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ASSOCIATION
First Nations elders often signify
how important education is to their
communities by calling it their buffalo.
Education of Aboriginals is important
to APEGGA, too. In fact last month
in an historic signing ceremony,
the Association joined forces with
Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta to
create new pathways of learning for
Aboriginal youth to follow
BY CORINNE LUTTER
Public Relations Coordinator
‘Education is
Our Buffalo’

2. 88 | PEG FEBRUARY 2012
ASSOCIATION
APEGGA and Treaty 8 First Nations
of Alberta have signed an historic memo-
randum of agreement — the first of its kind
in the province — to build on each other’s
strengths while removing barriers and
improving educational outcomes for First
Nations youth.
The signing formalizes an important
relationship for APEGGA by enhancing
a major initiative. For about six years,
APEGGA has been developing ways to make
science and math careers more attractive
to Aboriginals. Treaty 8 First Nations
of Alberta comprises 24 First Nations
communities across northern Alberta.
“We have an opportunity to bring
our strengths together,” says APEGGA
President Jim Smith, P.Eng., FEC, who with
Treaty 8 Grand Chief Richard Kappo signed
the agreement. “We are very optimistic
about where this is going to lead.”
A smudging ceremony and honour
song from the Driftpile Drum Group were
part of the signing ceremony, which took
place Jan. 26 at APEGGA’s Lindberg Con-
ference Centre in Edmonton. The drum-
mers sang a song asking the Creator to
“open the doorway for us today.”
Treaty 8 Grand Chief Kappo says the
memorandum of agreement can do just that.
“It opens the door for opportunity,” says
Mr. Kappo. “I believe that this MOA is a way
of moving forward for our youth in today’s
labour market. We are taking real steps to
deliver real change to our people. Together
we can make those changes reality for all
our people, in particular our youth.”
Both organizations have a shared vision
to increase the number of First Nations
people in the engineering and geoscience
professions. The agreement sets a target
of six per cent of the membership — the
same percentage of Aboriginals in Alberta’s
population. APEGGA’s current goal is to
have two per cent of Aboriginal peoples in
the professions by 2030. Even that is a huge
step, boosting Aboriginal membership all the
way to 1,200 from a number estimated today
at less than 100.
With a shortage of professional
engineers and geoscientists forecast in
Alberta and across Canada, Aboriginal
youth represent an untapped labour pool.
The memorandum aims to expose First
Nations youth to careers in the APEGGA
professions, and encourage them to stay in
school and to study math and science.
“There are approximately 300,000
Aboriginal children and youth who could
enter the labour force in the near future,
and many of them are right here in Alberta,”
notes Mr. Smith.
APEGGA professional members will
be an important part of the MOA’s success.
Volunteer professional engineers and geo-
scientists are already mentoring Aboriginal
youth at elementary and junior high schools
in Calgary and Edmonton. Now, they’ll have
more opportunity to visit schools in Treaty
8 First Nations communities, to share their
experiences with students and foster an
interest in math and science.
“I would expect more regional mem-
bers will be available to schools through
our outreach programs. More of our mem-
bership will now understand what we’ve
committed to. As contributing members look
for ways to give back to society, they’ll find
these opportunities available to them,” says
Mr. Smith.
APEGGA and Treaty 8 will actively
seek opportunities to cooperate and work
together towards the goals of the memo-
randum, said Mr. Smith. One of these goals
is open communication between Treaty 8’s
Alberta schools and APEGGA’s outreach
volunteers. In addition, APEGGA will spon-
DRUM MESSAGE
-photo by George Lee
The Driftpile Drum Group performs during the signing ceremony, asking the Creator in song to “open the doorway
for us today.”
sor opportunities in the region, such as a
traditional science fair being held March
20-21 in Driftpile, and teacher education
awards. APEGGA will also share outreach
print resources and online career materials
with Treaty 8 educators.
‘STAY IN SCHOOL’
Rose Laboucan, Treaty 8 First Nations of
Alberta education chief, was in Ottawa for
the First Nations Summit Jan. 24, a couple
days before speaking at the MOA ceremony.
She met Prime Minister Stephen Harper and
asked him to sign a paper for her grandson.
The message beside the PM’s auto-
graph? “Stay in school.”
“We want our youth to succeed. This
type of opportunity (the memorandum of
agreement) helps us obtain that goal,” says
Ms. Laboucan.
She notes that Aboriginals are the
fastest growing population in the country.
“We want to be part of the job market
and we want to be part of our society as
contributing citizens. It’s very important that
we enter the job market in a positive way,”
she says.
Lloyd Mandeville, P.Eng., a member
of APEGGA’s Aboriginal Affairs Advisory
Committee, says the MOA is overdue.
“The significance of this memorandum is

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-photo by George Lee
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apegga.org (home page under What’s New)
monumental in promoting a more significant relationship between
APEGGA and members of the Alberta Treaty 8,” he says. “We, as a
professional organization, care about (the students’) education.”
Mr. Mandeville, a member of the Salt River First Nations —
which is part of Treaty 8 but in the Northwest Territories — was a
mature student when he went back to school and earned his civil
engineering degree from the University of Alberta in 2001.
“If an old fellow like me can go out and get my education and
get my university degree, then by George those young fellows can
do it too,” says Mr. Mandeville.
SETTING THE EXAMPLE
Mr. Smith encourages others to follow APEGGA’s lead and seek
similar partnerships with Aboriginal communities. “I would hope
that other professions within industry would look at what we’re
doing and look for opportunities for them to also undertake and
maybe reapply these kinds of partnership we’ve started here
today,” says Smith.
Mr. Kappo agrees. “It’s relationships like this we need more of
— for organizations such as APEGGA to believe in us. That’s what
we’re looking for, mainly, is the belief in our people.”
APEGGA was part of a national task force that was instru-
mental in signing a similar agreement with the Assembly of First
Nations. As part of that initiative, APEGGA was asked to take a
leadership role in developing print material and an interactive
website to encourage all children, but particularly young girls and
Aboriginal youth, to consider careers in engineering.
APEGGA also supports educational outreach in science,
math and technology to Aboriginal youth through a wide range
of partners, including Science Alberta Foundation, TELUS World
of Science, the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre, the
University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.
“We are taking real steps to deliver real change to our
people. Together we can make those changes reality
for all our people, in particular our youth.”
Treaty 8 Grand Chief Richard Kappo
“We have an opportunity to bring our
strengths together. We are very optimistic
about where this is going to lead.”
APEGGA President Jim Smith, P.Eng., FEC