Reclaiming Identity

No student should be denied educational opportunities due to financial or systemic barriers. Yet Indigenous children, like the Oskāyak students in Saskatchewan, are intimately familiar with missing out on opportunities that require travel.

Reduced access to affordable airfare, accommodation, and basic travel necessities have left Indigenous students excluded from transformational learning experiences. 

Determined to break through their circumstances and claim their place at the table, Oskāyak students will attend the 2025 World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE) in Auckland, New Zealand. This delegation will present in front of an international audience on the topic of Reclaiming Identity, Inspiring Futures. Following the conference, the project will continue to focus on educational transformation by integrating Indigenous STEAM learning, leadership development, and knowledge sharing into the school community. Oskāyak High School was founded in 1980 as the Saskatoon Native Survival School to support Indigenous students facing barriers in mainstream education. It has since partnered with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, Saskatchewan’s largest Catholic school division, committed to reconciliation and promoting Indigenous-led education.

The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) is helping remove financial and systemic barriers for Indigenous youth to participate in global learning and leadership opportunities. IRF funding will ensure students and chaperones are supported with travel, preparation, and cultural protocol, while affirming Indigenous identity, dignity, and voice on an international stage. Indigenous youth not only belong in schools, but also in global spaces of leadership, innovation, diplomacy, and knowledge exchange. 

Diocese of Saskatoon