Inconsistent funding models and rising costs of living have left many students struggling. This program provides not only financial assistance, but also wrap-around supports including monthly installments to help in budgeting, mentorship opportunities, financial literacy and coping skills workshops, cohort connections and Elder/ Knowledge Holder sharing. Additional stipends support students with children and those living with disabilities, while grocery cards address food security. The bursary has been a success on many levels, but the need far exceeds current resources.

Contributing his voice

Creating supportive learning environments requires change. Opportunities to affect these changes from inside the institution were explored. Initiatives such as this educate and demonstrate different ways of engaging with Indigenous learners to improve success. Created at St. Francis Xavier University, this initiative aims to educate on the history, culture and lived experiences of Indigenous people, to raise awareness of challenges created by colonialism, share strategies and best practices for supporting Indigenous students, and create tools for culturally appropriate curricula.

The majority of post-secondary institutions offer programming and supports for Indigenous students, but funding and capacity are often limited or declining, even as demand grows. These supports are critical to students’ academic, social, financial, and cultural success, creating a strong network to improve retention and outcomes. EleV programming has helped sustain and enhance these initiatives, which address barriers and facilitate success through:

• „ Cultural and Land-Based Programs: Connections to Elders and knowledge keepers.
• „ Life Skills Workshops: Financial literacy, cooking, mental health, first aid, and bursary application writing.
• „ Educational Programs: For faculty, staff, and non-Indigenous students to build understanding.
• „ Essential Supports: Food security, emergency funds, and technology assistance.

Creating cohorts and networks of young people with shared experiences has proven to be highly beneficial. While often a secondary goal, bringing youth together fosters a supportive environment that promotes success. This has been a clear outcome in much of our work, where programming unites larger groups of youth.

Through our Four Seasons for Gatherings program, we’ve seen many youth preparing for post-secondary, while others are already in post-secondary or starting their careers. These gatherings have helped youth connect with peers heading to the same universities and colleges. They share contact information, connect on social media, and build relationships that ease the transition from their communities. Knowing they’ll have familiar faces in a new place is incredibly beneficial for their mental health.”

Funding for cultural projects that support Indigenous students is often limited, despite the critical need to reconnect with culture disrupted by history. Creating these opportunities within safe school spaces helps Indigenous students connect with their heritage while also inviting non-Indigenous students and faculty to participate. This fosters education, awareness, and allyship, creating a more inclusive environment.

Through the partnership with the EleV Program, the youth centre has become a vital hub for young people, offering a space to connect, explore programming, and pursue health, wellness, and personal goals—building both youth and community.

I’m really excited that our younger generation will have this opportunity to create and build relationships within community. I’m really excited for all that is to come with this centre. It will really foster and nurture pride within our youth to grow up and have strong cultural identity and community identity as well.”

In their path to a “good life” many Indigenous youth will choose the entrepreneurship path. In fact, the number of Indigenous entrepreneurs is anticipated to grow by over 20 % in the next 10 years. It is important to provide our youth with the skills and opportunity to successfully navigate their journey in entrepreneurship. EleV has supported barrier free access to camps, gatherings, programs and workshops for youth interested in learning about and pursuing a career in entrepreneurship. Here are a few examples:

Indigenous Youth Ventures box program promotes entrepreneurship skill development through hands-on “business in a box” exercises, in school demonstrations and challenges.

Cape Breton University In Business Program is a business mentorship program introducing Indigenous high school students to post secondary and career pathways in business and entrepreneurship.

Inspire Labrador supports participants to build their entrepreneurship skills guided by their interests, culture and community, while connecting with like-minded individuals from across the region. One graduate started their own construction business, and another has created a cultural centre.

JEDI Entrepreneurship Conference: This was a collaborative initiative with the Joint Economic Development Initiative in New Brunswick, created to support and uplift youth entrepreneurs. The summit provided the opportunity for participants to connect and share, identify gaps and needs, grow skills, and learn about resources available.

These initiatives create opportunities to develop skills, gain work experience and grow confidence as participants explore educational and career paths that may not have been seen as attainable.

The Indigenous Production Mentorship program was designed to broaden access and remove barriers for early-career and emerging Indigenous professionals. The program is learner-centered with a strong connection to the broader artistic community empowering curious and passionate mentees to connect to career opportunities. As an integral part of Pisuwin, the first Wolastoq ballet, it offered the chance for these young people to have their voices heard and influence practices from within.

The Creators of Pisuwin, 2023.

