Reaching so high that you can touch the sky is more than just a good feeling to those who pursue a career as a pilot at the only Aboriginal post-secondary aviation program in Canada.

The Aviation Diploma Program is soaring into its ninth year of operation at the First Nations Technical Institute, a community owned non-profit corporation located on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Kingston, Ont. This three-year program trains students to fly aircraft and monitor airport traffic. The program is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training, and Transport Canada and is affiliated with Canadore College in North Bay, which issues a joint diploma with FNTI.

“This program has an extremely high reputation and is known across the country,” says principal Malcolm Sutton noting that 70 percent of all graduates from the school are now employed.

All of the 38 students enrolled in the program in 1997 received flight training from the First Nations Air Service, a member of the FNTI corporate group, at Tyendinaga’s Mohawk Airport. Students take to the sky for training in single-engine aircraft such as the Piper or Cessna. To earn a three-year diploma, students must first get their pilot’s license, which requires 45 hours of flying time, then obtain their commercial license, which takes another 200 hours of flying during the day, after hours and on weekends.

Aboriginal values are emphasized in a learning environment that is cooperative rather than competitive. Students say that spirit of cooperation is what sets the school apart. It gives the students a special, intangible something extra that helps in the tough task of working towards being a professional pilot.

FNTI supports this cooperative spirit in establishing its academic principles. Students receive personal attention from the instructors. If someone is having trouble, the response is, “What can we do to help?” says Sutton. “We will do remedial work, if necessary. We have had to overcome some unique problems. For example, English is not always the student’s first language.”

Another problem the students must overcome is home sickness. “A lot of our students come from small communities and are very community oriented. When they move here, they come to a community where they don’t know everyone. They develop a special school spirit because they are all kindred souls. The students and the school are building a stronger relationship between Aboriginal peoples across the country,” says Sutton.

The program is also flexible, allowing students to build their careers while supporting their commitment to their Aboriginal heritage and culture. In certain situations, students can travel back to their communities for ceremonies or the annual goose hunt, for example, without affecting their studies.

One requirement for graduation is to complete a cross-country flight. In many cases, students choose to fly back to their communities and, if possible, they take their family, education counsellor and their funding agent.

“We have students from across the country,” says Sutton, “and they return to their communities as heroes.”

A version of this story ran in the Department of Indian Affairs Fall/Winter 1997-1998 edition of the Ontario Region Intercom.

Web Site: http://www.tyendinaga.net/fnti/aviation/aviation.htm