Métis Educator honoured with Indspire Award
- EFN Staff | November 14, 2018
A long-time educator was recently awarded the Indspire Guiding the Journey: Indigenous Educator Award for Community Service. Cort Dogniez, a Métis education consultant with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, received the award at the annual awards celebration held in Edmonton, Alberta on November 8th.
Dogniez credits those who had an impact in his life.
“At this moment in time I’m holding the torch. Many have held it before me, and many will hold it after me. I feel pretty blessed that I have my grandma’s stories, her perspective, her history, and that’s what I get to share in our school division,” he said in a media release.
Dogniez obtained his education through the Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP) at the University of Saskatchewan. He has provided his own vision for Indigenous education where he encouraged Indigenous students by providing an environment where they can be proud of their heritage and culture and enabled non-Indigenous people to know and understand Indigenous histories, cultures, contexts and even the struggles.
He is a member of Central Urban Métis Federation Inc. (CUMFI) and is currently the Métis education consultant with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) – Dogniez was involved in establishing the Métis Education Alliance Agreement between the two organizations to enhance Métis community participation across the division’s 50 school communities.
“Cort has been an invaluable resource for the school division,” said Diane Boyko, Board of Education chair with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. “He has a good and sincere heart, and he makes building relationships look easy. I think that’s why he's good at building community; he is good at fostering relationships that are the foundation that allows people to move forward together.”
Dogniez has also been working with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC) for the last decade by conducting Treaty Catalyst Workshops that gives the resources and knowledge they need to integrate treaty education in their classrooms to educators.
Prior to his time with GSCS, Dogniez held several teaching and administrative roles at Saskatoon Public Schools, where he became a founding member and driving force behind the Okiciyapi Educational Partnership—a strategic alliance between Saskatoon Public Schools, CUMFI and Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC)—that created culturally-responsive learning environments for students and staff.
Dogniez is the third Indspire Guiding the Journey: Indigenous Educator Award recipient from GSCS since 2013. Superintendent Gordon Martell received the leadership award in 2013, and First Nations, Métis and Inuit education consultant Delvin Kanewiyakiho received the award in the language, culture and traditions category in 2015.