First Nations education rally heads for the Hill

(OTTAWA) — Hundreds of First Nations people from across the country rallied on Parliament Hill yesterday in support of increased education funding. Among the messages displayed on demonstrators’ signs: ‘Our children, Our future, Our way!’, ‘Respect our Treaties’, and ‘Education Means Graduation.’ The rally was the culmination of a ‘National Week of Action on Education,’ […]

More youth, less education: What’s wrong with this picture?

Some recent tweets by RezSuperstar and YorkAboriginalU have alerted me to a disturbing, decade-long trend in federal support for First Nations students. According to the Chiefs of Ontario‘s Summer 2009 newsletter, an internal Indian and Northern Affairs Canada audit published last spring January reveals a less-than-rosy picture regarding the number of Status Indians attending post-secondary […]

Language Goes to Camp

It’s with great interest that I came across the release of Culture Camps for Language Learning: An Immersion Handbook, produced by the BC-based First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council. In my experience, culture camps like these present great opportunities for language learning. In July 2004, I participated in a week-long Cree immersion camp in Sturgeon Lake […]