The Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning will receive a $240,685 Mastercard Foundation grant designed to help it meet the needs of northern Indigenous communities.
The grant will support Dechinta’s work with the Tu Łidlini Dena, Yellowknives Dene, and Dehcho First Nations by addressing gaps in online learning, food security issues, and providing research and skills training.
In a news release, the centre and the foundation said the money will provide access to education and employment opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic by creating instructional videos that incorporate Indigenous ways of life and distributing land-based educational resources.
It will also produce resources for language use and sharing, inform youth about Dene laws in relation to harvesting, and create a youth mentorship program.
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Dr Glen Coulthard, chair of the Dechinta Centre, said the centre is grateful for the support.
Building youth leadership will “have a lasting legacy by increasing accessibility of land-based programming and the transmission of cultural knowledge and histories,” he said.
