During the program, you will gain insight on:

• How concepts and applications of governance differ between Indigenous nations and the Canadian state.
• The colonial, neo-colonial, and decolonial aspects of contemporary Canadian policy and public administration.
• The impact of colonization and patriarchy on Indigenous nationhood and membership.
• How the Canadian state, past and present, attempts and succeeds at eroding Indigenous nationhood.

From the teachings, you will be able to analyze, through an investigation of the formation of the Canadian nation-state, the legitimacy of the Canadian state. You will also be able to demonstrate how Indigenous nations, past and present, resist Canadian settler colonialism through self-determination and the rebuilding of nationhood.

During the program, students will gain insight on:

• The premise and implications of honourable Treaty governance and Treaty federalism in Canada.
• Various forms of Indigenous leadership within different community structures while simultaneously recognizing the diversity of Indigenous nations.

From the teachings, you will be able to critically analyze and articulate how Indigenous nations define self-determination and whether these can or cannot exist alongside the Canadian state, making specific conceptualizations of knowledge (such as, but limited to, those nations in Saskatchewan: Dene, nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda, Métis, and Michif ). You will also be able to assess potential benefits, costs, and ethical considerations of various approaches to community and economic development in Indigenous communities, and develop the tools and techniques required to contribute to nation-building based on a particular nation or community's needs.

During the program, students will gain insight on:

• How to bridge Indigenous knowledge with settler-based policy approaches, including public policy development, program evolution, and legislation, to support Indigenous nationhood.
• The history of Indigenous Peoples' rights movements in Canada, as they pertain to the Treaties, the Constitution Act, 1982 s.35, and the ongoing and emerging rights discourse in the Canadian courts.

From the teachings, you will be able to draw parallels between Indigenous Peoples' rights in Canada and rights recognized in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). You will also be able to constructively and respectfully communicate complex issues around colonization and Indigenous governance with diverse audiences.  

Upon successfully completing your Indigenous Nation-Building Certificate, we encourage you to speak with an academic advisor to explore the option of applying your courses to a full master's degree at JSGS.

Indigenous peoples' governance frameworks, while diverse, are intrinsically informed by Indigenous worldviews. This course explores settler-colonial Canada’s attempts to eradicate Indigenous nationhood and the Indigenous peoples’ resistance to these attempts through the continued practice of governance. In particular, Indigenous worldviews will be presupposed to transform colonial inequity in contemporary Indigenous/Canadian governing relationships.

This course develops a structure by which the connection between the traditional and contemporary forms of governance can decolonize and mitigate colonial inequity in settler-colonial Canada. Among the questions considered are: How is decision-making informed by traditional approaches to Indigenous governance? What impact does settler colonialism have on political, social, and economic institutions and developments in Indigenous communities? What role can governance have on economic performance? How can Indigenous self-governance transform settler-colonial inequity?

There is growing attention being given to executive leadership, applied ethics and efforts to create and sustain trust within and through the profession of public administration. This course descriptively and critically examines these three key concepts in relation to the professional public servant and the environments of public sector decision and policy making.

This course provides students with the opportunity to learn and practice inquiry processes for conducting qualitative research. Students will examine the following topics: issues in qualitative data (ontology, epistemology, methodology and method), collection of qualitative data (e.g., interviewing, ethnography, focus groups, case studies), analysis of data, and combining qualitative and quantitative data.

This course begins with the historic framework for contemporary public policy established by treaties, reserves and legislation. Then it examines contemporary developments, including constitutional negotiations, influential court cases, urbanization, comprehensive claims and self-government implementation. This course is intended to provide a basis for critically assessing political and administrative decision-making and policy outcomes.

This course will explore critical nation-building issues confronting Indigenous peoples. While during the course, comparisons can be made to relevant international cases—the primary focus will be on Indigenous nation-building in Canada. The course will examine multi-dimensional settings that confront Indigenous peoples in their pursuit of social, cultural, political, educational, and economic development. It will provide in-depth, hands-on exposure to issues related to nation-building, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and expansion, economic development, constitutional reform, leadership, governance, national identity and epistemic authority, as well as institutional building and cultural match.

This pass/fail course is designed to provide students with an opportunity and forum for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and networking. The course provides students with an introduction to the MPA competencies and an introduction to Indigenous nation-building and its importance to contemporary Canada. The course also introduces students to the tools that are used to engage in and support Indigenous nation-building. The residency will use cases to illustrate concepts and will be informed by Old Ones, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers/Guardians who will help shape the content and, where appropriate, assist with delivery.

When applying to the JSGS University of Regina campus, please note that you must submit an application through the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. 

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You may choose to upload unofficial transcripts, supporting documents, letter of intent, and resume via your online application portal.

You will have the opportunity to enter the names and email addresses of your referees in the online application portal. Once you pay the application fee and submit the application, the system will automatically contact your referees with a link for their submission. Remember to advise your referees to check their spam folder for the auto-email from uregina.ca domain.

To troubleshoot document uploads, referee issues, other technical aspects of the online application, contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at grad.publicpolicy@uregina.ca.

When applying to the JSGS University of Saskatchewan campus, please note that you must submit an application through the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The online application takes about 30 minutes to complete. You may start an application, save it and return to it any time before the application deadline.

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Once you have completed an online application, you will need to upload a series of documents. Please note that in most cases, you will need to allow one business day after paying your application fee before you are permitted to upload documents.

If your application fee has not been processed after 48 hours after being submitted, please contact grad.studies@usask.ca or phone 1-306-966-5788 for assistance. Please ensure you are checking the status of the application fee before emailing or calling. To check the status, please log into your application profile.

When applying to the USask campus, you will need to provide three referees and their contact information. Two of these referees must be academic, and one must be professional. If you have had a substantial study break, you can use all professional referees.

JSGS 895- Community Residency is a required part of the graduate certificate and provides the opportunity to learn with your peers, faculty, and other knowledge holders. 

Access to course content and lectures will require a device (such as a tablet or laptop) and stable internet connectivity assistance with your technology or internet access.

Yes, the INB certificate may be used to ladder into the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program (online and in-person program delivery options available); specifically, completed courses in the INBGC can be considered towards the MPA program requirements for six credit units of electives. The INBGC can also be considered for the entry requirement for the joint Master of Governance and Entrepreneurship in Northern and Indigenous Areas (GENI) when an applicant has completed a three-year bachelor’s degree (instead of the required four-year bachelor’s degree).

Options should be discussed with your academic advisor.

The tuition cost per course is $1,507.50 with a total cost of $6,030 for the full certificate (subject to change; these are based on 2022-23 tuition rates). In addition to the tuition costs, students will also be required to pay mandatory graduate student fees at either USask or U of R. 

Students will also be required to pay for their transportation to the residency and some meals.  

International students pay an additional $1,264.58 per term.