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Report on First Nations’ Governance over Education
RECLAIMING THE CIRCLE OF LEARNING
May 2004
Researched and Written by
Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
Introduction
This paper delineates the most important issues related to First Nations education and governance, and discusses a range of particular educational interests and needs, as communicated by the participants of a series of consultation meetings organized by Chiefs of Ontario in February and March 2004. According to the respondents, these interests and needs structure First Nations’ participation in an engaged education process for thousands of First Nations’ students in Ontario. In the school years 2002/03, 14, 873 First Nations students attended schools in their own communities, while 7,629 First Nations students, who normally live in First Nations communities, were schooled in the mainstream system. (http://www.ontarioschooltrustees.org/pdf/2003_handbook.pdf) These numbers are growing every day and without radical changes to the existing system, many First Nations’ students will not be able to realize their full potentials to become active, creative and empowered members of their own communities and the Canadian community at large.
The paper is divided into five parts and closely follows the Research Framework for the Chiefs of Ontario Education manifesto project. The paper focuses on an Ontario-wide perspective, and wherever appropriate, discusses Aboriginal best practices in the works in other regions of the country. Their inclusion is intended to illuminate the Ontario context and none of the examples given are to be taken as definitive statements about specific needs of the First Nations’ communities in Ontario. Existing best practices are emphasized and specific recommendations, given by the stakeholders, are provided in regard to changes necessary to modify outdated, static policies and current rigid and inflexible educational strategies. The recommendations are based...
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