Times Higher Education – February 22, 2018
A less well known but arguably much more serious example is the increasing tendency for Canadian faculties of education to use admissions criteria that are unrelated to the characteristics and skills needed by effective classroom teachers. At the University of Windsor, for example, special consideration is being given to candidates who reflect “the ethno-cultural and social diversity of Ontario’s schools”. And, last September, the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba went even further by aiming to admit 45 per cent of incoming teacher candidates on the basis of their self-identification as members of marginalized groups, such as indigenous, disabled, LGBTQ, minority ethnic or socially disadvantaged.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/teacher-education-must-rise-above-political-correctness
OCF Nanabush Storytelling Contest to Become Annual Event
The Manitoulin Expositor – February 21, 2018
Tradition has it that one doesn’t relay spirit stories when there is no snow on the ground, especially stories about the Trickster, Nanabush, because you don’t really want to attract his curiosity by mentioning his name. “There is also the tradition that the spirits might think you are laughing at them,” noted OCF Executive Director Anong Beam. The spirits are not always benign, especially if they are offended, and Nanabush has a reputation for pulling some pretty dark jokes on the unwary or especially the unworthy. “As the OCF, we have to honour that tradition.”
http://www.manitoulin.ca/2018/02/21/ocf-nanabush-storytelling-contest-become-annual-event/
Algoma U Set to Host 13th Annual Gathering at the Rapids Pow Wow
SOO Today – February 21, 2018
The Anishinaabe Initiatives department of Algoma University and the Shingwauk Anishinaabe Students’ Association (SASA) welcome everyone to come and indulge in Indigenous culture and customs at the 13th Annual Gathering at the Rapids Pow Wow: Celebrating Life Long Learning at the George Leach Centre (GLC) on Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4. https://www.sootoday.com/local-entertainment/algoma-u-to-set-13th-annual-gathering-at-the-rapids-pow-wow-844541
World’s First Indigenous Law Degree to be Offered at UVic
University of Victoria – February 21, 2018
“This program builds on UVic’s longstanding commitment to, and unique relationship with, the First Peoples of Canada. The foundational work for this program has been underway for several years, building on Indigenous scholarship for which UVic is known internationally,” says UVic President Jamie Cassels. “This joint-degree program is also a direct response to a call of action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to establish Indigenous law institutes for the development, use andunderstanding of Indigenous Law.”
https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2018+jid-indigenous-law+media-release
Indigenous Languages, Friendship Centre Funding Welcomed in B.C. Spending Plan
CBC News – February 21, 2018
It will take a significant investment to ensure that languages are documented with opportunities to learn them in every community, she said. Up to now, with their small budget, the FPCC has had success with a mentor-apprentice program. “We’re…pairing a fluent speaker with someone really committed to learning the language,” Herbert said. “Supporting them, training them, coaching. And over a three-year period they build an intermediate fluency in the language and then they’re often tapped to go and be the speaker at ceremonies or brought into the schools.”
Moccasin Makers’ Magic
The Manitoulin Expositor – February 21, 2018
LITTLE CURRENT—Love is in the air at Little Current Public School, where Grade 7 students worked diligently to handcraft 21 pairs of teeny-tiny moccasins for babies in local First Nation communities.The heartfelt project began in the fall, when students learned about residential schools and their impact on Indigenous peoples in Canada. Eager to make a difference, they sought ways to bring reconciliation into their classroom and community.
http://www.manitoulin.ca/2018/02/21/moccasin-makers-magic/
Toronto District School Board Seeking New Indigenous Trustees
CBC News – February 21, 2018
“We have a massive number of Indigenous students,” Ward 3 trustee and Aboriginal Community Advisory Committee member Pamela Gough said in an interview. A 2012 study found that about 0.3 per cent of TDSB students, or 850, self-identified as Indigenous. According to the study, many more Indigenous students within the board may choose not to identify because of, among other reasons, racial discrimination. “We probably have a larger population of Indigenous students than any other board in Ontario,” Gough said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tdsb-indigenous-trustees-motion-1.4543693
Medical School Grads Connect to Remote First Nations
Net News Ledger – February 18, 2018
“The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Remote First Nations Residency Program will focus on experiences needed to provide culturally appropriate, skilled, comprehensive family medicine care in a remote First Nation community,” says Dr. Catherine Cervin, NOSM’s Vice Dean, Academic. “By having residents live in the community for extended periods of time during their residency, they will learn from Elders about traditional knowledge and healing practices, while also completing all the academic requirements of a Family Medicine residency program.”
http://www.netnewsledger.com/2018/02/18/medical-school-grads-connect-remote-first-nations/
First Nation Early Childhood Education at Oshki-Pimache-O-Win
Net News Ledger – February 17, 2018
“The Indigenous ECE Leadership Professional Development Program is Oshki-Wenjack’s response to the professional development needs of ECE’s in our territory. Those education professionals are important contributors to the education of the next generation and need our ongoing support,” said Rosie Mosquito, Executive Director at Oshki-Wenjack.
Students May Gain Insights into Treaty No.9
Timmins Press – February 16, 2018
TIMMINS – Mushkegowuk Council’s education department is developing “learning units” for students across the province to gain knowledge about the history of Treaty No. 9. That history will include accounts taken from a government commissioner’s diary, which suggest First Nations leaders may have been duped into signing the agreement. Mushkegowuk leaders argue the printed version of the treaty contradicts oral agreements made with the chiefs and Elders who signed the document back in 1905.
http://www.timminspress.com/2018/02/16/students-may-gain-insights-into-treaty-no-9
Northwestern Ontario School Board Commits $4M to Replace School that ‘Passed its Best-Before Date’
CBC News – February 15, 2018
Enrolment at the school has doubled from 2013 to 2018, the board said, and director of education, Sean Monteith, added that the existing building is aging. “We have eight portables on-site and the school being built in a different time and for a very different intention has simply outgrown itself and has passed its best-before date,” he told CBC News.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/keewatin-patricia-valleyview-commitment-1.4535731
Trudeau Promises New Legal Framework for Indigenous People
CBC News – February 14, 2018
“What our prime minister is doing is ensuring that Section 35 [of the Constitution] is a full box of rights to be filled up by First Nations, Metis and Inuit across the country,” she said. Wilson-Raybould said the government wants to empower Indigenous communities to have “control of their lives,” so they can “draw down jurisdiction.” In plain terms, that means devolving jurisdiction from other levels of government to Indigenous communities so they can provide services like child welfare, education and health care to their own people, or craft their own laws on everything from elections to fisheries.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-speech-indigenous-rights-1.4534679
