12
LETHBRIDGE POLYTECHNIC APPLIED RESEARCH 2023-24
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION THROUGH ART – Pissatsinaskssini In December 2023, Lethbridge College received a $360,000 federal grant from the College and Community Social Innovation Fund, which was announced by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada. It’s the first time Lethbridge College has been a recipient of this federal fund. Under this grant, the college receives $120,000 per year for three years for a new research project that will use art and Indigenous Blackfoot worldviews to support marginalized populations as they reintegrate into the community. Through a partnership with the Ninastako Cultural Centre, CPSAR will design, implement and evaluate the Community Integration Through Art – Pissatsinaskssini (CITAP) program. This program will host weekly meetings for a social recreational support group that will include creating art, sharing food, building relationships and learning about health and wellbeing in an environment guided by Blackfoot knowledge.
“The program will honour the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) people through relationships that are respectful, relevant, reciprocal and responsible by using Indigenous ways of knowing and learning,” says Fantazir. “We are honoured to be working closely with the Ninastako Cultural Centre and our local judiciary and partners to develop and
“Given our focus is on reviving and developing traditional and contemporary cultural skills, we feel this project and our reciprocal relationship with CPSAR will help us to realize our goals.” Gloria Wells Executive director Ninastako Cultural Centre