K-12 EDUCATION · consider K-12 education. Amendments to the Indian Act made it mandatory for Indigenous students age seven to 16 to attend. While students were attending schools,

K-12 EDUCATION

Shannen’s Dream2

Shannen Koostachin was from Attawapiskat First Nation and her dream was to have proper schools in her community.

In 2000, the Canadian Government closed the school in Attawapiskat due to complaints that people were getting sick; portable trailers were brought in as a temporary solution but ten years later, there was still no permanent fix for the school.

Shannen led a national campaign inviting Canadian children to write to the Canadian Government to ensure Indigenous children could have safe, comfortable and culturally-relevant education.

To attend high school, Shannen was forced to leave her community because funding shortages did not allow construction of a new school.

In 2010, Shannen’s life was lost in tragic car accident while she was attending a provincial high school in the south.

Shannen was never able to see the new school built in Attawapiskat.

On June 22, 2012, the day Shannen would have graduated, construction started for a new school in Attawapiskat.

The new school opened in August 2014.

The On-Going Legacy of Residential Schools

Before the arrival of European settlers, Indigenous peoples had their own systems of education rooted in the community, the natural environment and spiritual teachings. After the Europeans arrived, colonization began introducing the reservation system and residential school system responsible for the cultural genocide imposed upon Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The Canadian policy of assimilating Indigenous peoples came from the belief that their worldviews were inferior or primitive. Residential schools were established in 1880 and the last school was closed in 1996. These schools practiced abusive and inhumane discipline on students.1

Residential schools required all Indigenous students from age four to 16 to attend what we would now consider K-12 education. Amendments to the Indian Act made it mandatory for Indigenous students age seven to 16 to attend. While students were attending schools, parental rights were forcibly surrendered to the principal or guardian of the school.2

Works Cited

1. National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. (2017). Education as

a Social Determinant of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health.

2. Union of Ontario Indians. (2013). An Overview of the Indian

Residential School System.

3. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. (2011). Jordan

& Shannen: First Nations children demand that the Canadian

Government stop racially discriminating against them.

4. Statistics Canada. (2016). First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women.

5. Assembly of First Nations. (2012). A Portrait of First Nations and

Education.

6. Anuik, J and Bellehumeur-Kearns, L. (2012). Report on Métis Education

in Ontario’s K-12 Schools.

7. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. (2011). First Canadians, Canadians First:National Strategy on Inuit Education.

8. Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey. (2016). Annual Report 2015-2016. Page 1 of 2

K-12 EDUCATION

K- 12 Education Quick Facts

Indigenous women under 20are three times more likely tobe young mothers.3

38% of Inuit and 25% of FirstNations and Métis youngmothers drop out of schooldue to pregnancy and lack ofavailable childcare.3

31% of First Nations studentsattend off-reserve provincialschools and five per centattend private or federalschools.4

• Métis students are oftenforgotten or voiceless as themajority are filtered intoprovincial school systemswith little to no culturallyrelevant supports.5

• Inuit women have the highestdropout rates amongIndigenous women.6

Culturally Relevant K-12 Programs

There are many examples of successful programs, with many not having enough spaces to meet demand.

515 First Nations elementary and secondary schools serve 109,000 students.4

However, many students still attend provincial schools and are forced to pay out of province fees to access education.4

Programs that are available and culturally relevant incorporate language, culture, healthy living, social supports and community involvement.1

These programs, including the Mi’kmaq Education Act of 1998, have shown positive impacts on children and their families.

Membertou First Nation achieved 100%graduation rate for multiple years, while overall Mi’kmaw Kina'matnewey schools have an average of 80% graduation rate.7

TO LEARN MORE, PLEASE CONTACT:

NWAC

613-722-3033

[email protected]

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K-12 EDUCATION · consider K-12 education. Amendments to the Indian Act made it mandatory for Indigenous students age seven to 16 to attend. While students were attending schools,