Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) recently announced this year’s recipients of its 2018 First Nation Scholarship Awards Program. This year, $85,000 was awarded to 26 SIIT scholarship winners. Since 2014, SIGA has partnered annually with the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) to provide scholarships to SIIT students, with the help of a matching grant from the provincial government.

“SIGA’s First Nations Scholarship Awards Program encourages education, training, and employment opportunities within the First Nation population across our province,” said Lillian Denton, SIGA’s Director of Community Investments in a media release. “It helps Indigenous students successfully achieve career goals and has the potential to make a major impact in their life.”

New this year, SIGA introduced the Justice Paul Favel Indigenous Award for Outstanding Leadership in Community Involvement. This new addition to our First Nation Scholarship Awards Program is presented to an Indigenous student in a full-time academic program at a Saskatchewan post-secondary institute, who has shown tremendous commitment to Indigenous culture, their community and their own education.

Samantha Waditaka is the proud recipient of the Paul Favel Indigenous Award for $5,000.

“We’re always looking for ways to support our Indigenous communities and youth and this is one way we can help reduce financial barriers many face,” said Denton.