Oẏateki Partnership

Today, the oyateki Partnership honours Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit relatives.❤️

Red Dress Day is a time to remember those who are missing, those whose lives were taken, and the families and communities who continue to seek justice.🪶

EleV Indigenous
Gabriel Dumont Institute
Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies
University of Saskatchewan

Join us to celebrate National Indigenous Languages Day by honouring the Michif Language. 💙

We also honour the important work of the Indigenous Apprenticeship Program (IAP) at Gabriel Dumont Institute, as a collaborative oyateki Partnership initiative.🪶

(IAP) engages Indigenous youth in apprenticeship programs by pairing youth with employers to work in a career trade of their choice, become indentured, attend technical training, and work toward achieving journeyperson status. Youth build trade time hours through continual employment while building technical and workplace skills. ✨

🔗Visit the link in our bio to learn more about the Indigenous Apprenticeship Program 🔗

The oyateki Partnership commemorative logo tells a story of growth, connection, and shared purpose. 🌱
A circular design reflects the cycle of time and the idea of coming full circle, celebrating 5 years of collaboration.

Each leaf represents one of the partner institutes:
GDI is shown in blue with a floral motif, honouring the Métis, often called the “flower people.”
SIIT is represented by a blue leaf featuring an eagle.
University of Saskatchewan is symbolized by a green leaf with the Husky.

A flock of geese honours the Mastercard Foundation EleV program, a major contributor and supporter of oyateki for the last 5 years.
The soil is rich with “nutrients,” symbolizing 17 projects funded through the partnership. Nutrients are grouped together to highlight the tri-collaborative projects like kahkisiw, Pathways, and Community Connections.🪶

These leaves are rooted in the ground, their interconnected roots symbolizing partnership.
Along the horizon, you’ll notice new growth, representing the ongoing system change that continues to emerge from these efforts. It’s a reminder that transformation takes time and care.

Finally, the skyline appears as ribbons, symbolizing the “Land of the Living Skies” and the celebration of 5 years together. The ribbon carries 5 colours, each representing a year of partnership, yellow for Year 1, followed by orange, pink, turquoise and blue.

Artist:

Lawrence Sinclair is a Career Development Worker through SIIT JobConnections who recently visited Grade 11 Students at Dene High School in La Loche,SK.

JobConnections is an oyateki Partnership initiative that provides mobile employment services for highshool students and young adults in Indigenous communities to help them identify and explore the best pathways for their personal situation. Students are connected to ongoing support as they transition to post-secondary education, other skill development activities or employment.

JobConnections Career Development Workers offer resume and cover letter support, employer connections, activities to help find what one is passionate and/or skilled at, and supporting the journey to employment.

Shaping Our Future: Inspiring Guest Speaker at Dene High School

On January 27th 2026, our Grade 11 Mathematics students took a break from the books to focus on the "big picture."
We were honored to host Mr. Lawrence Sinclair (Muggy), a Career Development Worker from the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), for a powerful session on life beyond high school.

Mr. Sinclair didn’t just talk about jobs—he talked about purpose. From the importance of setting goals that align with your true self to exploring the incredible training and education opportunities available at SIIT, our students were given a roadmap for success.

Key Takeaways for our Students:
• Life Design: How to align your career path with your personal life goals.
• Community Impact: Understanding our "social contract" and the importance of community spirit.
• Overcoming Hurdles: Honest conversations about emotional regulation and navigating the distractions of the modern world (including cellphone addiction!).
• Only you are responsible for your actions: blaming other people gives your power away to others
• The Future is Yours: Realizing that today's choices set the tone for the next generation and our entire community.

Mr. Sinclair ended the day with a powerful challenge: Think about where you want to be in the future and start building that life today. ---

📞 Reach Out & Level Up!
Mr. Sinclair is passionate about helping students find their way. If you have questions about career paths or SIIT programs, he would love to hear from you!
• 📧 Email: [email protected]
• 📱 Phone: 306-240-9839

A huge thank you to Lawrence and SIIT for coming to our class today to ignite the spark of success in our students' futures!