SASKATOON -- A PhD student from Poundmaker Cree Nation is the recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Alexandra Nordstrom, studying at Montreal’s Concordia University, has been granted $105,000 over three years to complete her research project.

“I’m really excited, it will allow me to carry out my research with financial support,” Nordstrom said.

Nordstrom plans to research current education models and Indigenous land-based learning.

Nordstrom’s goal is to innovate Canadian curriculums and empower Indigenous youth and teachers.

“Basically I want to look at different arts and land-based programming that come together, and also the history, stories and knowledges of my own community — Poundmaker Cree Nation — to see how I could potentially create a curriculum for arts and land based education grounded in my community,” Nordstrom told CTV News.

Nordstrom said it’s important to rethink curriculum, to ensure Indigenous students can thrive in Western-made educational institutions.

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Last year, Nordstrom and her friend created a summer program for Indigenous kids, centred around learning from the land.

Nordstrom said she saw positive outcomes from this type of education and plans to incorporate what she learned at her camp into her research.