicheff says the agreement puts all the hirings for Métis positions under Métis control.
“Education is the cornerstone of reconciliation and that means the university of Saskatchewan has to play a really important role and it has to be a leader in this greatest opportunity that Canada has ever had in its history,” he says.
“But the university can’t do this alone, and that’s why I’m so thankful for all of the support and the deep and strong relationship I have with president McCallum.”
