Journal of Perseverance and Academic Achievement for First Peoples, vol. 2, 2016Comprend des références bibliographiquesDisponible en français dans EDUQ.info sous le titre "La sécurité culturelle au niveau postsecondaire : le cas de l’Institution Kiuna

Dufour, Emanuelle

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70CULTURAL SECURITY IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION: THE CASE OF THE KIUNA INSTITUTIONEmmanuelle DufourDoctoral Student, Department ofAnthropology, Université de MontréalCan cultural adaptation of a curriculum and post-secondary services contribute to the anchoring of identity of First Nations students? If so, can this an-choring bolster post-secondary perseverance and academic success?Research conducted as part of my Master’s project1 tends to show that the development of culturally appropriate educational spaces promotes retention and post-secondary achievement of First Nations students in Quebec. The thesis resulting therefrom examines two existing formulas: 1) hospitality and support services adapted within provincial post-se-condary institutions; 2) customized post-seconda-ry programs and services offered by an institution affiliated with and for First Nations. The analysis of the first formula was accomplished following a field research conducted between 2013 and 20152 from various specialized educational bodies3. The second formula, this article’s main object of research, was examined through the testimonies of eight students or graduates and six members of the Kiuna Institution staff. Qualitative data from individual interviews and sharing circles met the quantitative results gathered through a written questionnaire, developed in colla-boration with Université de Montreal’s Jeunes autoch-tones du Projet SEUR team4. 25 of the 33 students of the Institute’s Human Sciences, First Nation Stream program’s French Cohort and nearly sixty adult Aboriginal students from the Huron-Wendat Centre de développement de la formation et de la main-d’œuvre (CDFM) or participants in the Project SEUR university studies familiarization visit participated (n=83). The purpose of this article is to draw a portrait of the impact of introducing cultural security at the heart of the curriculum and post-secondary services, based specifically on the Kiuna Institution model.  CONTEXTUALIZATIONWhat do we mean by cultural security in academia? In the late 1980s, a nurse and Maori educator from New Zealand, Irihapeti Ramsden, developed the concept in response to marginalization and discrimi-nation experienced by the indigenous people in the non-indigenous health systems (Blanchet, Garneau & Pepin, 2012). While some criticize the concept’s ambiguity and the interpretative nature, we define it here as the result of a potential offer of services and programs developed in respect and recogni-tion of historical, cultural, socioeconomic, political, and epistemological determinants of target popula-tions (Dufour, 2015). The establishment of a certain cultural security within post-secondary institutions not only requires the creation and implementation of culturally sensitive measures in the framework of concerted action; we must also consider the expe-rience and response of students in order to evaluate its effectiveness (Colomb, 2012).The vast majority (71%) of students who answered our survey shows considerable interest in post-se-condary education (Dufour, 2015). This data echoes the ratio obtained by the Survey of First Nations Peoples Living On-Reserve (EKOS, 2006) which esti-mated, over 10 years ago, that 70% of First Nations communities’ youth aspired to post-graduation. Yet, less than 19% of the Aboriginal population aged from 25 to 34 years-old in Quebec will get at least a col-71lege degree (Canada, 2008). Numerous obstacles to Aboriginal graduation are documented in the litera-ture. However, the fear of not succeeding is the main obstacle mentioned by over half of respondents (see table below, data derived from Dufour, 2015)5. This finding comes as no surprise. Many participants stressed that post-secondary education, more speci-fically university studies, project an image of inacces-sibility. Those from the Kiuna Institution, for their part, seem to have a confidence level twofold higher than that of their counterparts in terms of their academic and professional success. This analysis, which is not solely founded on quantitative basis, nevertheless ap-pears reinforced by the testimonies collected. Thus, if we subtract the answers provided by the 25 Kiuna students, we find that the proportion of Aboriginal students who identified fear of failing as a potential obstacle to success reaches a comfortable majority of 68%. However, students surveyed selected com-ponents that can contribute to their post-secondary success, such as personal motivation, financial assis-tance, the idea of  being part of the betterment of their community, etc. A certain number of them cor-respond to particular cultural security criteria within the post-secondary project. Participants generally aspire to a school environment that recognizes their special needs and schooling that takes greater ac-count of the role and contributions