Funding provided by the FG Foundation assisted the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition to create a unique technology and literacy based program. The goals of the I-STEAM program were to provide adult learners the opportunity to explore the fields of Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. The initiative was piloted in three sites throughout Ontario and we found many students engaged and eager to participate. The students, as a result of I-STEAM programming, had increased their individual literacy and work place employability.
“The Indigenous-Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (I-STEAM) program was developed as a targeted learning resource for adult literacy. The program is filled with exciting and innovative lesson plans for every level. The I-STEAM program helps students to understand that Indigenous peoples have always had this knowledge in their ancestors’ repertoire to survive since time immemorial. The Ontario Native Literacy Coalition (ONLC) would like to see more students pursue careers in these areas and to know it is genetically embedded in their DNA to be leaders in these fields.” -Michelle Davis, CEO, Ontario Native Literacy Coalition