By Cheryl Jahn

UNBC and Lheidli T’enneh ink new MOU

Mar 13, 2025 | 1:35 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The University of Northern BC and The Lheidli T’enneh First Nation put ink to paper on a new Memorandum of Understanding Thursday (March 13). It formalizes a tuition waiver from the University in concert with financial support from the Lheidli T’enneh to cover student needs such as living expenses, course-related fees, textbooks and tutoring services.

“This is a huge deal,” says Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan. “I know it is an absolutely huge deal for clearly today and for education because education is important for whatever they want. What our kids want to pursue. “

The new agreement builds on a pilot program along the same vein that has been in place since 2019, and UNBC was one of the first to do this.

“To do this. Yes. One of the first,” explains Dr Geoff Payne, President of UNBC. “And I think it was a really important step for us as an institution, our commitment to truth and reconciliation, but also our commitment to the relationship we have with and with the Lheidli T’enneh and the traditional lands in which the university is on.”

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Lheildi T’enneh Councillor Josh Seymour is part of the Education Portfolio that helped to draft the new MOU.

“I did come here [UNBC] to take one course under the program just to see how it was going. And that gave me great insight on how to improve the program or where I saw that things could be a bit easier. And that actually helped us rewrite a lot of the MOU as well as see the partnership program to make sure that it’s as smooth as possible because coming to university, whether you’re from a First Nation or not, it’s such a culture shock.”

Both parties spoke of the strong partnership over the years on the journey to reconciliation. And it’s more than just lip service.

“You see all the time we do acknowledgements, but I want it to be more. This isn’t ‘We’ve done it. We have a relationship.’ We do the acknowledgement. We have a partnership with Lheidli T’enneh. It’s deeper. It needs to be deeper. It needs to be broader and meaningful. I want everybody, when they come to UNBC, whether they’re a student, a faculty member or a staff member, part of the UNBC community, to understand why we do this, why we do this.”

It is also part of the lure to bringing Lheidli members home.

“So with Lheidli T’enneh’s population from, in 2019, being 400 to today’s population, which is over 900 now, we have a higher need for education,” says Seymour. “And we’re hoping that this will play into reconciliation and having young people who have never been connected to the Lheidli T’enneh can come home and pursue their degree, but also reconnect with the community as well.”

The document was called a fluid one that can be adjusted as warranted.