Tag: Indigenous

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Mobile Syrup

BMO and Plato partner to offer cloud reskilling program to Indigenous students

BMO Financial Group joined forces with Plato, an Indigenous-led and staffed Canadian IT services and training firm, to offer the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ‘re/Start’ program virtually to Indigenous students across Canada.

According to a press release from BMO, 22 students — including some from remote communities — have started a 12-week cloud computing boot camp. A six-month BMO internship will follow, providing an opportunity to learn and apply skills on the job. BMO also said there would be opportunities for full-time employment.

“I am very honoured to be accepted into a program that provides training for Cloud computing. Getting exposure to the Cloud through on-the-job training would otherwise be impossible without an organization willing to train their employees from the ground up,” said Kyle Moore, a Métis Nation student from Manitoba, in the release.

Further, the release notes that participants in the program were selected from a pool of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit applicants from across Canada.

AWS re/Start is a skills development program that helps prepare individuals for careers in technology. The focus, unsurprisingly, is on cloud and cloud-adjacent skills.

Source: BMO

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Mobile Syrup

Canadian game to educate kids about COVID now features Cree translation

A Canadian game built to help teach kids about COVID-19 safety now features a Cree translation to help make the game available to more children.

Canadian safety startup LOCI created GSI: Germ Science Investigation as a free teaching tool for schools. While it was already available in over a dozen languages, the addition of Cree marks the first time GSI has offered an Indigenous language. Further, Global News reports that the Cree translation will be the first of many Indigenous translations added to the game.

“It’s important to preserve our Indigenous languages,” Lorraine George told Global. George is a Cree teacher who translated the game.

“When that can be applied to future digital work, it greatly improves the well-being of our children. Having GSI in Cree is a way for these kids to feel included. It’s fun, and they’re learning, and then they bring that learning home.”

Those interested can learn more about GSI here and about LOCI here.

Source: Global News

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Mobile Syrup

Digital resources for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

The 24-hour crisis line for residential school survivors and family is 1-866-925-4419.

Hope for Wellness has a 24/7 toll-free helpline available for all Indigenous Peoples at 1-855-242-3310, and offers online chat-based counselling services.

The federal government has declared Thursday, September 30th Canada’s inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, in honour of the lost children and survivors of Canada’s residential school system, their families and communities.

As a statutory holiday, the purpose of this day is to pause and reflect on the history and ongoing effects of the country’s abusive residential school system, which operated from the 1870s until 1996 under the joint administration of the Canadian government and Christian churches.

In the lead-up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, here are some resources to learn more about Indigenous Peoples’ calls for action and justice, charities to support, how to identify what Indigenous lands you (and your digital footprint) stand on, and the role of technology in reconciliation.

Read the 94 calls to action published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Read the 231 calls for justice published by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Watch the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s (APTN) special programming for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Donate to Indigenous charities in your area.

Use Native Land Digital’s interactive map to identify what Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages exist on the land where you live.

Add the ‘Web Acknowledgement‘ Chrome browser extension by caleblstone to discover on which Indigenous lands the websites you visit are physically stored.

Read Katłįà (Catherine) Lafferty’s report for IndigiNews about the experts and programs working to “lift barriers for Indigenous Peoples in B.C.’s booming tech industry.”

Read Jarret Leaman’s article in BetaKit explaining why “Canadian tech must embrace Indigenous reconciliation.”

Read Mélissa Godin’s feature in The Globe and Mail on how “poor internet connectivity has affected nearly every aspect of life” for residents of Nunavut.

Read Aisha Malik’s story for MobileSyrup celebrating Indigenous TikTok creators who are “using the app to spread laughter and connect with others.”