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The Nicola Valley Institute of Technology is in Merritt BC Canada and has a Campus in Burnaby BC as well . Its roots are in Merritt with a Grand Chief Gordon Antoine who had a vision to educate his people in a way that would keep their culture.
The school is for the First Nation in Canada and has a policy of admiting others as well.
There is an element of North American Indian Culture in all the courses and it promotes the Thompson and Okanagan language. A confirmed source says that he took a 2 year college university transfer credit in biology, a 4.5 course from a PHD instructor and for a cultural investment of a day also had instruction from some native elders in traditional plant usage including making a pine needle baskets and string from Indian Hemp.
The perseverance of the founders came after the school had been located in store fronts at a distress rental time of the resource community of Merritt . Showing them self serious they eventually got a multi million dollar building that is able to expand to about twice its size .Small in the stature of many universities and colleges; the effort is unique to the way that natives can pursue education. The institution can give credit’s up to an associate degree. It often has agreements to grant Bachelor of Social Work Workers from chartered universities and colleges such as TRU. Many graduates find work in their own aboriginal communities after completing their degrees. It is also culturally enriching to take Native studies and English courses that include another culture then your own. However the bulk of their student s come from the First Nations Community.
A source estimates that there are about 1200 students between the two campus’ and that most of them are Aboriginal. The source also says that the new crime bill is a step backward for the aboriginal community that although having a about four percent of the national population they have a huge, out of proportion population in jails in Canada.
NVIT has a number of trades and technical courses offered from time to time. As well as law enforcement pre seletion courses. The school encourages student democracy and civil harmony.
Accomidateing the local issues of first nations peoples in Canada.
http://www.nvit.ca/programsandcourses.htm?RD=1
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