OHSWEKEN, September 9, 2025 – The Mastercard Foundation has announced a strategic $235 million investment to support 30 organizations across Canada that are advancing education for Indigenous youth. Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP) is honoured to have been named among the recipients of this investment.
This investment coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Final Report and its Calls to Action. The Mastercard Foundation’s investment recognizes the outstanding efforts of organizations dedicated to elevating Indigenous youth leadership and transforming post-secondary education in partnership with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.
For more than three decades, SNP has faced significant limitations in its capacity to fully participate in and offer post-secondary education and training due to persistent barriers such as funding inequities, jurisdictional control by provincial legislation and ministries, and the federal government’s limited lack of financial support for Indigenous-led institutes of learning. As a recipient of this investment, SNP is taking proactive steps to counter these challenges by investing the funds to establish a financial base that
enhances long-term sustainability. The annual interest generated from these investments will be dedicated to one-time expenditures such as capital repairs and time-limited special projects, ensuring SNP can continue to deliver vital programs that foster employment opportunities while sustaining and advancing our languages, ways of knowing, and ways of being.
SNP further emphasizes that eventually realizing equitable, long-term, sufficient, and sustainable core operating funding is critical to advancing reconciliation and driving economic growth. Increasing First Nations' participation in all sectors of the economy remains essential to this vision. SNP graduates will continue to play a role in strengthening the economy, improving health and well-being, and contributing to environmental sustainability for all who share this land.
“The Mastercard Foundation investment is a game-changer for SNP. SNP has operated for thirty-three years by consistently seeking annual, unpredictable grant funding. A portion of the time and resources taken to keep the doors open can now be redirected to reaching and supporting more learners while respectfully interacting and sharing information with other knowledge systems. With this investment, SNP can increasingly contribute to the well-being of all who share this land by offering education that embeds
knowledge specific to Ǫgwehǫweh values, languages, and culture. On behalf of SNP, I extend a heartfelt Nya:węhkowah (meaning a big thank you) for ‘seeing’ us and valuing what SNP does with this significant investment.”
- Rebecca Jamieson, President & CEO, Six Nations Polytechnic
The investment builds on the Mastercard Foundation EleV Program, which works with more than 65 partners across Canada to support 100,000 Indigenous youth in achieving post-secondary education and transitioning to meaningful work by 2030. Founded in 2017, EleV has committed over $500 million to transform education and employment in the service of Indigenous youth, helping them lead good lives.
“Grounded in Haudenosaunee values, languages, and worldviews, Six Nations Polytechnic enables learners to achieve a high-quality education while revitalizing culture and contributing to their Nations. We made a commitment to young Indigenous people that we would walk alongside them to transform post-secondary education in ways that support them to live a good life. This exemplary organization is contributing to that change and to a stronger country for us all.”
- Jennifer Brennan, Senior Director, Canada Programs at the Mastercard Foundation
In the coming years, this investment will enable SNP to strengthen its role within a national network of leading organizations focused on sharing knowledge, amplifying impact, and accelerating transformative change in post-secondary education. SNP remains committed to developing confident, knowledgeable, and skilled members of society.
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