A new fellowship program is intended to support Indigenous youth in their leadership development. “It really brings together culture connections and really builds on relationships and connects our fellows to leaders from across Canada and builds on those relationships to support the fellows in their leadership journey,” Allison Rinas, Director of strategic Projects at the Saskatchewan Institute of Indigenous Technologies (SIIT) said. The Mastercard Foundation Fellowship Program has selected its inaugural 25 cohorts, each to receive $50,000 to support their work over the next two years. “Leadership development for fellows can mean many different things. Each individual comes with their own unique skills and gifts ... So that can mean going to conferences, going to in-person workshops to gain leadership development. It could be meeting with a local elder or knowledge keeper and learning about their culture,” Rinas said. SIIT, along with the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) are both partnering institutions as the first round of cohorts have been selected. “The hope that, SIIT and GDI as the inaugural pilot host partners, continue to have cohorts every couple of years and continue supporting youth leaders from across Canada and bringing them to Saskatoon and showing them local Indigenous leaders, connecting them with local elders and knowledge keepers and continue supporting their leadership development skills,” Rinas said. Young Indigenous leaders from across Canada have been selected, each of whom have unique backgrounds and areas of study. “We have some fellows that are completing their master’s, getting their doctorate in neuroscience. There’s a medical student in his second year. There’s individuals or fellows that are working towards language revitalization, working with little ones to help bring their language back ... They’re really all over in different sectors,” Rinas said. Rinas shared that the fellowship program is about creating more Indigenous representation across various disciplines across Canada. “I think about my two sons, and I think about them being Indigenous and in Canada, and I think, I want them to see other brown faces at those tables, at those decision making tables and know that their voice matters,” Rinas said. Over the next decade, the program is expected to support more than 1,000 young people as they improve their leadership skills withing their respective fields. “It’s important because when you invest in one individual, it not only impacts that one fellow, it impacts their siblings, their communities and future generations,” Rinas said. Rinas went on to share that she has high hopes for those who go through the program. “I wouldn’t be surprised and I’m honestly quite certain that the next Indigenous Prime Minister will come out of this fellowship program. And, I say that because I think what this program really shows is possibility,” Rinas said.
