CBC Indigenous – June 19, 2017
“One of the aspects of working with the students was to be able to give them a better understanding of the true history of Turtle Island — the upper region which we now know as Canada,” Doxtater-Wynn said. “And give them an idea of the experiences of First Nations … people in Canada over the past 150 years.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/residential-school-mural-pjpii-1.4167272
A Real World Education
Northern Ontario Business – June 19, 2017
Randy Becker, a member of the Temagami First Nation and the new operator of the Frontenac pit, has ambitious plans to use the property as an active exploration site for base metals, establish an aggregate extraction operation, and utilize the site as a training ground for future Indigenous diamond drilling assistants and heavy equipment operators. “We have a couple of people signed up for training this summer and are waiting to see about drill availability,” said Becker.
A College Built For Canadian Settlers Envisions an Indigenous Future
NY Times – June 19, 2017
Now, all that has changed. The powwow graduation in May was one example of how universities across Canada are “indigenizing” — a new, elastic term that means everything from drawing more aboriginal students and faculty members onto campuses built largely for white settlers, to infusing those stodgy Western institutions with aboriginal belief systems and traditional knowledge. While sporadic efforts on many campuses took root decades ago, a true campaign was set off by the Canadian commission that looked into residential schools and their abuses against indigenous children.
Afn National Chief Bellegarde Commits to Action On An Indigenous Languages Act
Anishinabek News – June 15, 2017
(Ottawa, ON) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde today participated in a joint announcement with the Federal Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, on the co-development of an Indigenous Languages Act aimed at revitalizing, protecting, recovering, and maintaining Indigenous languages. “Revitalizing First Nations languages is a vital part of self-determination,” said National Chief Bellegarde. “Language is culture and central to our songs, stories, and ceremonies. The recognition, promotion, and recovery of First Nations languages – the original languages of these lands – will not only strengthen our Nations but enrich the whole country. We look forward to the First Nation engagement process supporting First Nations jurisdiction, and will ensure language rights are recognized as inherent rights. This vital work will be a lasting legacy for our children.”
Greater Essex School Board Signs New Indigenous Protocol
CBC Indigenous – June 14, 2017
Under the new agreement, the Greater Essex County District School Board will hire more Indigenous teachers, reflect more Indigenous people in the curriculum and offer Indigenous language classes. “I’m absolutely overjoyed that this school board has made a commitment to increasing achievement, but also respecting the culture and the history and the perspectives in all that they do,” said Leslee White-Eye, Chief of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.
6 Victoria Schools Come Together To Explore Indigenous Culture
CBC Indigenous – June 13, 2017
Most of Rhude’s performers are First Nations students from the six schools, and for many, this is their first time acting on stage. “I really want to highlight the courage of these students,” she said. “I’ve watched these students who were scared to even get on stage wearing regalia and singing, really nervous, but excited to share what they have.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/victoria-indigenous-education-bc-1.4159255
First Nations Activist Says Education is Critical for Canada’s Next 150 Years
Waterloo Region Record – June 13, 2017
WATERLOO — Reconciliation sounds nice, but putting it to action is what will make a real difference for Canada’s indigenous communities, says Roberta Jamieson. “For the next 150 years, we indigenous people are looking for change,” the lawyer and First Nations activist told a crowd at University of Waterloo Monday night as part of a special convocation lecture. “This time around, Canadians have the opportunity to become former colonizers.” Jamieson was the first First Nations woman to earn a law degree in Canada. She has seen a lot of positive change since she was one of only four indigenous students at university, but there is still a long way to go. “We have to demonstrate that we live in a reality where we support each other,” she said.
Western Graduation: London-Area First Nations Chief Leslee White-Eye Implores Graduates to Forge Bonds with Aboriginal Communities
LF Press – June 13, 2017
Get bridge-building with Canada’s aboriginal communities. That was the message graduates of a Western University-affiliated school heard at their convocation Tuesday, from an area First Nations chief who became her community’s first woman leader in more than 60 years. Chief Leslee White-Eye of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation received an honourary degree as she addressed the King’s University College graduates, pleading for them to embrace community and forge bonds between themselves and indigenous communities. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us,” she said. “You are going to be our emerging leaders that will draw from a different vision of Canada, where we can both walk on a similar road.”
University of Montana: A Native-Friendly Higher Learning Institution
Indian Country Today – June 13, 2017
Montana is the traditional territory of 12 Native nations and at 6 percent, the state has a higher concentration of American Indian people than most states. According to Forbes, the student body at UM is roughly 3 percent Native. Forbes ranks UM 146th in public colleges, and 176th in research universities. It is a tier two research university, according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (tiers one to three are based on doctoral research activity, determined by factors such as expenditure, number of doctorates awarded, research-focused faculty, etc.). UM is known to be one of the most affordable universities in the country, with an in-state tuition at $6,389, and out of state fees at $23,845. The average grant aid received is $3,708, and the student to faculty ratio is 18. Around 93 percent of students who apply are admitted, and the student body population is roughly 13,000.
Windsor Public Board Takes Steps to Improve Indigenous Representation in Education
Our Windsor – June 12, 2017
The Greater Essex County District School Board has signed a document which aims to make policies and teachings more inclusive of Indigenous communities and history. The Indigenous Education Protocol is a response to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The local public board is the first in Ontario to move ahead with outlining principles to address the commission’s recommendations.
Council to Provide Update on Inquest Recommendations
TB News Watch – June 12, 2017
To that end, staff are proposing council approve a First Nations student bus pass pilot program, to be rolled out in September. Another recommendation was a safety audit of the city’s waterways, which was carried out last month and the results are to be presented on Monday as well. Council will also receive a report recommending the city approve up to $125,000 dollars in funding to tow the former icebreaker Alexander Henry to Thunder Bay, to use it as a museum ship.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/council-to-provide-update-on-inquest-recommendations-640528
