Indigenous Education Accord creates framework for university programs working with Aboriginal people
Landmark accord on the Education of Indigenous Peoples in Canada to be Signed at Congress 2010
MONTREAL, June 1 /CNW Telbec/ - A landmark agreement on the education of Indigenous peoples in Canada will be signed June 1, at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences hosted by Concordia University in Montreal. The Accord on Indigenous Education provides for a new framework under which university programs will be reviewed and partnerships with Indigenous communities forged in order to better reflect the educational purposes and values of Indigenous people. It will lead to the development of teaching methods that respect - and, indeed reflect - the specific cultural needs and references of First Nations people.
The agreement was developed between leading representatives of First Nations communities and The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE), which is meeting at Concordia during the 2010 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, continuing through June 4.
Signing Ceremony
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - 10:30am
John Molson School of Business - 7th Floor (MB 7.255)
1450 Guy St. (corner De Maisonneuve)
Present at the ceremony will be:
Mike Delisle, Grand Chief, Kahnawake; Annette and Freddie Deer, Mohawk Elders, Kahnawake; Clément Chartier, President, Métis National Council; Mary Delisle, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami; MorningStar, Elder-in-Residence, Concordia; Fern Snart, President, ACDE; Judith Woodsworth, President and Vice-Chancellor, Concordia University and deans from education faculties and departments of universities across Canada.
To read the accord please click: http://experience.congress2010.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Congress-Indigenous-Accord.pdf
The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) is an association of Deans, Directors, and Chairs of Canadian Faculties, Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education. ACDE members are committed to pan-Canadian leadership in professional and teacher education, educational research, and policy in universities and university-colleges.
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From the ACCORD ON INDIGENOUS EDUCATION
VISION
The vision is that Indigenous identities, cultures, languages, values, ways of knowing, and knowledge systems will flourish in all Canadian learning settings.
PRINCIPLES
We believe that this Accord:
• supports a socially just society for Indigenous peoples;
• reflects a respectful, collaborative, and consultative process with Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge holders;
• promotes multiple partnerships among educational and Indigenous communities;
• values the diversity of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing and learning.
GOALS
Recognizing the need for transformative educational change and acknowledging the unique leadership responsibilities of deans, directors, and chairs of education within the Canadian university context, ACDE supports, endorses, and fosters the following goals:
- Respectful and Welcoming Learning Environments
- Respectful and Inclusive Curricula
- Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
- Mechanisms for Valuing and Promoting Indigeneity in Education
- Culturally Responsive Assessment
- Affirming and Revitalizing Indigenous Languages
- Indigenous Education Leadership
- Non-Indigenous Learners and Indigeneity
- Culturally Respectful Indigenous Research