In fall 2010, after several incidents of student suspensions and expulsions at a nearby provincial high school, members of Potlotek First Nation in Nova Scotia talked about having a school of their own. Discussions came to a head several weeks later for the Mi'kmaw community on Cape Breton Island when two more students were suspended on the same…

Rather than speak from a place of authoritative knowing on Aboriginal matters, why not work from a place of wondering and invite our students to learn with us in gaining a deeper understanding of First Nations perspective? Two teachers from Rockridge Secondary School in West Vancouver did just that. One afternoon a new understanding of the…

One explanation for our failure to close the educational gaps that separate Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners in Canada is to see it as a byproduct of mainstream pedagogy, which has ridden roughshod over the epistemic differences--different ways of knowing--that set Indigenous knowers apart from their non-Indigenous counterparts. Persons…

In 1999, under federal government legislation, Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia won the right to manage the education of their children for the first time in a century. With support from Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey, an education authority that provides central services, local Mi'kmaw schools deliver language immersion courses, culturally-appropriate…

For the better part of two decades, the author and his research colleagues have been engaged in a broad program of research aimed at identifying certain of the "social determinants of health and wellbeing" common to Canadian First Nation, Metis, and Inuit youth. The present account samples from these ongoing research efforts by recapping…

An intensive consultation undertaken by the University of Winnipeg revealed that many residents--especially new Canadians and Aboriginal peoples living in the downtown neighbourhoods--face barriers to higher education, and for many the university was an unknown and unwelcoming territory. Winnipeg is home to the largest urban population of…

When the First Nations Student Success Program (FNSSP) was first introduced in September 2009, the author's initial thought was: "No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has finally arrived in Canada." It seemed prophetic that the 2010 spring issue of "Education Canada" contained both a piece by Joel Westheimer warning against the pitfalls…

Learning, as Aboriginal people have come to know it, is holistic, lifelong, purposeful, experiential, communal, spiritual, and learned within a language and a culture. What guides their learning (beyond family, community, and Elders) is spirit, their own learning spirits who travel with them and guide them along their earth walk, offering them…

Ten years ago, only 10% of the aboriginal students attending the public school of Prince Rupert took down their diploma of secondary studies. Across British Columbia, only 47 percent of the Aboriginal students who entered Grade 8 in 2003 have since completed high school, compared to 79 percent for all students in the province, an inequity that…

In this article, the author discusses the real solutions to the problems of Aboriginal children in Canada that seem so numerous--impacts of residential school, poverty, poor housing, racism, and over-representation in child welfare care. These are complex issues, but the author has come to believe that the most promising responses, at least in…

Policies to ensure education equity and programs to foster educational advancement among Aboriginal people have been in place for several years in most Canadian jurisdictions. Despite of the successes brought about by these policies, questions about just how much has been accomplished, and how best to secure desired results, remain matters of…

In this article, the author, an Aboriginal individual, describes how she had been honored for her academic accomplishment. She also reflects on the history of the Aboriginal education in Canada. She relates that prior to the arrival of the Europeans, teaching and learning were aimed at sustaining the community, clan, or family, always with an eye…

Traces the historical relationship of Canada's educational system to its constitution. Concludes that the significance of the patriation of Canada's constitution for education includes strengthening a drive for bilingual education, promoting equality of opportunity, and continuing education as a provincial concern while unifying, nationally, the…

Reviews Canadian legal development in areas of religious instruction, sex education, censorship, home schooling, minority language rights, special education, and Indian land claims. Examines accompanying implications for Native Canadian curricula. Notes increasing parental input and trend against unilateral control of education by provincial…

In Canada, about 100 Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) programs provide Aboriginal preschool children with a start in preparing for elementary school and an understanding of their Native culture. The involvement of parents, communities, and elders is key to the success of AHS. The AHS mission statement and seven guiding principles are presented. (SV)