Community

“Indigenous people from all around, it doesn’t matter if you’re Mohawk, Anishinaabe, Cree, Inuk, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Niska, Haida, Algonquin or whatever. I’ve hung out with large groups of Indigenous peoples and it’s so awesome because I feel like they’re my family. We have a lot of the same things in common – our personalities, our sense of humour, the way we get along – it’s probably the best family I’ve made for myself.”

– FPPSE Storyteller

Relationships are the fabric of our communities, of our nations. Relationships across generations, with those that came before us and with the yet unborn, relationships with the lands, the waters and all the living beings– they make us who we are, give us purpose, teach us responsibility and guide us in our actions.

The FPPSE is about honouring community and creating new relationships, where we are, coming together across nations to learn, share, support and resist, to be stronger together.

Inuit Voices

Twenty-six participants from the Inuit communities of Kuujjuaq, Kangiqsujuaq, Kuujjuarapik, Inukjuak and Salluit in Nunavik shared their educational experiences by audio or video. Participants talked about culture shock, isolation, discrimination and trauma as challenges to their success. Their stories highlight how identity (language, values, connection to the land) provides a strong foundation and source of pride and confidence. Many students have been supported in post-secondary education by Kativik Ilisarniliriniq (Nunavik School Board) and the student support programs at postsecondary institutions.

Watch Videos ⟶

Kanien'kehá:ka Voices

Fourteen participants came from one of three Kanien’keha:ka communities: Kahnawake, Kanehsatake, and Akwesasne. Through audio or video, Kanien’keha:ka students described how they are supported through their local postsecondary education centres. They expressed the importance of having family, friends and an overall sense of community from which to draw motivation. Some challenges and barriers identified by Kanien’kehaka students and their families are not knowing how to speak French, and the lack of Indigenous staff and faculty at postsecondary institutions.

Watch Videos ⟶

Photo credit: My Grandmother’s Garden by Flora Weistche
© Tristan Beauregard

Cree Voices

Fourteen participants from five Cree communities: Eastmain, Mistissini, Waswanipi, Waskaganish, and Whapmagoostui shared their stories on audio or video. Students are generally supported in post-secondary education through the Cree School Board. Challenges to successfully navigating postsecondary education include language barriers (both French and English), lack of academic preparedness, difficulties navigating institutional processes, and identity struggles. (Re)defining success for Cree storytellers of this project includes incorporating land-based learning and support from Elders into education and returning knowledge to the community.

Watch Videos ⟶

Voices of Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal)

Forty-nine project participants were from various communities across Turtle Island and living or commuting to Montreal for post-secondary education. They told stories on audio or video about hurdles, successes and personal transformation. Many found themselves battling feelings of internalized colonialism and isolation as well as coping with being the only Indigenous student in the class, and issues around gender, racism, disability, stereotyping and Indigeneity. Students shared their successes becoming leaders and role models, creating community in the city, graduating, accessing traditional knowledge and finding pride in their Indigenous identities.

Watch Videos ⟶

For Students

"I want to tell future graduates and high school and college students to try university. Of course it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be hard the first year to get used to the transition. But once you get used to it, it’s going to be nothing for you. My advice: treat it like a job."

- FPPSE Storyteller

Watch Video ⟶

For Educators

"It’s hard to go to class, write an essay and then come out of that classroom crying because I just made a bunch of realizations of how shitty we’ve had it as people in Canada."

- FPPSE Storyteller



Watch Video ⟶

For Families

"When our children have to travel very far for a higher education it's hard. The fact that we cannot help them the way we want to hurts us. They are our children, our responsibility. They are always on our mind. We have to stay strong for them. The education system is so unfair. No one should ever have to go through that…When my 3 year old son is older, there will be a university here in the north for him to go to."

- FPPSE Storyteller

Watch Video ⟶

View our Storytelling Gallery