Graduate oskâpêw

This competition is open to all applicants however; internal candidates and applicants who were former employees of the University of Alberta will be given priority consideration before external candidates. Please log in to verify your internal candidate status.

Location - This role is in-person. Work primarily takes place at North Campus, Edmonton.

Reporting to the First Peoples’ House onîkânîw, the FPH Graduate oskâpêw provides guidance and support to graduate students and creates space for open studies and undergraduate FNMI students to explore graduate program pathways on a part-time and full-time basis. The Graduate oskâpêw leads program development, delivery, coordination, administration, and reporting. The Graduate oskâpêw also provides services, including systems navigation, advocacy, referrals, and collaborative graduate planning. Services are guided by First Peoples’ House ways of being and knowing and by perspectives on wellness that honour balance among emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental well-being. The role also helps students strengthen their connections to culture, community, ceremony, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and other support networks, both on and off campus.

Working in close partnership with the UA faculty, open studies, undergraduate and graduate student advisors, instructors, the FPH Transition Year Program Associate Director, the okiskinohamâkew, and an interdisciplinary team, the FPH Graduate oskâpêw engages and collaborates with FPH Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers (TTKs), faculties, departments, units and campus and community partners and agencies to ensure graduate FNMI students receive academic supports. The position also contributes to broader campus education, advocacy, and awareness regarding FNMI graduate students, reconciliation, and equitable access to academic support at the University of Alberta.

The FPH Graduate oskâpêw provides individualized, short-term support to FNMI students navigating concerns related to graduate studies, academic stress, housing insecurity, financial barriers, family and community challenges, identity-related concerns, systemic inequities, and transitions into or through university life. First Peoples’ House recognizes the ongoing impacts of colonization, intergenerational trauma, racism, and barriers to accessing care. This role provides strengths-based, culturally responsive, and student-centred support.