U of S Scores Success with Aboriginal Research

Posted April 21, 2006


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 21, 2006 2006-04-11-OTHER

U of S Scores Success with Aboriginal Research

Five University of Saskatchewan researchers have been awarded a total of
almost $480,000 from the federal Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council (SSHRC) to lead five new Aboriginal research projects in areas
including literacy, urban identity, and the teaching of life skills to
children and youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

"These five important research projects are directly in keeping with this
university's long-term goal to play a leading role in Aboriginal education
and scholarship," said U of S Vice-President Research Steven Franklin.

The five projects chosen for support by SSHRC's Aboriginal Research program
reflect a 71 per cent success rate for the grant proposals submitted this
year by U of S researchers.

"That kind of success rate clearly demonstrates the breadth and depth of the
University of Saskatchewan's strengths in Aboriginal research," said U of S
SSHRC Coordinator Peter Stoicheff.

Each project will run from two to three years and may involve many
co-investigators and outside partners.

"Based in a province with the highest proportion of Aboriginal people in
Canada, we are uniquely positioned to work in partnership with Aboriginal
communities and organizations - which is exactly the approach many of these
research projects are taking," said Franklin. "It's both encouraging and
exciting to see these collaborations taking place."

The five U of S Aboriginal projects approved for funding are:

* Evelyn Peters (geography) - $249,303 to discover the nature of First
Nations and Métis identities in cities by exploring personal stories,
social networks and participation in urban organizations. Partners: Central
Urban Métis Federation Inc (CUMFI), Gabriel Dumont Institute,
Saskatoon Indian and Métis Friendship Centre and the Saskatoon Tribal
Council. Co-investigators: Roger Maaka (native studies) and Ron Laliberte
(native studies). Peters holds a Canada Research Chair in Identity and
Diversity: The Aboriginal Experience.

* Linda Wason-Ellam (education) - $156,841 for an interdisciplinary research
project designed to help teachers, parents and other service-providers find
culturally respectful and effective ways to teach reading, writing, and
other life skills to Aboriginal children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder. Partner: Saskatchewan Fetal Alcohol Support Network.
Co-investigators: Priscilla Settee (extension division); Patricia Blakley
(medicine); Mark Carter (law); Stephen Wormith (psychology); Penelope
Andrews, (School of Law, City University of New York). Collaborator: Wayne
Podmoroff (psychologist, Government of Nunavut). Graduate student: Rae
Mitten (interdisciplinary Ph.D. candidate and resident, Native Law Centre).
Elders: Wes Fineday and Jeanette Bugler.

* Brenda Macdougall (native studies) - $25,000 to develop methods for
creating a digital archive that will reflect the political and cultural
movements pursued by First Nations and Metis people between 1900 and 1970
in Western Canada.

* Randolph Wimmer (educational administration) - $24,784 to investigate the
experiences of and unique challenges faced by graduates of the U of S Indian
Teacher Education Program (ITEP) in their first year of teaching in
band-controlled schools within the Prince Albert Grand Council jurisdiction.
Partner: Prince Albert Grand Council. Co-investigators: Michael Cottrell
(ITEP), Louise Legare (ITEP), Yvette Arcand (ITEP)

* Kristina Fagan (English) - $23,000 to study the self-identity of Labrador
Métis people and how they express that identity through storytelling,
both written and oral. Partner: Labrador Métis Nation.

SSHRC is an arm's-length federal government agency that funds
university-based research and graduate training through national,
peer-reviewed competitions. SSHRC also partners with public and private
sector organizations to focus research and aid the development of better
policies and practices in key areas of Canada's social, cultural and
economic life.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's Aboriginal Research
program funds research on issues of concern to First Nations communities.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Jennifer W. Webber
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1474
jennifer.webber@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research


--------