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When Shana Dion first agreed to help promote the Indigenous sport and recreation (ISR) graduate certificate, she didn’t expect that simply reading the program’s marketing script would change the course of her life.

“As I was going through the script, I remember thinking, ‘This is brand new, this is innovative,’” says Dion. “Halfway through I asked, ‘Can I actually take this program instead of just promoting it?’ And they said yes — I could be in the first cohort.”

For Dion, who has spent over 16 years supporting Indigenous students in a variety of roles at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ — including as director of First Peoples’ House and now as assistant dean, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students in the dean of students office — the ISR certificate sparked something unexpected.

“I didn’t go into it with big expectations. I just knew I wanted to find clarity. I hadn’t written a paper in 10 years — I didn’t know if I could do it. But the instructors became mentors who taught me how to think critically again. That program changed the trajectory of my life.”

Dion has long been passionate about health and wellness in First Nation communities. In earlier years, she designed community-based addictions awareness programs focused not on abstinence, but on healing through movement. “I helped build gyms in remote First Nations communities,” she explains. “Instead of telling people what not to do, I said, ‘Let’s get physically active - Let’s Move!.’ That stuck with me.”

The ISR certificate deepened this vision, reinforcing how physical activity, ceremony and cultural connection are intertwined. “You can’t be in ceremony without your physical self,” she says. “Everything we do — from picking medicines to raising a tipi — requires movement. We have to honour physical wellness as part of holistic healing.”

This holistic approach aligns with a Cree philosophy Dion holds close: mîyo-pimâtisiwin — living a good life. “For me, living a good life means finding balance in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. That’s what this program encouraged — reflection, reconnection and movement in every sense.”

The program also inspired Dion to pursue her master’s in kinesiology. “I didn’t even know I was a writer until that first paper. Then I thought, ‘Maybe I can keep going.’”

Dion says the ISR certificate doesn’t just serve professionals in sport and recreation — it has the power to reconnect people to culture, build confidence, and shift worldviews. “You’ll meet people from all backgrounds. It’s not just First Nation students — it’s a beautiful, dynamic group, and everyone brings something.”

To those considering the certificate, Dion says: “There will always be barriers — time, finances, self-doubt. But take the leap. You don’t know what’s inside you until you try. This program ignited something in me that I never knew existed.”

About the program

The Indigenous sport and recreation graduate certificate from the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation offers online, instructor-led courses with an optional in-person learning experience. Designed to be completed in approximately one year, the certificate is open to professionals from all sectors, including those in recreation, education, health, and public service. Courses include Indigeneity and Settler Colonialism, Managing Recreation, Sport, and Physical Activity Programs in Indigenous Communities, and Indigenous Peoples’ Physical Activity. The certificate can also be laddered into a course-based Master of Arts degree.

Applications for Fall 2025 are open until Aug. 1, 2025.