First Nation run education systems required to confront crisis in Aboriginal education
National chief supports bids for native-run school systems
Jorge Barrera, Canwest News Service - December 05, 2009
Assembly of First Nations national Chief Shawn Atleo has given his support to recent calls in Western Canada to establish native-run school systems, saying doing so would provide tools for the "emancipation" of First Nations young people.
Atleo told Canwest News Service on Saturday that First Nations need to take more control of education, in part to counter the damage done by the Indian Residential Schools system, which saw thousands of native children taken from their communities and forced to forsake their language and culture.
"We have to be directly involved in making sure that, unlike residential schools, the school system not only prepares children for the market economy but reconnects them with family, language, culture and land," said Atleo.
"That is what the residential schools sought to disconnect our people from, and we have been suffering those consequences now for several generations"
Atleo made the comments ahead of this week's meeting of the Assembly of First Nations, a special chiefs gathering, in Ottawa.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations last week declared their intentions to pursue the creation of separate, First Nations schools as a way to reverse poor performance and graduation rates among native students.
One expert said Saturday that separate native school systems could work, as long as they receive adequate funding from government that allow them to provide an educational experience equivalent to a public school system.
"I think there is definitely potential in terms of retaining students," said Brock Pitawanakwat, acting director of aboriginal governance at the University of Winnipeg.
"If the government decided it was going to underfund the aboriginal school . . . I can see it not working."
Pitawanakwat said historically education, especially under the residential school system, has been used as a tool of assimilation against First Nations.
He said a native-run system would allow students to retain their culture.
"We teach from a different perspective and the conversation starts from a different place," he said. "One example would be in terms of talking about what it means to live in a colonized place, when it feels that Canada is something that happened to your family and your community, as opposed to your family being a part of it."
An "Afrocentric" school was opened this fall in Toronto's north end to combat high dropout rates within the city's black community.
Pitawanakwat said a native school system would try to do more than just hand out more diplomas; it would try to preserving a culture that some feel is under siege, he said.
"For indigenous people, this is our homeland, there is no other place to go. If you move here from India, India will continue on without you and the languages will continue," he said.
"There is no place else (for First Nations) to go. If we can maintain our indigeneity and if it's something we value, it is something we have to protect here.
"I don't expect that Manitoba or Canada to preserve those things for us, the best they can do is get out of our way and allow us to do our own work, and that is where there is potential with this initiative."
This past Friday, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said they planned to begin consultations with the Saskatchewan government to establish a separate, publicly funded native school system similar to Catholic and francophone school boards that exist in parts of the country.
"It is time for us to have the opportunity to advance our educational destiny by designing and implementing an urban First Nations system that will provide an educational opportunity for success," said the organization's vice-chief, Delbert Wapass.
The federation said it was inspired by a similar proposal endorsed by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and recommended to Winnipeg city council by a group of community leaders and activist studying strategies to combat violent crime in the city.
"There needs to be a sense of ownership and responsibility. It's very important (children are) taught as to who they are," said assembly Grand Chief Ron Evans. "It's always important people know their history."
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FSIN Wants First Nation School Division - Hopes move will improve graduation rates, reduce crime
By Benson McCulloch - December 4, 2009
Catholics have one, Francophones have one, and now First Nations people want one too. The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is calling for a separate school division. The request comes the same week experts in Manitoba suggested a separate First Nation school division could cut down on crime. FSIN Vice Chief Delbert Wapass believes the move would not only reduce crime but would increase First Nation high school graduation rates.
"The province has had decade after decade to close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, but has not been able to succeed in doing so," Wapass said. "Its time for us to advance our educational destiny."
The First Nations Urban education school system would be based on First Nations values, beliefs, and traditions much like other separate school divisions, says Wapass.
The Vice Chief in charge of education said he wanted to see the new system in place in a year.
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Saskatchewan First Nations want separate schools
December 3, 2009
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is calling for a separate school division devoted to First Nations.
The federation, which represents almost all bands in the province, issued a media advisory Thursday saying the organization wants a "separate First Nations school division and/or an urban First Nations School."
Delbert Wapass, a vice-chief of the FSIN, has scheduled a news conference in Saskatoon for 1:30 p.m. Friday to discuss the concept.
According to the Saskatchewan region of the federal agency Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, there are 129,138 registered First Nations people in the province. Census reports show about 25 per cent of that population is of school age.
The concept of a separate school board for First Nations was recently promoted in Winnipeg as a way to curb gang violence.
In Saskatchewan, there are separate school systems for Roman Catholics and the francophone community. About 1,200 students are enrolled in schools under the administration of a French-language school board.
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Grand chief backs aboriginal division
By: Nick Martin - 3/12/2009
ASSEMBLY of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Ron Evans has joined the call to establish an aboriginal public school division.
"It's governance -- there needs to be a sense of ownership and responsibility. Children, it's very important they're taught as to who they are," Evans said.
"It's always important people know their history."
Evans said that no one has yet consulted the AMC on the proposal, which came from a group of community leaders and activists recommending anti-crime strategies to Winnipeg city council.
But he's in favour of creating an aboriginal public school division modelled on the Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine, which operates two dozen public schools scattered across the province.
Evans lauded Children of the Earth High School and Niji Mahkwa School in Winnipeg School Division, which he said have taught aboriginal kids well while emphasizing their culture and traditions.
But that's still WSD, not an aboriginal-run education system, Evans said. "We're always piggybacking on someone else's programs.
"The city will be a good place to start -- there's a high number of our people here, our students. The crisis is happening here."
Proponents have not identified specific schools which they would want switched from city school divisions to the proposed division, nor have they yet held community consultation or talked to the province.
Education Minister Nancy Allan is not giving interviews on the proposal.
Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson said earlier this week that the proposed division could ghettoize and segregate aboriginal students, as residential schools did.
Evans dismissed the comparison. "Residential school was an attempt at assimilation," while the proposed public school division would emphasize aboriginal culture, heritage and language, and be operated by aboriginal people, Evans said.
While proponents have not set out any criteria to define who would be eligible to attend such schools, Evans said that any public school has to be open to anyone.