Yahoo News – October 10, 2017
Amanda Adrian knew there was something wrong with her dad, Ted Quewezance. For years, she and four sisters didn’t know what was causing the drinking, the emotional distance and other unhealthy behaviour. Quewezance had buried his secret deep inside, even after becoming chief of his Keeseekoose First Nation in east-central Saskatchewan. It was the same secret shared by tens of thousands of Indigenous people across Canada. He was hiding the memory of physical and sexual abuse suffered in residential schools.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/truth-telling-helped-us-apos-110000478.html
Anishinabek Educational Institute Open House this Thursday
Bay Today – October 10, 2017
“We have smaller classes at the Anishinabek Educational Institute,” says Director Murray Waboose. “We have one on one tutoring, and offer blended delivery for some programs that are two weeks in length, twice per semester on campus. Indigenous components are added to our programs and we are accredited with Ontario Colleges and Universities.” Some programs offered are Practical Nursing, Native Community Worker THAM, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Early Childhood Education BK and First Nation Child Welfare Advocate.
https://www.baytoday.ca/more-local/anishinabek-educational-institute-open-house-this-thursday-736534
‘Historic’ School System Gets Grand Opening on Wednesday
CBC News – October 10, 2017
Officials and dignitaries will converge on Sgt. Tommy Prince School on the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation on Wednesday, where the community will celebrate the official grand opening of the Manitoba First Nations School System. Hailed as a historic agreement when it was announced last December, the deal increases funding levels while putting jurisdiction over schools in 10 First Nations communities directly in the hands of Indigenous leaders.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-school-system-1.4347924
It’s Not an Opinion’: U of A Integrates Indigenous Knowledge for new Climate Change Study
Metro News – October 10, 2017
The University of Alberta study, led by 12 Indigenous communities, shows how climate change and resource extraction are negatively impacting the Mackenzie River Basin, a vital food source for Indigenous peoples in Canada’s north. Academics worked directly with students and elders in Indigenous communities to document the health of waterways in their area and the overall health of the ecosystem. “One of the biggest things that stood out for me was how people were talking about warming waters,” said Chelsea Martin, a master’s of science student who travelled to Déline, NWT near Great Bear Lake as part of the study.
FSIN and Sask Polytechnic Focusing on Success for First Nation Students
Global News – October 10, 2017
“We have the First Nations University of Canada, we have the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology; those are FSIN created institutions and we fully support those,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said. “However, some First Nations students decide to go to U of S (University of Saskatchewan), some decide to go to Sask Polytechnic; we still have to be there as elected leaders to support them.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/3795191/fsin-sask-polytechnic-first-nation-students-mou/
Ken Clement: Advocacy, Reconciliation, and Public Education
The Georgia Straight – October 10, 2017
I believe public education must be adequately funded to support students, parents, teachers, and stakeholders in the Vancouver school district. The meaningful and respectful engagement of diverse communities and cultural groups is necessary to support healthy and successful children, families, and communities.
https://www.straight.com/news/978906/ken-clement-advocacy-reconciliation-and-public-education
Grand Council Chief Applauds Major Education Development My West Nipissing Now –
October 10, 2017
First Nations in Ontario are closer to controlling their own education. It’s the result of the federal government introducing legislation that will turn the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement into law. Grand Council Chief Pat Madahbee is pleased with the development because he says education can solve many challenges and issues. Once passed, the legislation, known as Bill C-61, will give First Nations the authority to hold classroom education on reserves from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. It will parallel Ontario’s education system. Under the agreement, reliable funding will be in place to operate the onreserve classes.
https://www.mywestnipissingnow.com/17327/grand-council-chief-applauds-major-education-development/
Manitoba First Nations Students Invite Trudeau to School System Opening
CTV News – October 8, 2017
A video made by four students inviting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the grand opening of the Manitoba First Nations School System has evoked a personal response from Trudeau himself. Scheduled to open on Wednesday, the school system is the first of its kind in Canada. It will offer education programming and extra support to more than 2,000 First Nations students in Manitoba.
