Betty-Ann Durocher
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Degree: Bachelor of Education Education: Northern Saskatchewan Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NSITEP) |
“NSITEP is a lot more about mentorship.”
NSITEP Graduate
At 49 years old, Betty-Ann Durocher graduated from the Northern Saskatchewan Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NSITEP) with her Bachelor of Education in May 2025. In 2024, she received the Order of the Gabriel Dumont Bronze Medal for her leadership and language revitalization work. She has always been enthusiastic about working with little people, and she was working at an infant centre as an Early Childhood Educator when she learned about NSITEP.
Originally from Pinehouse Lake, Betty had to uproot her life to move to La Ronge for school. She applied for funding to attend school from GDI, and she received her funding in time to apply for a home in La Ronge. Her daughter enrolled in the local high school, and they were both able to settle in for school in the fall. She was nervous about going back to school as an adult, but everything worked out to make her transition easy, which is how she knew she was on the right path.
Betty says that going back to school helped her feel proud to be Métis. Her Indigenous identity was in the background of her life before taking the NSITEP program, and she says now “it made me realize that I am a strong Indigenous lady and I should be proud of my language and my culture.” Betty speaks Cree fluently and grew up hearing Cree spoken around her, but she was shy to speak it around non-Cree speakers. Now she is proud of her culture and her language, and she tries to use Cree greetings and introductions whenever she can.
One of her biggest accomplishments at school was completing a presentation to her class entirely in Cree. “I was so proud of myself,” Betty said because she had to learn another dialect of Cree. She grew up speaking the y dialect of Cree, and she learned the th dialect to teach in the classroom. “I loved the experience,” Betty enthused, “If I had the opportunity I would go teach in Cree.” After getting her teaching degree, Betty is excited to teach the young ones her language and help pass that knowledge. Her long-term goal is to take back her language to her home community and teach preschoolers to be proud of their language from an early age.
Betty says that she and her NSITEP classmates have become friends, and she stays in touch with each other even though the program is over. They still text each other to give advice or offer a ride. “We all depend on each other,” Betty said of the close-knit class. In her first year, Betty completed a family tree of her biological family, a side of herself she hadn’t really explored as an adopted child. She said the experience led her to trace family ties back to other classmates, and she was excited to find out that “we’re all connected somehow.” She can now share that knowledge of her family with her daughter, and she is proud to be part of the NSITEP community.
One of the other aspects of the program that Betty will cherish is the land-based learning opportunities. “Morris would take us out on the land and find something to teach us a lesson on” Betty said warmly. “The outdoors is a great lesson on its own rather than buying a lesson plan. We can teach our children what is important right outside our doorstep.” The NSITEP classes took canoe trips, hiked, fished, and used natural resources as a learning tool.
Betty says she tried the Northern Teacher Education Program or NORTEP before it was cancelled, but she found the student experience much different than NSITEP. “The first time I handed something in was very intimidating,” Betty remembers, “everything came back all red. There was no mentorship, only critique. NSITEP is a lot more about mentorship.” She says it wasn’t easy being a student who was so much older than a lot of her classmates, but the experience was worth it because everyone was so supportive, and she made lifelong friends in the program. “I knew I was distant from my culture, but NSITEP made me realize who I am, and brought me back to my culture and identity.” Her advice to anyone who is considering the NSITEP program is to just go for it. The application process may be intimidating, but you will gain so much more than a degree.
Betty says she plans on sticking around La Ronge after she graduates for her daughter to finish high school. She is passionate about making Cree accessible, and she wants to keep teaching to the pre-K and kindergarten age students.
