I vs IKWC

The I-STEM iOS application is the gateway for users to locate the specific facility(ties) they need for their R&D work and identify the one that is either located closest to them or available the soonest. Through a recent GoI directive, institutions with R&D facilities funded by agencies of the GoI are now required to list them on the I-STEM Portal. Through the I-STEM Portal or the web site of the organization where the desired facility is located, one can make a reservation for using it. To enable the running and maintenance of the resources, the organization may charge a fee, which depends on whether the user is from the academia, a public institution, or from industry. A panel of Experts will be formed over time to help users make the most informed use of resources available through I-STEM.

The Indigenous Knowledge & Wisdom Centre (IKWC) is not a new idea as it was borrowed from Citizens Plus, June 1970. This concept was called the ‘Alberta Indian Education Centre’ and was designed to promote studies of Indian history, culture, language and values (Citizens Plus, Indian Chiefs of Alberta, June 1970). It is noteworthy that the ‘red paper’ was drafted in the very same building the IKWC office is located in today. The idea of an ‘Education Centre would have certainly been lost if it was not for Ms. Marilyn Buffalo and Ms. Sheena Potts who insisted on the idea that a cultural education centre be included in the Education MOU. In the spring of 2012, a draft of an IKWC business plan was developed by the IKWC sub-table, and was revised a year later in the spring of 2013. On June 13, 2013, at a duly convened meeting of the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs, the Chiefs Resolution: #2013-06-12/R10 was passed in support of IKWC. In 2016, a Chiefs’ Roundtable was held in Kananaskis, AB; the Chiefs agreed to proceed to create a federally incorporated not-for-profit entity and appointed an Interim IKWC-Board of Directors. The IKWC office opened its doors and began operations in the spring of 2017 where it will be a centralized location offering education, policy, language and culture. It will provide a repository of information on Treaty No. 6, Treaty No. 7 and Treaty No. 8. Members, and a First Nations directed environment to learn and share information.