December 13, 2023

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue has committed to updating is curriculum to ensure that all programs include Indigenous perspectives by 2026. This initiative will integrate Indigenous knowledge into each UQAT department’s academic curriculum, resulting in courses and programs that have been designed, evaluated, and revised by and with First Peoples. Work is already underway and is being led by the Dean of Studies and the Mamawi Mikimodan Service. “Through this initiative, UQAT recognizes that Indigenous knowledge is just as important as scientific knowledge,” said UQAT Rector Vincent Rousson. “This recognition gives Indigenous perspectives a place in the programs offered at UQAT, thereby building on a plurality of knowledge.”

CBC reports that a new centre in Watson Lake will help to increase graduation rates for Indigenous students in the area. At the Watson Lake Individual Learning Centre—which is run by the Yukon First Nation School Board—people who have not graduated from high school can work towards a certificate of graduation while remaining in Watson Lake. Students receive in-person support from staff at the learning centre and are able to drop into the centre on a daily or part-time basis, with the option for supported online learning. The centre’s head teacher Jean MacLean said that the school board’s vision is to offer programs like this in every rural Yukon community. “Watson Lake is the first one that’s been able to fill that position and we’re really excited to be leading the way,” said MacLean.

Representatives from five Indigenous communities from around Canada recently travelled to Fredericton to take part in a workshop provided through the National Tree Seed Centre. The Indigenous Seed Collection Program provides Indigenous communities with seed collection training, shares information about topics such as the tree’s life cycle, and supports them with seed storage. The workshop also gives communities the opportunity to create connections and learn from each other. “It’s building so much ability for them to work together and support one another. It’s such a beautiful thing,” said Indigenous Programs Coordinator Mary Knockwood. “It’s part of who we are, it’s part of our identities and our culture and our traditions, our spirituality even.”

A new course at Foothills Composite High School will give students an opportunity to learn about the history of local First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people. The All My Relations course – created by Cameron Campos and Charity Tegler – is offered to students in grades 10-12 and taught by local Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Each grade focuses on different aspects of Indigenous history, art, culture, and reconciliation with the goal of advancing Truth and Reconciliation in the local context. Students who have completed the Metis History and Stories course or the Treaties and Sovereignty course are able to enrol in the Indigenous Art and Ceremony course, where they learn about traditional, historical, and contemporary art forms. Pathways to Reconciliation, which can only be taken after completing the Art and Ceremony course, covers issues such as residential schools, intergenerational trauma, the ’60s Scoop, the Millennial Scoop, and living conditions on reserves, as well as their impact on local Indigenous communities.

The Government of Ontario is expanding the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council’s (IPHCC) Indigenous cultural safety training program with an investment of up to $2M over the next two years. The expansion will support the delivery of more cultural training sessions to health care organizations. Almost 2,000 health care providers are expected to participate in the program, where they will learn how to provide culturally appropriate care to First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous people. The training is customizable to fit the needs of individual health care workplaces. “Expanding the Indigenous cultural safety training program will ensure our health care partners have the tools they need to deliver high-quality, responsive care to the Indigenous communities they serve,” said ON Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones.

The Iqaluit District Education Authority (IDEA) has taken the Government of Nunavut to court over the termination of a federally funded program that would have assessed special needs students, reports Nunatsiaq News. The Government of Canada’s Child First Initiative Program provided IDEA with $120K to begin screening 28 school-aged children for emotional and behavioural challenges. However, Nunatsiaq News reports that the NV Department of Education ended the program before it could begin, saying that there are already programs in place for special needs students. IDEA lawyer Anne Crawford said that the main goal of this judicial review is to ensure students are assessed, and a second goal was to “assert control over school property.”

The Université de Moncton has developed an Indigenous Elders in Residence program through consultation with Mi’kmaq Elders and Wolastoqey Elders. Through the program, Elders will provide Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, staff, and faculty with support, encouragement, and guidance. They will promote understanding and respect for Indigenous perspectives and share their knowledge and experiences of Wabanaki life and culture, which will guide UMoncton in implementing the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action. The program will be established on all three UMoncton campuses and will start in the 2024-25 academic year.

Beaver Lake Cree Nation will be constructing a new education facility thanks to a $16.1M investment from the Government of Canada. The new high school will be constructed right in the nation’s community and will offer cultural programming, career training, and academic and emotional support services in addition to provincial curriculum. The space will also be used for adult education programs. The net-zero facility is set in a natural wooded site with access to outdoor learning spaces. “This new school signifies that Beaver Lake Cree Nation is not only modernizing, but blazing a path forward into the future,” said Beaver Lake Cree Nation Councillor Cole Gladue. “Our students will be able to enjoy a brand new facility where they will have a safe, inclusive, and culturally relevant learning environment.”

Algoma University has received a $5M boost from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund to support the development of the Makwa Waakaa’igan project, which will serve as a centre of cultural excellence, Truth and Reconciliation, learning, and healing. The $43.3M Makwa Waakaa’igan project will serve a variety of purposes, such as becoming a centre for sharing global Indigenous practices; housing the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (SRSC) archives and Indigenous teachings; and housing the new Mental Health and Addictions Research and Training Institute, which will be established in partnership with NOSM University. Construction on Makwa Waakaa’igan is scheduled to begin in 2024.

A British Columbia teacher has been suspended for five days for a physical altercation that occurred in 2020 with an Indigenous student. The Vancouver Sun reports that the interaction happened after a teacher asked his class to line up before entering the school and a student continued to walk toward the classroom. The teacher reportedly stood in front of the student, when “a physical interaction occurred, and as a result, both the teacher and (student) fell to the floor.” At the time, the teacher was suspended for two days without pay and ordered to not use force to manage student misconduct. Kelowna Now reports that the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation has given the teacher a five-day suspension, saying that he was guilty of professional misconduct and that his behaviour “reflected the harmful legacy of physical abuse in Indian residential schools.”