‘I’m truly grateful:’ Bearspaw First Nation education trust fuelling students’ post-secondary pursuits

By Leah Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Rocky Mountain Outlook ÎYÂRHE NAKODA — When Katea Kootenay left her foster home at 18, it was up to her to put food on the table while funding her dream of becoming a registered counsellor. The realities of juggling school and two full-time jobs quickly set in. “I would be in school full time and then, in the evening, I would go to work and it’s still like that to this day,” said Kootenay, a Bearspaw band member — one of the three bands of the Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation. Learning from her cousin that her band offered scholarships to post-secondary students, Kootenay reached out to the Ozîja Thiha Education Trust (OTET) — a lifeline in a time when finding the means…

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