This program is an innovative program empowering Indigenous youth to reclaim narrative sovereignty through storytelling initiatives rooted in community, culture and tradition. The initiative made significant strides in bridging gaps between these young storytellers and the regional publishing industry, fostering both personal growth and tangible opportunities:

[The Program] equipped me with knowledge that I wish I had known years ago. This field is very different [from] what I know so it all felt so new and unknown to me. By the end of the course I felt like I could have a place in this space. Without this course I also would have never made the connections. . . which led to the acquisition of my first manuscript for a children’s book which is set to be published in Fall 2026!”

In Newfoundland, several progressive film mentorship opportunities were supported to combat Indigenous under-representation in the film industry. Building up Indigenous representation will allow the telling of impactful stories through an Indigenous lens. With a focus on Indigenous sovereignty, the supported initiatives offered meaningful opportunities that lead to Indigenous youth empowerment in the Canadian entertainment industry.

• Story: Noel Joe from Miawpukek First Nation was a participant in our first film mentorship program. After completing the training, he was inspired to tell his community’s story through film. Through an initiative created in partnership with First Light Friendship Center, Noel worked under the mentorship of successful Newfoundland filmmaker, Roger Maunder. During this mentorship, Noel created the documentary film Forgotten Warriors about the 1983 hunger strike in Miawpukek First Nation. Through the fruits of these mentorship programs, Noel has now been hired by APTN to create another film series.

Emotional reception in Miawpukek for new documentary that immortalizes historic hunger strike | CBC News

Forgotten Warriors

This groundbreaking program, which blends music industry training with Mi’kmaw cultural teachings and mental wellness counselling, aims to foster a new generation of Indigenous artists equipped with the tools and knowledge to thrive in the music industry.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/nova-scotia/article/the-programbringing-together-music-and-mental-wellness/

Seeing the artists in our community struggle to advance their careers and cope with mental wellness challenges inspired me to create a program that provides comprehensive support. MAEP is a dream come true, and I’m excited to see the impact it will have on our emerging artists.”

Forward.Together: Connecting Philanthropy with Indigenous Communities

The greater philanthropic world is well positioned to further accelerate the impact that our work has had in the region. As a Foundation, we work to strengthen the relationship between Canada’s philanthropic sector and the Indigenous communities in Atlantic Canada. We have supported the first gathering in the region of philanthropy and Indigenous communities and will continue to support these connections as we facilitate the creation of an eco-system in the region that together works to create the environment where Indigenous youth will thrive.

At the public launch event for Ulnooweg Indigenous Communities Foundation, Arthur Bull, an honoured guest speaker, made the clear observation that combining the words “Indigenous” and “philanthropy” is new, profound and powerful. Events since have proven that to be true. In my view the relationship between the Mastercard Foundation and Ulnooweg Indigenous Communities Foundation has begun to change how Indigenous communities and the philanthropic sector view, understand and connect with each other.

When Ulnooweg first began reaching out to the communities we serve, to provide information and support on the potential to work with philanthropy, there were few specific Indigenous-focused examples to share. The communities and the philanthropic organizations and donors operated largely in isolation from each other. The early workshops often had a sense of skepticism or doubt that charities and donors would ever engage with the communities in meaningful ways.

That has changed in Atlantic Canada (and I believe elsewhere in Canada and perhaps internationally), in large part due to the extraordinary impactful grant-making and networking work led by the EleV Program team deploying energy, creativity and philanthropic resources from the Mastercard Foundation to meet the opportunities and needs of Indigenous young people. The theory has been proven real and the gap is beginning to close.

In my view, each of the projects we have engaged in has created ripples in and among the communities. There is an increased understanding of philanthropy as an essential part of community wellbeing and prosperity. I see young people, community staff and leaders and Elders interested in and enthusiastic about building on this initial work. In some cases, they are creating new organizations, to expand and deepen cooperation with the philanthropic sector.

Similarly, I see other philanthropic organizations gaining new understanding and changing their approaches to engagement with Indigenous communities. It is clear from recent meetings with the Community Foundations of Atlantic Canada, private foundations, charitable organizations and donors that there is a strong and growing interest in working constructively with Indigenous communities and organizations. The work done by the EleV Program team demonstrates how this can be done and has inspired positive change in this direction. Though each of our projects is different, I sense similar dynamics in all of them.

To me this is profound change – new understanding, new respect, new friendships and new co-operation. This is just the beginning of change that will close and reverse the gap in the years ahead.”