Post-secondary

Other funding

Band funding is not the only money available to you. These are the ones members apply for most, and they can often be held alongside it.

Tell your counsellor before you accept anything.

Outside awards can sometimes change what the band provides, depending on what the award is for and how the policy treats it. That is not a reason to skip applying. It is a reason to make one phone call first so nothing gets clawed back later.

None of the organisations below are run by Muskeg Lake. Their rules, deadlines and amounts are theirs and can change without this page knowing about it. Check the source before you plan around anything here.

Details on this page were last checked against the source on . If you are reading this a year later, treat every date as a starting point rather than a fact.

Call (306) 466-4959 Email the office

Where to look

Start with these.

Roughly in the order worth your time. The first one is the single biggest source of Indigenous student funding in the country outside the federal government.

Indspire

Bursaries and scholarships

National Indigenous-led charity. Their Building Brighter Futures program covers college, university, skilled trades, apprenticeships and technology programs. One application puts you in for every award you are eligible for, which is unusual and worth taking advantage of, and it stays live across all three deadlines in the same academic year rather than needing to be sent again.

indspire.ca
  • DeadlinesAugust 1, November 1, February 1
  • Closes at11:59pm Eastern, so about 10pm here
  • ApplicationsOne form covers all awards
  • Course loadAt least 60 percent of full time
  • NoteNot every applicant is funded

Your school's Indigenous student centre

Awards and support

Every university and most colleges in Saskatchewan run one, and they hold awards that are only open to Indigenous students at that institution. They are chronically under-applied for. The staff there will also know about departmental and faculty awards that never make it onto a public list.

Go in person in your first week rather than emailing in month three.

  • WhereOn campus, ask at admissions
  • Best timeBefore term starts
  • Also ask aboutEmergency and hardship funds

Saskatoon Tribal Council

Regional

Muskeg Lake is one of seven member nations of STC, alongside Kinistin, Mistawasis Nêhiyawak, Muskoday, One Arrow, Whitecap Dakota and Yellow Quill. STC runs education, training and employment programming across the region that members can access.

sktc.sk.ca
  • CoversSeven member nations
  • Ask aboutTraining and employment programs
  • Applies to you

Government student aid

Loans and grants

Saskatchewan administers provincial and federal student aid together through one application, including grants that do not have to be paid back.

Worth asking about, but ask your counsellor before you apply. How band funding and government aid interact is not simple and depends on what each is paying for.

saskatchewan.ca
  • IncludesGrants as well as loans
  • Before applyingTalk to your counsellor
  • DeadlinesSet by the province, check the site

Scholarship databases

Search tools

Free sites that let you filter by province, program and Indigenous eligibility. Most awards go unclaimed because nobody applies, and a slow evening spent filtering is often worth more per hour than a shift.

Never pay a fee to apply for a scholarship. Anyone charging you is not running a scholarship.

scholarshipscanada.com
  • CostFree, always
  • Filter forIndigenous, Saskatchewan, your program
  • Watch forAnything asking for payment

Muskeg Lake awards

The Nation's own
Outstanding. Any bursaries, scholarships, graduation awards or emergency funds the Nation runs itself, separate from the main post-secondary program. If they exist they belong at the top of this page rather than the bottom, because they are the ones members are most likely to be eligible for.

Everything above is run by organisations other than Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. Deadlines and eligibility rules move. Treat this page as a starting point and confirm on the source before you rely on it.

Applying

Write one good essay and reuse it.

Most applications ask the same three things: who you are, what you are studying, and why it matters. Write those once, properly, and adapt rather than starting fresh every time. The students who get funded are usually the ones who applied to eight things, not the ones who wrote one perfect application.

Ask your school's Indigenous student centre to read a draft. That is part of what they are there for.

Keeping track

Deadlines are the whole game.

Almost every award that goes unclaimed goes unclaimed because someone missed a date, not because they were turned down. Put every deadline in your phone the day you find it, with a reminder a week out.

Band funding deadlines

Not sure what you can stack?

One phone call before you accept an outside award saves working it out afterwards.

Call (306) 466-4959 Apply for band funding

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