The First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) is pleased to announce the recipients of its sixth annual National Student Bursary, which is awarded each year to two outstanding First Nations college or university students.
Selected by a committee made up of members of the FNIGC Board of Directors, each recipient of the 2018 bursary will receive $2,500 along with free registration to FNIGC’s Fundamentals of OCAP® online course.
This year’s recipients of the FNIGC National Student Bursary are Taylor Wilson of Fisher River Cree Nation in Manitoba, and Brittany Tourangeau of Smith’s Landing First Nation in the Northwest Territories.
Ms. Wilson, a graduate student at the University of Winnipeg, is enrolled in the Masters in Development Practice: Indigenous Development program. Ms. Wilson’s proposed research will see her examine health and fitness nutrition education in Indigenous communities using Indigenous and Western food systems, as part of an effort to combat obesity and chronic diseases. Ms. Wilson hopes to build a bridge between health and food sovereignty through education and knowledge exchange.
Ms. Tourangeau is enrolled in the undergraduate nursing program at Aurora College in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. After graduation she plans on working in the Northwest Territories to build accurate statistical data on First Nations people. Ms. Tourangeau aspires to be a voice for her community and an advocate for a healthy future for all in a culturally respectful way.
As the 2018 recipients of the National Student Bursary, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Tourangeau will each receive $2,500 to help support their studies, and free registration in The Fundamentals of OCAP®, the only online course dedicated to the First Nations principles of OCAP®.
Established in 2013, the FNIGC National Student Bursary is awarded annually to qualifying First Nations college or university students who are pursuing degrees in the fields of epidemiology, population health, biostatistics, or information and data management technology. The application process for the seventh annual bursary will begin in the summer of 2019.
FNIGC is a First Nations non-profit operating with a mandate from the Assembly of First Nations. FNIGC envisions that every First Nation will achieve data sovereignty in alignment with its distinct worldview.