Partnership track · Treaty 1–6 territories · 2026

Indigenous-led STEM, on Indigenous terms.

Indigenous-led STEM programs in Manitoba are doing some of the strongest, longest-running, most place-grounded work in the province — land-based science, Anishinaabe and Cree language coding camps, robotics teams in First Nations schools, urban Indigenous youth tech nights. CommunATI's job is to lift that work into the broader ecosystem on the terms set by the communities running it.

This page is for Indigenous-led organizations, First Nations and Metis education authorities, urban Indigenous centres, and partners who want to support that work without overwriting it.

A coordination layer — not a replacement for Indigenous leadership.

CommunATI is a backbone tool: a directory, a calendar, a resource-sharing layer. It does not direct programming, set curriculum, or sit between communities and the families they serve. Indigenous-led programs that join CommunATI keep full control of how they show up, what they share, who can see what, and how they describe themselves and their work.

The coordination layer is useful only if the work it points to is already strong. In Manitoba, the work is strong. CommunATI's only contribution is making sure families looking for STEM programming can see Indigenous-led options, and that Indigenous-led orgs can find each other and their non-Indigenous peers when collaboration is wanted.

How we work with Indigenous-led programs.

Data sovereignty (OCAP)

Programs run by First Nations retain Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession of all data they share. We do not aggregate program data, share enrollment numbers with funders, or expose attendance records without explicit, revocable consent. Programs can leave the network and take their data with them — at any time, no questions.

Community-defined success

The org defines what success looks like — language transmission, Elder participation, kids returning year over year, families on the land together — and decides which of those (if any) they want surfaced in the platform. We don't impose a metrics framework borrowed from somewhere else.

Free membership

The CommunATI member-org subscription tiers ($29 / $59 / $129 monthly) are waived for Indigenous-led STEM programs and First Nations / Metis education authorities. Always. This is a permanent line in our budget, not a launch promotion.

Right to be invisible

Some programs serve specific communities and are not looking for general public discovery. You can join the network for backend benefits — resource sharing, mentor matching, equipment lending — without ever appearing in the public family-facing directory. The toggle is yours.

Language

Program names, descriptions, and event listings can be published in Anishinaabemowin, Cree, Michif, Dakota, Dene, Inuktut, English, French, or any combination. We don't require an English title or English description.

Nothing about you without you

If we write about Indigenous-led STEM in Manitoba — blog posts, funder reports, presentations — Indigenous partners review the content before it goes out, and have a veto on anything that names their organization, community, or programs. Drafts come to you first. Always.

Concrete things CommunATI can do for an Indigenous-led STEM program.

Membership is whatever subset of these is useful. Most Indigenous-led orgs pick two or three to start; some pick all of them; some pick none and just keep an eye on the network until trust is built.

Listing in the family-facing directory at app.communati.ca, with full editorial control over your own description, photos, language, and contact preferences.
Calendar publishing — your events surface to Manitoba families searching for programs in your region or age band, only if you mark them public.
Resource sharing with the broader network — borrow curriculum, lesson plans, equipment from member orgs; share back only what you want to share.
Mentor matching — connect with Indigenous STEM professionals or allied volunteers willing to support specific programs. You set the criteria.
Equipment lending — robotics kits, soldering benches, drone fleets, microscopes that sit idle in one org can move to where they're being used.
Funder conduit — when a sponsor wants to back Indigenous-led STEM in Manitoba, we can route the introduction to programs that opt in, on your terms (we are not a re-granting body and we don't take a cut).
Network voice — when CommunATI talks to government, school divisions, or pan-Canadian STEM partners about Manitoba, we represent the priorities Indigenous-led members tell us to represent.

What we won't do

Run our own youth programs on First Nations or Metis land
Hold or re-grant funding earmarked for Indigenous programs
Publish program data without explicit consent
Make decisions about who's "Indigenous-led" — that's for the program to declare
Speak for Indigenous partners — we speak with them, when asked
Brand your work with our logo (your branding stays yours)

If you're running — or thinking about — Indigenous-led STEM in Manitoba.

We're at the start of building these relationships. We'd rather take one slow conversation at a time than launch a "partnerships program" with a press release. If any of these describe your organization, we'd like to talk.

First Nations schools & education authorities

K–12 programs in band-controlled schools and federally funded schools on-reserve. Includes Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre member schools, Frontier School Division Indigenous-led sites, and independent band-school programs.

Manitoba Metis Federation–affiliated programs

Metis-led STEM, robotics, coding, and land-based science programming across the Metis homeland in Manitoba — Winnipeg, Brandon, Selkirk, The Pas, Thompson, and the rural regions.

Urban Indigenous youth organizations

Friendship Centres, urban Indigenous youth centres, and culturally grounded programs serving Indigenous youth in Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson, and other Manitoba cities and towns.

Land-based and language-immersion STEM

Programs where the STEM is inseparable from land, language, ceremony, or seasonal practice — water-quality monitoring, ecology, food sovereignty, traditional medicine science, astronomy in language.

Inuit organizations in Manitoba

Urban Inuit programs and the Manitoba Inuit Association — when STEM programming for Inuit youth and families is in scope.

Allied non-Indigenous orgs

Schools, universities, science centres, and member orgs that already partner with Indigenous-led programs and want their CommunATI presence to reflect that partnership accurately.

Start the conversation.

There is no application form. No intake survey. No "tell us about your community" questionnaire. Just an email to a real person.

Email us, on your timeline.

Reach Shawn directly at sbrezden@baytechltd.com. You can also use the general contact form — both end up in the same inbox.

Bay Tech Ltd. operates on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Red River Metis. CommunATI is a Bay Tech initiative.

Contact form How org membership works