IOHAHI:IO AKWESASNE ADULT EDUCATION & TRAINING CENTER CHANGES NAME

On Wednesday, Onerahtohko:wa/May 22, 2019 Iohahi:io staff invited their partners to a sign unveiling announcing a new name for Iohahi:io. The center will now be known as the Iohahi:io Akwesasne Education & Training Institute.

Iohahi:io’s name: “ Akwesasne Adult Education Center” was first written in the Planning & Feasibility study completed back in 1994. According to the Executive Summary of the study its “target market for training services was adult residents in Akwesasne who include but not limit: Female heads of household; Older workers over age 45; Workers with low educational levels; and Workers laid off from long-term jobs.” The facility opened its doors in 1996.

Today, Iohahi:io belongs to the Indigenous Institutes Consortium (IIC). The IIC is comprised of 8 out of 9 Indigenous Institutes in Ontario recognized by the provincial government. Iohahi:io along with the other Indigenous Institutes are funded by the Canadian Government and the province of Ontario through grants. Iohahi:io receives the bulk of its funding from Ontario’s Indigenous Institute Operating Grant. In December 2017, the Ontario provincial government passed a bill recognizing the Indigenous Institutes as a “Third Pillar” for education in Ontario. That bill raised the Indigenous Institutes equal to the level of Colleges and Universities in Ontario. Iohahi:io now has the opportunity to become a recognized independent college after a review through Indigenous Advanced Education Skills Council (IAESC), a quality assurance arm created by the Ministry of Ontario.

In Ennisko:wa/March 2019, the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Board of Education Board of Trustees voted to rename Iohahi:io to better reflect the direction Iohahi:io is currently moving. The Iohahi:io Akwesasne Education & Training Center hosted an Open House after the sign unveiling to celebrate its renaming.