From the AV俱乐部 Magazine Fall 2011.
When RCMP Const. Dawn Metallic pores over the files of missing men, women and children from across Canada, she can鈥檛 help but think of her own life and the roads not taken.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what happened to me, why I took a different path in life 鈥� but I was at those crossroads. I could鈥檝e been one of those girls,鈥� she says.
Instead Ms. Metallic, a graduate of (TYP), is working in Ottawa at the National Police Support Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains.
鈥淚 know people who are still in those situations,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o, I definitely bring that to the table.鈥�
The 10-year force veteran is the 鈥渆yes and ears of aboriginal policing鈥� in the ongoing development of the national database, the first of its kind in Canada. Her role, in addition to providing support for police forces across the country on their cases, is to ensure there is always an aboriginal voice in the process.
鈥淎 lot of these people I鈥檓 working with have never worked with an aboriginal person before,鈥� she says.
She is from a Mi鈥檏maq community that borders New Brunswick and Quebec. In 1992, she applied to AV俱乐部 to begin classes but didn鈥檛 get in. That鈥檚 when 鈥淭YP came to me,鈥� she says. Through TYP, she began studying in the fall of 1992.
The program was designed to help black and aboriginal students gain the skills they needed to get a university education. The students were keenly aware that people looked at them differently based on the colour of their skin. Her classmates also suffered from a lack of confidence, role models and encouragement from teachers in the public system.
Before TYP, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know everybody felt like that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t gave me that independence to have some self-confidence that I have the capability of doing it.鈥�
Education combined with commitment to the community
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TYP began in 1970, the brainchild of graduate student James Walker and Burnley (Rocky) Jones (LLB鈥�92, LLD鈥�04), an undergrad at the time. The pair had been discussing the systemic racism facing black and aboriginal students for some time.
鈥淲e operated from the premise that we鈥檙e not stupid... but that there must be something blocking First Nations and African Nova Scotians from getting through,鈥� says Dr. Jones, who is now a retired lawyer.
They found their solution after a long talk during a duck hunting trip in 1968. They combined various philosophies on black education and came up with a university-level program aimed at black and aboriginal school dropouts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just enough to have an education,鈥� says Dr. Jones. 鈥淭hey had to have an education and then be committed to coming back to the community to use their education to further educate the community.鈥�
AV俱乐部 students and faculty, along with members of the local African-Canadian community, lobbied the university to officially adopt the program. The administration took on the challenge, loaning staff from other programs; paying Mr. Walker and Dr. Jones a stipend to develop a black history course; and hiring Noel Knockwood to develop an aboriginal studies course.
Dr. Jones thought TYP would last five or 10 years. TYP recently marked its 40th anniversary. In that time, about 1,000 people have graduated from TYP, becoming leaders in the black and aboriginal communities.
鈥淭he need is great in the community. You don鈥檛 erase in 40 years what has accumulated over centuries in terms of historical disadvantage,鈥� says Isaac Saney, TYP鈥檚 acting director.
Finding a second home with an extended family
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This year, there were 100 applicants for 25 to 30 available spaces. Acceptance is still based mainly on focus and motivation, with a minimum academic requirement and geographical representation.
The intensive program includes courses on black and native history, math, English, academic writing and an elective to help students prepare for and continue on in university. They must achieve a B average to be accepted at AV俱乐部 as regular students and may receive a tuition waiver if they maintain a 2.0 GPA.
鈥淪ome would say that TYP was not as rigorous as your sort of mainstream programs,鈥� said Eric Christmas, a TYP graduate from Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton.
鈥淏ut I found that it actually was. One of the reasons was the courses were actually first-year courses as well. You were getting a sense of how the university works and what the demands were,鈥� says Mr. Christmas.
The program also taught essential university skills like effective communication, note-taking and critical thinking, he said.
鈥淚 was always serious about school when I was there, but it gave me such a great set of tools to work with that I think just made it easier for me,鈥� he says.
In TYP, he also found an extended family he could turn to for guidance on the big campus as he first earned an undergraduate degree in economics and then completed two years of graduate studies. In return, he mentored new TYP students and showed them that 鈥渋t鈥檚 not impossible.鈥�
Making an impact, offering hope
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Mr. Christmas is the energy advisor for Kwilmu鈥檏w Maw-klusuaqn, also known as KMK Mi鈥檏maq Rights Initiative. The organization works for Nova Scotia鈥檚 13 bands in consultations and negotiations with government and industry. His role is to bring business opportunities in the areas of gas, oil and new energy to the chiefs.听
鈥淛ust speaking from the Mi鈥檏maq community, I know many, many colleagues of mine that were in the program before and I see them today and they鈥檙e in just some incredible roles 鈥撎� commerce, health, the environment,鈥� says Mr. Christmas. 鈥淛ust watching the work that they鈥檙e now doing now, it鈥檚 amazing. That鈥檚 a kind of direct impact that I think is measurable.鈥�
But he said TYP also offers something that can鈥檛 be so easily measured.听
鈥淚t gives us hope,鈥� Christmas said. 鈥淚f you think that your current position in life isn鈥檛 going so well, that option (to go to university) is there. And it鈥檚 just been so, so critical.鈥�
Ms. Metallic graduated from TYP in 1993 and studied at AV俱乐部 for three years before she joined the RCMP through a program she learned about on campus. She continues to volunteer at friendship centres, First Nations events and in recruiting aboriginal people for the RCMP.
The foundation for her self-confidence, she says, is rooted in the support she received in TYP. Ms. Metallic returned to Halifax for the 40th anniversary celebration where she heard many success stories and reflected on how far she has come.