of autochthonous peoples from yesterday to today. These results agree with those published by Joncas (2013) whereby a substantial proportion of persevering academics participating in his study at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) were in favour of: 1) attending a post-secondary institution created by and for native people; 2) benefiting from more opportunities and networking spaces with other Aboriginal students of the university (2013, p. 153). In recent years, Hospi-tality and support services, as well as autochthonous curriculum or customized to the needs of commu-nities, have been growing in demand in CEGEPs and Quebec universities. Now, the Kiuna Institution remains to this day the only Quebec post-secondary6 institution designed by and for First Nations.KIUNA INSTITUTION: “A SCHOOL MADE FOR US”7Kiuna Institution presents curricula and teaching approaches adapted to the cultures and realities of First Nations. The bilingual Human Sciences-First Nation Stream program in which were registered, in 2014, 51 Atikamekw, Innu and Mohawk students, but also Huron-Wendats, Abenakis, Anicinabes, Crees, Maliseets and others, leads to a college diploma issued by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Ensei-gnement supérieur (MEES). It fosters a secure attach-ment through the exploration of three key themes: identity, community, and society. Cultural security therefore irrigates all aspects of the post-secondary education project. ANTICIPATED OBSTACLES (%)Remoteness of the communityLanguage of instructionCity cultural shockTeaching staff not familiar with AboriginalLack of interestLack of moneyLack of family or community supportTeaching methods used in schoolHealthLifestyle incompatible with studiesFear of not succeedingOther priorities or aspirationsRacisme or discriminationOTHERS381218152337551815141255872By studying History, cultures, and policies characteri-zing the First Nations’ socio-economic development, students are able to better contextualize the issues facing their families and communities, to then be in-vited to position themselves in relation to the latter. Through educational activities and outings, students also have access to heritage and Aboriginal cultural practices, of which some were deprived of because of the colonial context.   I was cut off from my culture all my life until recently […]. Motivation in school also stems from identity affirmation we found in Kiuna […], that’s what allows dropouts like me to focus on our true values! (Jaimee, Attikamek and Quebecer, 21) Thus, by comings and goings between so-called traditional and contemporary practices, the Kiuna educational project endeavours to maintain its own transversal objective of cultural continuity ensuring the integration of sociocultural realities and expe-riences of student populations in school curricula and teaching methods. This objective is consistent with the indigenous Mastery spirit of autochthonous education which, in 1972, recommended that be instilled in Aboriginal peoples the values  and “the knowledge necessary for self-pride and understan-ding of themselves and the world that surrounds them“, in a context of cultural transmission, but also survival in modernity (IFAC, 1972, p. 1). The Institute’s limited dimensions, which promotes a certain proxi-mity in a given linguistic cohort and personalization of relations with administrative, support and teachi-ng staff, helps strengthen cultural security within the school project. The community thus created, just as the Pan-Indian type identification, acts as an additio-nal protective factor linking people with a sense of shared solidarity. In all 25 participants, this institutio-nal anchoring is achieved through a strong interest in post-secondary education and more specifically for the current college tuition as well as a retention rate of over 86% (Kiuna College, 2014). Along the same lines, the fact that they have been proportiona-tely more numerous than other participants to deter-mine the importance of learning in their conception of education suggests that cultural relevance can lead to a better appreciation of the value of training (Dufour, 2015). Post-secondary education within a program that is culturally compatible with students is not perceived as a mere obstacle course against which one must exercise a great deal of resilience, but as an opportunity for personal and collective enrichment, even an identitarian adjustment, whose benefits may be conjugated in the present. Secure attachment to the culture and the community will act in turn as a launching ramp for various levels of indi-vidual and collective successes. We then anticipate that Kiuna Institution students and graduates can in turn guaranty the success of a new autochtho-nous leadership, both in communities in cities, as have done before them several students of the late Manitou College in La Macaza. Note that the answers to the written questionnaire of Human Sciences—First Nations program students reveal that they have great interest in professions re-quiring some leadership such as teachers (56%), lawyers or judges (40%), politicians, leaders or advisors (32%) (Dufour, 2015).  