Vanessa Tait of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation at South Indian Lake, Man. was one of 12 indigenous women from across Canada in the first graduating class of the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program at the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
The graduates were recognized in a ceremony at the institute on Aug. 26. In addition to Tait, the only graduate from Manitoba, the graduating class included four members from Ontario, two from B.C. and one each from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Nunavut.
The program aims to provide the next generation of First Nation, Me?tis and Inuit leaders with practical leadership skills and experience to enable them to promote community development from within.
"Women's leadership has long been a priority of the Coady Institute," said Dr. John Gaventa, the institute's director, in a press release. "This new program is a tremendous opportunity to help support the next generation of Canadian indigenous women leaders, and to highlight the value of community-based leadership."
The curriculum of the program, developed with the help of aboriginal women leaders and communities, included mentorship from leaders such as Leena Evic of Iqaluit, Angela James of Yellowknife, Patricia Flett of Fort McMurray, Cecelia Fitzpatrick of Fort MacKay, Marie Delorme of Calgary and Chief Candice Paul of St. Mary's First Nation in New Brunswick.
"We're very proud of these young women," said Sheila Isaac, the Indigenous Women in Community leadership program manager. "As the only program of its kind in Canada, we've been able to offer opportunities for individual and community growth. They've made personal and family sacrifices to complete a program of this duration, which included three-month placements over the summer in communities across the country."
The program is funded by the Imperial Oil Foundation, which contributed almost $15 million to various programs across Canada in 2010, and the ExxonMobil Foundation, which donated $237 million worldwide in 2010, $110 million of which was dedicated to education.
"These committed and capable women are now better-equipped to create real, lasting and positive changes within aboriginal communities across Canada," said Hart Searle, vice-president of the Imperial Oil Foundation. "Imperial and ExxonMobil congratulate the inaugural program graduates and the Coady International Institute on achieving this important milestone."
The Coady International Institute specializes in community-based, citizen-driven development education. Established in 1959, it has 5,500 graduates and partners working in 130 countries.
