The Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning is planning to use $13 million in new federal money to diversify its programming across the North. The money was promised to the centre over the next five years in the 2019 federal budget. Reliable funding will allow them to expand into other communities and continue to offer “cutting edge Indigenous land-based education,” he said.
“The important thing, is that land-based education is kind of dependent on the expertise of elders and community members, grounded in land and place,” Coulthard said.
“It’s not a cookie cutter model that you can just kind of establish in Yellowknife and then drop into communities. It takes deep consultation and work with communities on all aspects of our curriculum and how we go about delivering it.”
After the five years of funding runs out, Dechinta will be looking for ways to sustain its programming with long-term public funding. Coulthard said that educational institutions need financial backing from government.