August 30, 1996 For Immediate Release

A University of Northern British Columbia student has become the first international student to graduate from UNBC and the first UNBC student to complete the requirements for a masters degree in First Nations Studies.

Michiyo Kiwako Okuma of Japan recently defended her thesis on the Nisga'a education system to a thesis committee comprised of UNBC academics and people from the Nass Valley. "This is the first time in the history of the Nass Valley, or any other aboriginal community that I know of, where a masters student who worked in an aboriginal community presented a thesis in that community," says Deanna Nyce, Executive Director of Wilp Wilxo-oskwhl Nisga'a. "She let the Nisga'a tell their own story."

"This study concludes that the curriculum issue is one of the most important and fundamental issues in Nisga'a control of education," Ms Okuma writes in her abstract. "It argues that for decolonization through education to be effective, rethinking of the institutionalization of education must occur." The study also focuses on what traditional Nisga'a educational philosophy can contribute to mainstream pedagogy.

In 1975, the Nisga'a established the first aboriginal-run school district in the country. Ms Okuma has found, however, that many problems exist. These are associated with the presence of non-aboriginal curriculum in the form of institutionalized teaching structures, methods, and content.

Michiyo Kiwako Okuma earned a BA from Meiji University in 1982. She plans to pursue a doctoral degree in Sweden.