b'COVID-19 PANDEMICCOVID CHECKUPBy Sarah B. HoodOne year in, howconnection that would allow themhave also struggled with the sepa-to attend virtual classes. ration from family members and are Indigenousclassmates, as well as with the lack Between December 2020 andof supports, like opportunities to youth copingJanuary 2021, Indspires Researchparticipate in ceremony.Knowledge Nest conducted a with the stressessurvey of 3,195 applicants toSo it is not surprising that the the Building Brighter Futures:report states that nearly 90 per of the pandemic?Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awardscent of Indigenous students report (BBF) program to assess how themental health challenges and over COVID-19 pandemic has influenced60 per cent are pessimistic about Indigenous postsecondary students O n March 13, 2020,experiences. The resulting report,the future. As well, many of the Canadian postsecondaryrespondents described experiencing Indigenous Post-Secondary Learnersloneliness, anxiety and depression.students woke up to aand the COVID-19 Pandemic, more-or-less normal day. Sure,reveals that Indigenous youth have things were starting to feel strange.faced special challenges throughRESILIENT COREOn the previous Wednesday, thethe past year. But Indigenous youth have also NBA had announced it would beshown their resilience during closing down its season, followedStay-at-home orders and thethis crisis. Take Roxie Ferguson, the next day by the news that theresultant life disruptions havefor example. When lockdowns World Health Organization (WHO)caused jobs to evaporate andbegan, the University of Calgary was now classifying COVID-19 as aforced students to incur unex- student countered her own feel-global pandemic. pected expenses, like costs tied toings of nervousness about disease upgrading computer equipment.transmission by wearing a full-body But on that Friday, most studentsBalancing home studies withgingerbread cookie costume on her attended classes as usual, takingparental care or the demandsrounds to shops and pharmacies. public transit without using handof roommates has been equallyIt was my COVID suit, she says, sanitizer and sitting next to class- difficult for many students. Theyand actually it was really nice for mates without any masks. Arounda lot of people because I made mid-morning, however, the texteveryone smile.alerts started rolling in as colleges and universities closed theirFerguson is Cree and Mtis. doors and sent students, staff andShe grew up in a community faculty home. The clearing of theof 3,500 people in subarctic campuses was so swift that manyBritish Columbia. A recipient left textbooks, clothing and otherof the University of Calgarys ii belongings in a locker they wouldtaapohtop Excellence Award, not be able to open again forshe is working towards a BA with weeks, or even months. a double major in International Indigenous Studies and Canadian Over the next few weeks, educa- Studies. She plans to pursue a tional institutions pivoted to onlineBachelor of Education and become learning: an experiment that hasan educator; she especially hopes been a stellar success in manyto be able to teach Cree.ways, but has challenged students who might lack not only an up-to- Roxie Ferguson wearing a full-bodySince the pandemic began, date laptop but even an Internetgingerbread cookie costume Ferguson says, she has found 62indspiration2021'