New education program to train teachers in northern MB $1 Million donation to support education program Jesse Brogan, staff
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he U of M’s faculty of education is taking a major step toward addressing the shortage of teachers in northern Indigenous communities. Backed by $1 million in funding from the Rideau Hall Foundation, the initiative will deliver a community-based bachelor of education program in partnership with Frontier School Division. Marti Ford, associate dean of Indigenous education, explained that the project was designed to meet the needs of northern students and their families. “We thought that if we can do a program that takes place in the community during the year, when they have jobs, they could be working as educational assistants, they could be on limited teaching permits, or they could be students who have graduated and have not yet decided what it is that they’d like to do,” said Ford. A key feature of the program is that instruction will be delivered virtually and directly in the communities, reducing the need for students to relocate. During the summer term, students will gather in Cranberry Portage, where Frontier School Division operates a residence and facilities that can accommodate families. “We can hire summer students or […]people to work with the kids, to do programming with the kids, almost like a summer camp, but also include elder teachings and a language component,” said Ford. Training local students to become teachers has longterm benefits for these communities. “They’re teaching their own children. They’re teaching their brothers, their sisters, their cousins, and then people will stay long term,” said Ford. “By keeping people in their communities […]
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we’re going to be able to educate locally […] provide jobs to people who are in the community and we’re also building that sustainability within the community.” Similar northern teacher education programs have existed such as Brandon University’s BUNTEP in the late 1970s and the still-operating PENT program. Ford noted
and knowledge directly into coursework. Elders and local community knowledge will be included in lessons so future teachers are equipped to serve their own communities. “There will be more focus on Indigenous culture, Indigenous values, working with elders regularly,” said Ford. “As for the rigour of an education program, it won’t
MARTI FORD, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF INDIGENOUS EDUCATION PHOTO BY JESSE BROGAN / STAFF
that students in those models often had to leave their families behind while studying in Brandon. The new approach aims to remove that barrier. “If there is an issue within the community, often they have to leave and go back home, and it takes a long time to get there,” said Ford. “This program lets them stay connected to their families and their communities.” The program will also incorporate Indigenous culture
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be any different. The students still have to learn about curriculum […] teaching practices [and] how to create lesson a plan.” Interest in the program is already building. According to Ford, First Nations have been reaching out for details, and the faculty of education has begun receiving calls from prospective students. This new program is expected to begin in September of next year.
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PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
Stylus Magazine hangs in the balance Mikaela Warkentin, staff Stylus Magazine has been a fixture of the Winnipeg music scene and beyond for 35 years, but a complex relationship with the University of Winnipeg Student Association (UWSA) that funds its parent radio station, CKUW, may be spelling the end for the publication. Rob Schmidt, CKUW station manager, shared that Stylus began as “a reflection of the radio station, but separate and funded by the student association.” From a burgeoning indie publishing scene, Stylus was published out of the UWSA until “about ten years ago, the student association […] didn’t want to have a magazine,” shared Schmidt. This led CKUW to its closer involvement with the magazine. “We appealed to the community, and we knew there was a lot of love for the magazine.” Schmidt continued, “The station said, ‘okay, well, maybe we can take this over and use it as more of a vehicle for the station.’” Stylus has stood the tests of time against other publications of its kind across Canada. “It used to be that just about every campus station […] had a magazine like Stylus, and over time, through the 90s, a lot of them wound up shutting down just because of the expense,” Schmidt shared. It is the expense of it all that is spelling out hard times for Stylus now, with unclear financial information from the UWSA preventing the station from being able to budget for Stylus. “Last year we saw […] a huge drop in our student levy because enrolment dropped.” Schmidt added, “We just don’t
Arts & 12 Culture
have a surplus to absorb that, and with the lack of transparency […] we just didn’t know if we could continue Stylus anymore.” At a CKUW board meeting earlier this year, 50 per cent of Stylus’s regular budget was approved, cutting the magazine down to three final issues as of this publication. Schmidt shared that this was not an easy decision to make. “It’s a cultural product that’s done for the love of sharing and promoting what we’ve got here in Winnipeg. But, you know, the love and passion sometimes isn’t enough to pay the bill.” Stylus’s assistant editor, Maggie A. Clark, shared that the news first reached them three months ago that the future could be bleak for Stylus. “We’re only funded through this issue and the next,” Clark shared. “There’s a board meeting of CKUW tonight [where] Keeley, the editor, is going to make a presentation to argue for retaining the magazine […] There’s no certainty around that yet.” In a comment provided to the Manitoban on Friday, Sept. 5, UWSA president Alan Saji Koshy shared that the association was “only starting to learn about the status of Stylus and have no knowledge about funding cuts.” He also mentioned that UWSA is looking to offer support for the longstanding music magazine, citing a “long and rich tradition on our campus.” Following a CKUW board meeting Monday night, Schmidt shared that talks would be opening up with UWSA regarding the future of Stylus.
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September 10, 2025
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VOL. 112, NO. 05