Alison Burgess 6/26/23 Alison Burgess 6/26/23

ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund 2023 Award Recipients

Victoria, BC, June 26, 2023 - The ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund Award for 2023 has been awarded to three recipients: Elijah Patrick, a second year Civil Engineering student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan; Connie Davis, a PhD student in Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia; and Stacie Coutlee, a PhD student in Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia.

Established in June 2021 by AME Group, Gwaii Engineering, Diamond Schmitt, Number TEN Architectural Group, AES Engineering, RJC Engineers, and the Victoria Native Friendship Centre; the ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund aims to bring more Indigenous voices into architecture and building design, imbuing these industries with Indigenous values, perspectives and ways of knowing, being and doing.

“Failure is part of the plan, it’s a sign that you’ve crossed a line that you never thought you’d cross before.” Elijah Patrick

“I am eternally grateful to the organization for the award and contributing to my educational journey. They truly recognized my Indigenous way of being and values that will be shared in the engineering field.” Connie Davis

“‘We cannot just write about it; we must demonstrate it too.’ - Shawn Wilson.

Due to intergenerational trauma, I was blinded by fear, I had limited views that minimized my awareness. In moving forward, I learned to become accountable for things I cannot change. I acquired tools that empowered me to respond differently.

This new thinking allows me to have a new experience with life. Otherwise, I would not have been accepted into a Graduate program without an undergrad.” Stacie Coutlee

“On behalf of our fund’s partners, I wish to congratulate Elijah Patrick, Connie Davis, and Stacie Coutlee for being recipients of our fund in 2023,” said Kear Porttris, Chair, ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Advisory Committee. “Not only will they bring Indigenous knowledge into their professional careers, they are already re-defining what engineering design, inclusion and professionalism in Canada is by bringing Indigenous practices and ideals into their studies.

We are proud to be growing our offering and acknowledge the great work the applicants are doing in their fields. This is a tremendous time to be Indigenous professionals and it is exciting to see so many Indigenous people aligning their profession with their culture and community priorities.”

The ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund provides a minimum of one annual award of $5,000 to Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis architectural or engineering students in British Columbia. To be eligible, students must identify as an Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis persons from British Columbia with a desire to pursue a career in the architecture and engineering industry. All applicants are provided with the opportunity to make direct connections with industry professionals through the fund’s mentorship program.

For further media enquiries, please contact: media@indigenousaeaward.ca

Download the press kit here.

Alison Burgess 10/4/22 Alison Burgess 10/4/22

ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Applications Open for 2022/2023

VANCOUVER, BC - Students are invited to apply for the second year of ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund. Eligible students must identify as an Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis persons from British Columbia, be working toward a career in engineering or architecture and be enrolled in post-secondary studies for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund provides an annual award of $5,000 to an Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis architectural or engineering student in British Columbia. The fund’s mentorship program provides all applicants access to working professionals that provide industry relationships and support pivotal career choices. On the other side, this program creates a network for Indigenous technical professionals to draw from and collaborate together.

“There are very few Indigenous professionals working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Many engineering and architecture firms work with Indigenous communities, but few have Indigenous professionals working within their organizations. Our partners recognize this and want to help Indigenous people pursue careers in our industry,” said Kear Porttris, Committee Chair and Métis civil engineer.

The naming of the post-secondary education fund acknowledges the territories of Lekungen, W̱SÁNEĆ and Malahat Peoples. To honour the local Nations the team worked with the SENĆOŦEN Language-Revitalization Group to name the award and begin in a good way. What emerged through conversation was this phrase: ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱. The English translation is “a dream for what becomes of you.”

The deadline for submissions is November 18, 2022. For more information on eligibility requirements, please visit the application page.

Alison Burgess 6/6/22 Alison Burgess 6/6/22

The First Recipient of the ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund

It all begins with an idea.

Victoria, BC, June 6, 2022 - Kennedy Rolston is the inaugural recipient of the ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund Award. She is a fourth-year civil engineering student at the University of Victoria.

"Being one of very few women, and one of very few Indigenous people in my classes can be incredibly difficult. Some days it can be hard to find peers that can relate. Having Indigenous engineers and architects to look up to as role models and mentors makes a huge difference. Seeing the possibilities of what you can become and how you can make a difference makes it all seem possible,” said Kennedy Rolston. “I am so grateful to see that there are so many companies in the industry that are supporting Indigenous students in pursuing their careers in engineering and architecture. I hope that this award can inspire many more to pursue their passions in the field and remove the financial barriers that many are facing when it comes to pursuing post-secondary education. I am honoured to receive the ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Award, and hope that someday I can be a mentor to other Indigenous students pursuing engineering or architecture."

“On behalf of our fund’s partners, I wish to congratulate Kennedy Rolston for being the first recipient of our fund,” said Kear Porttris, Chair, ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Advisory Committee. “Kennedy is a model of a young Indigenous technical professional with a very exciting career ahead of her. She embodies the hope we have for future Indigenous professionals, and we look forward to her future success.”

“Our group at ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ is building a foundation to create a network of support for future Indigenous engineers and architects,” continued Kear Porttris. “We are creating a mentorship program that provides Indigenous people access to working professionals that provide industry relationships and support pivotal career choices. On the other side, this program creates a network for Indigenous technical professionals to draw from and collaborate together. We’ve just had our first mentoring session with many of the 2021/2022 applicants, and we are looking forward to building connections and facilitating this network in the coming years.”

The ḴEL,ḴELOŦEN ȻE S,ISTEW̱ Fund provides an annual award of $5,000 to an Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis architectural or engineering student in British Columbia. To be eligible, students must identify as an Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis persons from British Columbia with a desire to pursue a career in the architecture and engineering industry. All applicants are provided with the opportunity to make direct connections with industry professionals through the fund’s mentorship program.

For further media enquiries, please contact: media@indigenousaeaward.ca

Download the press kit here.