Riders, FNUniv team up to help remove ‘financial barriers’ for some students

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to help with financial barriers for future students at the First Nations University of Canada.

Thanks to the success of the team’s 2024 Indigenous logo, the club, the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation, and the FNUniv announced a one-time $60,000 commitment. The funds will be split between the “Away from Home” Bursary ($40,000) and the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation Scholarship ($20,000).

The logo was designed by Chris Chipak of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.

“When we started down developing an Indigenous logo and that program, we just immediately knew we had to give back to this community. We started looking at what form does that take and looked at our community pillars and right away, education jumped out,” Riders President and CEO Craig Reynolds said.

“We thought if we could remove some barriers by providing some scholarships to Indigenous students entering First Nations University, that would be a very meaningful way to give back.”

The “Away from Home” Bursary is intended to help future students with relocation costs in order to attend school in either Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina.

“There are many costs associated with relocation and these are first-year students. They would not, in many cases, have the support to relocate,” said FNUniv President Jacqueline Ottmann.

The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation Scholarship will reward academic excellence among new Indigenous students entering FNUniv.

“There’s a lot of barriers for first-year students and students throughout the entire program. There’s many barriers and financial barriers is one of them,” Ottmann said. “The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation and the Saskatchewan Roughrider club are supporting are students in both those ways and helping to alleviate the financial barrier so they can focus on their studies and have one less pressure.”

Ottmann, who had to move from Fishing Lake First Nation to Saskatoon for her own schooling, knows how daunting it can be to move for a first-year student.

“I could have been a thousand miles away from home – that’s how it felt,” Ottmann said. “My parents couldn’t afford to come into the city to support me in that way nor could I leave the city to go and visit my community.

“Students today still experience those kinds of challenges and so there could be these feelings of loneliness and isolation and leaving their familiar ecosystems is significant and navigating not only university life but city life can be very challenging.”

Ottmann said First Nation communities do support students but it’s not an unlimited amount of money.

“There’s this misconception that post-secondary education is free for First Nations students and that’s not the case,” Ottmann said. “In many of our communities, there is a significant waiting list of students that are wanting to come to university but those communities can not support every single student.

“I know there are students that want to pursue post-secondary education but cannot be supported because of the limitations financially within their communities. Even those who are supported financially, there is a limit to that. We’re always looking for partners that can contribute to scholarships and bursaries for our students.”

Ottmann said the funds would reach a number of students and doesn’t all need to be handed out ahead of this next school year.

With a lot of students at FNUniv fans of the Riders, it is a welcome partnership.

“I have been to the games and have seen our students and they are wearing the T-shirts and the hoodies with the Indigenous logo so this is a partnership that makes sense. By coming together this way, we’re recognizing the importance of supporting society, supporting the province,” Ottman said. “Our students step into every sector of society and education is the key to many successes and that will impact the province.”

Reynolds said they just wanted to start with the one-time commitment.

“This is related to our 2024 green logo proceeds. 2025, we’re still finalizing those and obviously we launched another version of it being colourized and the response to that was fabulous and fantastic and significant. Once we get that all finalized, I think you’ll see some other announcements of a similar nature,” Reynolds said.