THUNDER BAY – Wake the Giant has launched public online access to its training platform – an immersive, self-paced course designed to deepen understanding of Indigenous culture and the impacts of colonization in Canada.
“We’ve always wanted to make it available to the public, but also wanted to give it a gamified approach,” said Sean Spenrath, co-founder of Wake the Giant.
Developed in partnership with Culture Foundry Studios, an educational tech company specializing in Ojibwe language learning, the course is now available to individuals, organizations, and employers nationwide through a mobile application.
“We asked Culture Foundry Studios to adapt our hospital training for the public, and now we have this beautiful, gamified version available to everyone,” Spenrath said.
The training was created with guidance from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, educators, and the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council, and includes content on residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and Indigenous history.
"Essentially, you're learning cultural awareness, you're learning about the culture, you're learning about the history of indigenous peoples," said Spenrath.
The training program was announced in 2023 and the city's two hospitals made the training mandatory for its employees.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre reports an 89.72 per cent completion rate with more than 3,195 staff members certified. St. Joseph’s Care Group has certified more than 2,200 employees, representing more than 90 per cent of its workforce.
Employees who complete the training wear a Wake the Giant decal on their ID badges, an ongoing symbol of their commitment to cultural awareness in the workplace.
“It’s about learning the culture, the history, and being more welcoming, especially to youth coming to Thunder Bay from remote communities,” said Spenrath.
To celebrate the public launch, anyone who completes the training before Sept. 1, will receive a 10 per cent discount code for Tier 3 tickets to the Wake the Giant Music Festival.
“It’s a great way to reward people for doing the training, now everyone has access,” Spenrath noted.
