First Nations University of Canada, Indigenous People’s Health Research Centre (IPHRC), File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC), and the University of Regina will run four sets of 2 day science camps for Saskatchewan Indigenous youth, aged 12-18, during summer 2022 in the Qu’Appelle Valley region.
- Camp days on August 8–9, 11–12, and 15–16 will be held at the FHQTC Governance Centre from 9 am to 3:00 pm.
- Camp days on August 18–19 will be held at the First Nations University of Canada from 9 am to 3:00 pm.
Day 1: Water testing. In Saskatchewan, rural Indigenous communities have profound and historical relationships with watersheds and ecosystems. Indigenous peoples have been monitoring water for hundreds of years. The camps will continue this by using portable real-time water-quality testing kits to teach youth how to analyse the water in their local lakes and how to manage and use the results they obtain. This activity involves hands-on science that can be discussed through the lens of Indigenous Knowledge and provides an opportunity to explore questions of data ownership, access, control, and sharing.
Day 2: Coding (writing computer programs). Coding has emerged as an educational priority at all educational levels. In STEM fields, coding is essential for employment in high-quality jobs; a lack of coding experience is a barrier to working in STEM fields. Therefore, this element of our proposed camp is crucial for the likelihood that a typical camp participant will study and work in a STEM field.
Please email us at SCISIY@uregina.ca or call us at 306-585-4250 to sign up!
Science Camps for Saskatchewan Indigenous Youth 