King's welcomed to First Nations' post-secondary collaborative

King’s has joined seven other universities and colleges in Southwestern Ontario by becoming a signatory on a Collaborative Agreement designed to support local First Nations students. King’s University College, along with Huron University College, was welcomed as a new signatory to the Southern First Nation Secretariat, a Post-Secondary Education Collaborative Agreement on December 7, 2020.

“We were most excited to be contacted by King’s and Huron representatives who were eager to contribute to the work of the Post-Secondary Collaborative. I would like to extend a warm welcome to both Post-Secondary Institutions,” says Jennifer Whiteye, Southern First Nation Secretariat (SFNS) Executive Director.

The SFNS PSE Collaborative has come together with a shared commitment and responsibility to prioritize the needs and interests of aspiring, former and current PSE students who are members of SFNS First Nations through formalizing a partnership agreement. This agreement provides the framework and conditions under which the Collaborative agrees to work together toward a shared goal of supporting local First Nation PSE students.

“As a signatory to the agreement, King’s will work with all partners to further improve outcomes for students and their families, this is fully consistent with our ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation with First Nations communities,” says Joe Henry, Dean of Students at Kings.

The agreement was initially signed at a ceremony hosted by the SFNS in August 2020 to solidify the partnership of the Tribal Council, Tecumseh Community Development Corporation, and the following six Post-Secondary Education (PSE) Institutions:

1. Fanshawe College
2. Lambton College
3. St. Clair College
4. triOS College
5. Western University
6. University of Windsor

The SFNS PSE Collaborative was established in 2019 by the SFNS Economic Leakage Working Committee when the project found that SFNS’ six member First Nations spend over $40 million externally annually on education. The Southern First Nations Secretariat is a service delivery organization accountable to and responsible for the promotion of the collective interests of the member First Nations by:

1. Delivering effective and efficient services based on the principles of fairness and equity while respecting the cultural values and traditions.
2. Facilitating communications amongst member First Nations, their organizations, and other like service providers.

The signed PSE Collaborative Agreement is available for viewing on the SFNS website at www.sfns.on.ca.

Learn more about King’s commitment to supporting Indigenous students by visiting https://www.kings.uwo.ca/current-students/student-affairs/indigenous-students/.