Court Order to Destroy Residential School Accounts ‘A Win for Abusers’: NCTR Director
CBC Indigenous – October 6, 2017
“[Some survivors] feel like this is a win for all of the abusers,” said Ry Moran. In a unanimous decision released Friday, Canada’s Supreme Court said the collection of accounts for independent compensation assessment was meant to be a “confidential and private process” and that “claimants and alleged perpetrators relied on the confidentiality assurance.” The court ordered that 38,000 accounts be retained for a 15-year period, during which time survivors can choose to have their records preserved. After that time period, they will be destroyed.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/court-order-destroy-residential-school-accounts-1.4344918
SCC Rules Residential School Survivors’ Testimony Should be Kept Private
Canadian Lawyer Mag – October 6, 2017
The Supreme Court of Canada has found that records of the sensitive testimony of residential school survivors from settlement hearings will be kept confidential. Last year, the federal government asked the Supreme Court of Canada to consider the issue after the Ontario Court of Appeal found the records should be destroyed after 15 years unless survivors chose to have them preserved. The testimony was submitted in the Independent Assessment Process, and included information on the claimants’ medical, psychiatric, financial and incarceration history.
College Program Paving the Way for Aboriginal Women in the Trades
Daily Commercial News – October 5, 2017
“I have this vision of starting my own business when I graduate…and taking my new business back to my First Nation to help my people build better, sustainable houses,” she says. McMartin, who calls the AWT program “very important to us, First Nations women,” is one of 30 students who have taken the program at Canadore College. While a number of the women were from North Bay, others came from as far as Attawapiskat and Fort Albany on the shore of James Bay. http://dailycommercialnews.com/en-US/Labour/News/2017/10/College-program-paving-the-way-for-aboriginal-women-in-the-trades-1027794W/
Medicine Wheel Garden at Lakehead University to Unite Nations from All over the World
Anishinabek News – October 5, 2017
THUNDER BAY – Fort William Chief Peter Collins helped open up Lakehead University’s new medicine wheel garden, which contains rock he delivered from Fort William, on Sept. 23. “Fort William is excited about being a participant in the medicine wheel (garden),” Collins says. “I think it is a very inspiring moment for the university and also Fort William in partnership.”
Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Bill Introduced into House of Commons
Anishinabek Nation – October 5, 2017
The Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement (ANEA) is a self-government agreement between Canada and 23 Anishinabek First Nations that recognizes First Nation control over Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education on-reserve. The ANEA will provide reliable funding to operate the stand-alone AES, a new education system parallel to the Ontario education system, where Participating First Nations (PFNs) have full control over the delivery of educational programs and services and how to best allocate education funding.
Sioux Valley High School Teen Clinic First of its Kind Among Indigenous Schools in Manitoba
The Brandon Sun – October 3, 2017
It’s a “groundbreaking” achievement, principal Kevin Nabess told students during a school-wide celebration on Monday afternoon to launch the clinic. While many deserve credit for making the clinic a reality, it was Simpson and fellow Sioux Valley Dakota Nation nurse Barbara Moose who planted the seed. It has been almost two years in the making, with Simpson citing their main motivation as bringing their Indigenous community up to par with the province’s non-Indigenous population. https://www.brandonsun.com/local/sioux-valley-high-school-teen-clinic-first-of-its-kind-among-indigenous-schools-in-manitoba-449169213.html
CBU to Build Legacy Room and Honour Residential School Survivors
Cape Breton University – September 29, 2017
Cape Breton University has announced that it will build its first Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Legacy Room in its university library. “We are humbled to be a part of a project that is so deeply impactful for the community,” said CBU President Dale Keefe. “Cape Breton University values the relationship with First Nation communities immensely and we are committed to doing what we can to play a role in reconciliation.” CBU has committed $5K a year for the next five years to the room, and will use it to display items from residential schools. “I want to congratulate the University for creating safe places for dialog, to learn about reconciliation, history, our present, and our future,” said Chief Morley Googoo, Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief and Board Member of the Downie Wenjack Fund.
