Indigenous Admissions

VanArts supports First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and non-status indigenous students in succeeding in their studies through advising, guidance, and resources. With one-to-one support in admissions our goal is to help indigenous students continue to succeed in the fields of media arts after graduation. Our Admissions Advisor supports students with the following:

• Band / Educational Funding Processes
• Student Loans, Scholarships, and Awards
• Portfolio / Audition Reviews & Guidance
• Housing Resources
• Referrals to Lower Mainland Indigenous Resources

VanArts is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Indigenous territories of the ʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations.

Indigenous Student Funding Tips

1. Your first step is to reach out to your First Nation for band funding and other related scholarships/awards. They will have an application process you must go through and specific deadlines determined by the post-secondary funding administrator. If you are not a member of a First Nation, Metis Nation, etc. skip to step 2. Bands sometimes will fund partial amounts if the cost of tuition is too high for their yearly budget. 
2. If you receive a band denial letter this can grant you access to external indigenous sources of funding. Federal and Provincial agencies that fund students for post-secondary education outside of band funding look for band denial letters to proceed with their sponsorship process. These agencies also offer funding to Mets, Inuit, and non-status indigenous students.
3. You can also apply for a student loan in addition to the above resources. Admissions Advisors can assist you with this process.
4. Check out external scholarships, bursaries, and awards for indigenous students.

Financial Sponsors 

These sponsors are outside of band funding and assist indigenous students in their post secondary financial aid.

• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
• National Indian Brotherhood Trust Fund
• First Peoples’ Cultural Council
• BC Native Women’s Association
• Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP)

Scholarships & Bursaries

Scholarships are a great way to ease the financial strain of your school year; you can apply to multiple scholarships to receive the maximum amount of awards.

• Indigenous Bursaries Search Tool (Government of Canada)
• Aboriginal Multi-Media Society
• Irving K Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society
• Indspire Bursaries and Scholarships 
• Canada Post Aboriginal Education Incentive Awards
• New Relationship Trust Fund

Check out those links and more as funding is available to you based on more than just indigenous status but also location, financial status, age etc. You can also sign up for https://yconic.com/  and http://www.scholarshipscanada.com/ to apply for other scholarship opportunities.

Testimonials & Alumni Success

Josh Samuels
2D & 3D Character Animation – Haida Nation, BC

“Attending VanArts gave me the knowledge I would need to have staying power in a very competitive industry. We were focused heavily on character animation, and also learned aspects of other techniques that would help us achieve what we wanted to: basic lighting and modeling to life drawing and animation history. I’m proud to say that I come from a school that not only teaches animation, but has the best teachers I could have ever had.”

Josh most recently worked on Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, and was featured in a CBC article discussing his journey from Haida Gwaii to working on a major feature film.

Soloman Chiniquay
Professional Photography – Chiniki Band, AB

“I loved my experience at VanArts and I think my time there helped me understand how to become a working artist. What was most invaluable from my time there was understanding visual communication and literacy. It helped me understand how to take control of my work and gave me direction as to where I could take it.”

Solomon, who recently opened a gallery show at Mount Royal University, has been featured in the Calgary Journal as part of a long-term project to document indigenous reserves and preserve their culture on camera.

Darylina Powderface
Acting for Film & Television – Chiniki Band, AB

Darylina, from the Chiniki Band in Morely, Alberta, graduated from our Acting for Film & Television program and quickly landed a roles on TV series Arctic Air and Wild Canada. This was followed by an incredible opportunity to travel to Budapest, Hungary to shoot the British drama Jamestown by the makers of Downton Abbey. Part of her role involved learning the Algonquin language, and she learned a great deal about the differences between Canadian and European productions.