Indigenous Initiatives

Cape Breton University (CBU) is proud to be the Atlantic Canadian leader in Indigenous post-secondary education. We are excited to help make bright futures happen for Indigenous students and their communities.

Indigenous culture, heritage and knowledge are integrated into CBU’s Indigenous education options, offering all CBU students the opportunity to not only learn about these cultures, but to learn from them and to apply the teachings throughout their careers.

Through its unique partnerships with Indigenous communities on Cape Breton Island (Unama’ki) and elsewhere in Canada, CBU has established many impactful educational innovations for Indigenous peoples and Indigenous knowledge sharing.  These include:

  • The establishment of Unama’ki College, which provides outreach and support for Indigenous learners. Unama’ki College is largely responsible for the successful graduation of more than 1,000 Indigenous students in recent decades.
  • The delivery of ‘In-Community’ teaching across Mi’kma’ki, offering degrees in BA, BA (Community Studies), BBA, B.Ed., BSc and MBA.
  • The development of an MBA in Community Economic Development program, which enrolls more Indigenous learners than any MBA program in Canada.
  • The development of a youth mentorship program, In.Business, which supports students in Grades 10, 11 and 12 planning on attending post-secondary with interest in potentially studying business. Students attend from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador.