Transforming First Nations Education

First Nations have the inherent and Treaty right not only to access education but to assert jurisdiction over education. The right to education appears in several international declarations related to the rights of Indigenous peoples, including the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) and the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). The Constitution of Canada (1982) also supports the provision of education, which is inclusive of post-secondary.

A Holistic Perspective

If education is a universal human right, there must be an understanding of what is meant by “education.”

education

noun

1. The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.
2. An enlightening experience.

Education is often defined in a narrow way, a formal act or process of acquiring general knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning and judgment in preparation for mature life, conducted under systematic mechanisms like schools, colleges, universities and other institutions. More recently education has been defined in a broader, and much more inclusive way, as a series of formal and informal experiences that transmit a society’s accumulated moral and spiritual values, skills, knowledge, attitudes over the course of a lifetime, from birth through to old age. This more broad and inclusive definition characterizes how First Nations define education, or lifelong learning.

First Nations lifelong learning is a process of nurturing First Nations learners in linguistically and culturally-enabling holistic learning environments that meet both the the individual and collective needs of First Nations. First Nations believe that all learners should have the opportunity to achieve their personal aspirations and goals within comprehensive lifelong learning systems.

Applying the First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model, First Nations learning systems are characterized by:

• A foundation of First Nations cultures, languages, values, histories, and worldviews and the role of Elders;
• Acquisition of Indigenous knowledge and wisdom from both First Nations and Western perspectives;
• Learning as a continuous process that involves constant change, development and strengthening though all stages of our lives;
• Learning activities that nurture emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual dimensions;
• Opportunities to reach full potential as healthy, productive members of peoples’ communities, working in occupations and professions of their choice;
• Curricula and programs developed by First Nations, from early childhood through higher academic levels, career options and continuous learning opportunities.

First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model

Indian Control of Indian Education

In 1972, the National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations, adopted a seminal policy paper, Indian Control of Indian Education. The 1972 policy paper proposed that the Government of Canada and First Nations work together to put in place the financial and educational resources needed to enhance the success of First Nations learners through Indian Control of Indian Education. To support this policy, the document laid out the principles and values underlying First Nations learning, starting with a Statement of Values.

Read the Statement of Values:

We want education to provide the setting in which our children can develop the fundamental attitudes and values which have an honored place in Indian tradition and culture. The values that we want to pass on to our children, values which make our people a great race, are not written in any book. They are found in our history, in our legends and in the culture. We believe that if an Indian child is fully aware of the important Indian values he will have reason to be proud of our race and of himself as an Indian.

We want the behavior of our children to be shaped by those values which are most esteemed in our culture. When our children come to school, they have already developed certain attitudes and habits that are based on experiences in the family. School programs that are influenced by these values respect cultural priority and are an extension of the education which parents give children from their first years. These early lessons emphasize attitudes of:

• self-reliance
• respect for personal freedom
• generosity
• respect for nature
• wisdom

All of these have a special place in the Indian way of life. While these values can be understood and interpreted in different ways by different cultures, it is very important that Indian children have a chance to develop a value system which is compatible with Indian culture.

View the full document Indian Control ​of Indian Education First Nations Control of First Nations Education

In 2010, the Assembly of First Nations updated the foundational 1972 policy to a modern reflection of First Nations Control of First Nations Education. This document was designed to “assist governments and First Nations communities in building the requisite policies, programs, services and systems to ensure the future prosperity of First Nations peoples in Canada,” and reasserts “First Nations inherent Aboriginal and Treaty rights to education.”

Specifically,

Exerpt from First Nations Control of First Nations Education:

This policy framework provides strategic recommendations that will enable the development and implementation of education legislation, governance frameworks, policies, programs and services for all levels of education for First Nations learners at all stages of lifelong learning. Key elements of First Nations’ lifelong learning addressed in this paper include language immersion, holistic and culturally relevant curricula, well-trained educators, focused leadership, parental involvement and accountability, and safe and healthy facilities founded on principles that respect First Nations jurisdiction over education.

Through the First Nations Control of First Nations Education 2010 policy, First Nations reassert their refusal to sacrifice future generations to the continued inadequacies of federal government policy and funding. First Nations can and must acquire the tools to achieve economic viability and sustainability through comprehensive learning systems. This requires Canada to uphold the Honour of the Crown by finally meeting its obligation to provide stable, sustainable and adequate resources for First Nations education.

First Nations peoples understand that learning is a formal and informal, instinctive, and experiential lifelong journey, encompassing early childhood learning, elementary and secondary school, career, vocational and technical training, post-secondary education (PSE) and adult learning. The primary role of holistically balanced First Nations learning systems is to transmit First Nations ancestral languages, traditions, cultures and histories, while at the same time preparing and making accessible to the learner the support and tools that will allow them to achieve their full individual potential in any setting they choose. First Nations assert their right and responsibility to direct and make decisions regarding all matters related to First Nations learning. Provision for, and access to, lifelong learning is an Inherent and Treaty right of all First Nations peoples. Governments must work together to ensure that this lifelong journey is built upon experiences that embrace both Indigenous and mainstream western knowledge systems and that First Nations have access to the supports necessary to achieve successful education outcomes at all stages.

The First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model (see Plain Talk 9 for more information) and the First Nations Control of First Education document calls for holistic learning systems that include:

• Programs and services grounded in First Nations languages, values, traditions and knowledge.
• Early learning programs and services that promote language and cultural immersion, school readiness and the holistic development of individuals.
• Curricula for both First Nations and non-First Nations, developed in conjunction with First Nations, that acknowledge the contribution, histories and cultures of First Nations and the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous peoples.”
• The right and responsibility of First Nations to exercise free, prior and informed consent in all education decisions that affect First Nations citizens, regardless of place of residence or type of institution.
• Mechanisms to ensure that all First Nations learners, regardless of residency, have access to any school program or institute.
• Provisions that learning institutions acknowledge their responsibility to provide high quality, culturally and linguistically relevant learning opportunities and support for all First Nations learners enrolled in their learning institutions.

First Nations Education Transformation

As of 2016, with new investments in First Nations education from Prime Minister Trudeau and the Government of Canada, First Nations move closer and closer to First Nations control over First Nation education. The federal government announced historic investments in First Nations elementary and secondary education starting in 2016-17. The Federal Budget 2016 invested in $2.6 billion over five years for improving primary and secondary education for First Nations children, and $129.4 million over two years for supporting early learning and child care, and specifically:

• Funding to First Nations to support approximately 107,000 eligible students who are 4 to 21 years of age and who live in First Nation communities.
• Further funding to support language and culture programming in is available in First Nation schools to support language and culture.

1. Following extensive engagements in 2016 and 2017 between First Nations and the federal government in 2016-2017, a transformed funding approach to elementary and secondary education was developed to provide more predictable and sustained funding for First Nations to strengthen First Nations control of First Nations education.
2. Important outcomes of the transformative process include:
   • Replacement of the federal government’s outdated, inefficient and inadequate proposal-based education programs with regional education approaches and funding models that provide more sufficient, predictable and sustainable funding.
   • Support for First Nations to develop their own local, regional and/or Treaty based education models (called Regional Education Agreements – REAs) that identify the funding required to implement their vision of First Nations control over education from their local, regional and/or Treaty based perspectives.
3. An example of a new, regional education agreement is the British Columbia Tripartite Education Agreement (BCTEA). The BC Tripartite Education Agreement: Supporting First Nation Student Success (BCTEA) sets the foundation for further growth and changes to support the growth of the BC First Nations education system. Those changes include new funding commitments, new First Nations education commitments from Canada and BC, Language and Culture funding for First Nation Schools, continuation of our Special Education Program, and important Nominal Roll changes. Read the entire agreement here. View other examples: ​Kee Tas Kee Now Regional Education Agreement ​Maskwacîs Education Schools Commission (MESC)

Maskwacîs Education Schools Commission (MESC) Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action:

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People

“Recognizing in particular the right of indigenous families and communities to retain shared responsibility for the upbringing, training, education and well-being of their children, consistent with the rights of the child.”

Diversity of First Nations Education in Canada

Like the diverse nature of First Nations across Canada, the development of First Nations learning systems are equally diverse.