CONCLUSIONIn the fall of 2015, the majority of graduates of Kiu-na Institution First Nations program were registered in a provincial or national university. Some took a pause to return to their communities, while others progressed to university in the next academic term. Some students chose transitional courses in the hope of improving their academic record and be admitted to limited-enrolment programs, while others have turned to new universities and new post-secondary programs more suited to their priorities and indivi-dual interests. Overall, the surveyed graduates attest to have successfully integrated and acknowledge that their passage in Kiuna prepared them well for their university career, on both the academic and identity aspects:I do not know what happened, but back in a large Quebec academic institution [University of Trois-Rivières] is very different today than in 2007 […]. It must be because well… Kiuna gave me back my pride: my pride in being Aboriginal. I have more faith in myself, in what I am. (Annick, Attikamek, 28) Finally, it should be noted that several participants have claimed to focus or even redirect their academic explo-ration based on the presence of Aboriginal student community or on the availability of culturally appro-priate services. This data allows to particularly empha-size the importance of promoting and financing struc-tures to ensure cultural security of Aboriginal students in all Quebec post-secondary institutions.73NOTES1 Over a hundred high school, college, and university Aboriginal students participated in the research. They are from the 10 First Nations of Quebec, in addition to Inuit, Ojibway and Saulteaux nations, and come from 26 Aboriginal communities.2 Part of this survey was conducted with Leah Lefevre-Radelli, Ph.D. candidate in Cotutelle with Université du Québec à Mon-tréal and Université de Nantes. Some results will be integrated in the Être étudiant, étudiante autochtone à l’UQAM : expériences, politiques et pratiques d’accueil et d’intégration à l’université.  3 These include the section Jeunes autochtones du Projet SEUR of l’Université de Montréal, Kiuna Institute, the Centre de déve-loppement de la formation et de la main-d’œuvre (CDFM) huron-wendat, the First Peoples House (FPH), and McGill University’s l’Indigenous Student Alliance (ISA), Concordia University’s Abo-riginal Student Resource Center (ASRC), and John-Abbott’s Col-lege’s Aboriginal Resource Center (ARC).4 The SEUR Project (awareness on education, university and re-search) was established in 2001 to encourage retention among high school students by allowing them to explore different op-portunities for study and careers (found in http://seur.qc.ca/).5 Only responses of students with some interest for post-second-ary studies (n = 65) were considered for this question. For the purposes of this article, the data were converted to percentages and rounded to the closest unit. 6 The Kiuna Institution is a collegiate institute affiliated with the Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Dawson College.7 Jimmy, Cree and Innu, 19 years old.REFERENCESBlanchet Garneau, A. et Pépin, J. (2012). La sécurité culturelle : une analyse du concept. Recherche en soins infirmiers, 4(111), 22-35. Collège Kiuna. (2011). À propos. Repéré à http://www.kiuna-col-lege.com/apropos.aspx Collège Kiuna. (2014). Rapport annuel 2013-2014 [PDF]. Repéré à http://www.kiuna-college.com/PDF/rap-annuel/rapport_annuel-2013-2014.pdf  Colomb, E. (2012). Premières Nations : essai d’une approche holis-tique en éducation supérieure. Québec, Canada : Presses de l’Université du Québec.Dufour, E. (2015). La sécurité culturelle en tant que moteur de réussite postsecondaire. Enquête auprès d’étudiants autochtones de l’Institution Kiuna et des espaces adaptés au sein des établis-sements allochtones [Mémoire de maitrise inédit, Université de Montréal]. Repéré à https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/handle /1866/13638?locale-attribute=fr EKOS. (2006). Survey of First Nations Peoples Living On-Reserve [PDF]. Repéré à http://knet.ca/ documents/OFF_RESERVE_SURVEY_E1.pdf Fraternité des Indiens du Canada (FIC). (1972). La maitrise indienne de l’éducation indienne. Déclaration de principe présentée au ministre des Affaires indiennes et du Nord canadien par la Fraternité des Indiens du Canada [PDF]. Repéré à http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/fn_education/icoie-fr.pdf Joncas, J-A. (2013). Apport à la compréhension de l’expérience scolaire de persévérants universitaires des Premières Nations au Québec : Le cas d’étudiants de l’Université du Québec à Chicoutimi [Mémoire de maitrise, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi]. Repéré à http://constellation.uqac.ca/2739/1/030428563.pdf Statistique Canada. (2008). Recensement de 2006 : Portrait de la scolarité au Canada. Repéré à http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-560/index-fra.cfm 

Cultural Security in Post-Secondary Education: The Case of the Kiuna Institution

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Cultural Security in Post-Secondary Education: The Case of the Kiuna Institution

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