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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Dechinta Bush University Centre for Research and Learning is focused on the North but has links to post-secondary schools in the south.

"All courses are designed and delivered in the North and we operate on a co-teaching model which is ... professors teaching with Northern experts, elders and leaders," said director Erin Freeland-Ballantyne.

Courses are accredited through the University of Alberta, meaning that any university student at a school with transfer agreements with the U of A can get course credits through Dechinta.

The centre may also have its courses accredited through the University of McGill, hopefully by next year, said Freeland-Ballantyne.

Currently, students are able to take one full semester's worth of university courses at Dechinta. These semesters are structured as five weeks of research and written work by distance, six weeks of intensive study and hands-on activities at Blachford Lake Lodge, and then a final distance segment where students complete their final papers, said Freeland-Ballantyne.

Starting next year, students will be able to take a full year of university courses through Dechinta, and the centre will hopefully become a degree-granting institution within four years, she said.

For each of the three semesters held so far, there has been a cap of 15 students. So far, 40 students have gone through the program. This number grows to over 250 participants when faculty, elders, guest speakers and families are included.

Currently, Dechinta offers six different university courses. Two more are expected for the coming fall semester, including one new course on truth and reconciliation, said Freeland-Ballantyne.

While Dechinta students are primarily indigenous and from the North, anyone can apply, said Freeland-Ballantyne. Students from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds have attended, from those who have not graduated high school and are studying as adult learners, to masters and PhD students, she said.

Dechinta is currently one of 30 finalists for a piece of $30 million in funding made available by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The centre is applying for $2.9 million of those funds, though they don't yet know when the grants will be announced.

Also, the centre has just been granted charity status, said Freeland-Ballantyne, meaning that it can accept private donations from businesses and individuals.

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