TRC scholarships support survivors

The University of Winnipeg has announced two new scholarships to support aboriginal students who are Indian residential school survivors or who are descendants of survivors of residential schools.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Scholarship will be awarded annually to one male and one female student. Each scholarship is valued at $5,000.

“That is a privilege and a responsibility,” said Lloyd Axworthy, the university’s president and vice-chancellor.

Axworthy added that about 10 per cent of the university’s student population is aboriginal, making it one of the top four universities in Canada for aboriginal student enrolment.

The TRC was created as a result of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement involving survivors, the federal government and churches that ran the schools. Its mandate is to provide former students and their families with a voice and to set the record straight about the 150-year legacy of forced assimilation.

The scholarship is open to aboriginal students entering or continuing in any undergraduate degree program at the university. New students must have a high school average of at least 75%; continuing students must have a grade point average of at least 3.0.

For more information, visit the University of Winnipeg website, www.uwinnipeg.ca or send an email to [email protected]