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Urban Indigenous Education in the Toronto District School Board

The Urban Indigenous Education Centre of the Toronto District School Board supports Indigenous students of all ages and their families in the city of Toronto, focusing particularly on their well-being, success, and academic achievement. Its team of teaching staff and administrators also conduct research and provide professional development for educators. As part of its vision, […]

The Urban Indigenous Education Centre of the Toronto District School Board supports Indigenous students of all ages and their families in the city of Toronto, focusing particularly on their well-being, success, and academic achievement. Its team of teaching staff and administrators also conduct research and provide professional development for educators. As part of its vision, the centre collaborates with academic and community organizations on various projects, in hopes of bridging communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

Transition Year Program (TYP)

A one year university access program for Canadian Aboriginal Students who may not be prepared to enter a faculty through regular admissions. This is not an upgrading program, but a full-time university program offered by the Aboriginal Student Services Centre and Open Studies.

A one year university access program for Canadian Aboriginal Students who may not be prepared to enter a faculty through regular admissions. This is not an upgrading program, but a full-time university program offered by the Aboriginal Student Services Centre and Open Studies.

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Program in the Grande Prairie Public School District

The FNMI Program Coordinator for the Grande Prairie Public School District shares about the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in the school system.

Building community relationships and highlighting local resources to help support the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in Grande Prairie’s pre-K to grade 12 public classrooms. A critical component of this happens outside of the classroom through First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) Family Outreach Workers by being available to help address possible barriers to education. This success in this piece of the FNMI Program is that family enhancement work is being done; working with a family as a whole. This is key to relationship building within the community and building connections with families.

Land-Based Education Program at Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School

Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School offers land based education whereby students learn seasonal teachings.

Riel Thomson, a teacher at Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School, describes their land based program for middle years and high school students. The curriculum of the land based program focuses on fall, winter, and spring seasonal teachings with input and support from Cree Elders. Thomson includes content from the Elders when he is creating his annual teaching plans. The school is looking to expand the land based program to target students with behavioural and academic issues in the classroom. Students will be chosen to participate in the land based program in order to achieve specific objectives and then they would be reintegrated into the classroom.

First Nations Mental Wellness Framework, Health Sci – Public Health Program, University of Lethbridge

“…ingenious and western both of them have many ways of knowing. Look at the initial, we have the community are struggling with suicide. We stand back and talk to community people and try to understand what’s going on, and then also try to look at the big picture…Indigenous education has to sort of help people […]

“…ingenious and western both of them have many ways of knowing. Look at the initial, we have the community are struggling with suicide. We stand back and talk to community people and try to understand what’s going on, and then also try to look at the big picture…Indigenous education has to sort of help people move between this world. So we can do a better job…” Western liner model is not working very well, its need to move to spiral or circular model of health and how these things feedback with each other. This program is inspired by mental wellness continuum which was created by the Thunderbird Partnership foundation partnership in Ontario – it is called the First Nations Mental Wellness continuum Framework. This model looks like how we can work with communities and communities can work on all their wellness. The center of this model is really focused on HOPE belonging meaning and purpose. Around of the model like, the ecological model gets larger and larger and includes different components of the life cycle and then this model move into different types of health programming like crisis response earlier identification and intervention, health promotion and prevention support and aftercare, trauma and treatment and care planning integrated service delivery for example, as this is the focus of the model, then it moves how the practitioner do that, how the indigenous people do that self-permit way, how do they measure performance and how do they look at governance of this program and their initiated research and look for development.

Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre – A Resource for The Community and The Classroom

Ensuring an institution exists where Indigenous languages and cultures are respected, honoured, and shared.

The Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre (SICC) is a provincially based non-profit organization whose Elder Council and staff are dedicated to promoting, preserving, and protecting Indigenous cultures and languages in Saskatchewan. SICC’s President, Wanda Wilson, explains, the organization records stories and visions from Elders and Knowledge Keepers from Saskatchewan’s eight linguistic groups (Plains Cree, Swampy Cree, Woodlands Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Lakota, Nakoda, and Dakota). SICC’s programs reflect community needs and Saskatchewan needs the truth, supported by and through the formal education system.

Aboriginal Health, Faculty of Health Science, University of Lethbridge

At present. the Aboriginal Health is included as major or minor in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program but the faculty has the vision to shift away from it. The courses include introduction to Aboriginal health, community health, and traditional aboriginal health concept. The coursework of introduction aboriginal health focuses on aboriginal health issues from […]

At present. the Aboriginal Health is included as major or minor in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program but the faculty has the vision to shift away from it. The courses include introduction to Aboriginal health, community health, and traditional aboriginal health concept. The coursework of introduction aboriginal health focuses on aboriginal health issues from the much more holistic approach, meet more elders. This program has a different view apart from western medical health science which mainly focuses biological and biomedical component, however, the indigenous health science highlights four dimensions in health care: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It also includes contemporary issues include wellness approach, indigenous healing & restoration issue. Western health science- the mainstream practitioners is very dismissive which do invalid indigenous health science but indigenous health science gives importance on knowing healing. Community health program coursework building relationship with the community people at the grassroots level, so this program is a very much bottom-up approach where we see top-down approach in Canada. Students collect the background, indigenous way of knowing, healing and much more broad perspective. Students hold a good understanding of history, holistic ways of the knowledge value of indigenous knowledge. They also focus, besides this, multidisciplinary approach including medical anthropology, native studies, and sociology as well. Another coursework- the traditional health concepts brings Indigenous knowledge holders once a week. Here faculty members work as course coordinator or facilitator. They bring elders, knowledge experts, Meti people and other international first nation people like Ghanaian people. It develops students’ own knowledge other than curriculum through oral tradition. Topics will include the role of culture and identity in health and healing; the collective use of plants and cultural medicines; the relatedness of people, land and health; and the spiritual dimensions of holistic health. The faculty members are also learning indigenous pedagogy, they believe knowledge sources depends on who you are and the relationship between knowledge and that of experience, It is not about someone telling you what you suppose to know, it is about keeping their perspective and you developing own. The vision of this program is getting sallers, they believe they need both sides to know the value of indigenous that would open up the other ways of knowing which can reduce racism in Canada. They believe ‘people’- the knowledge holders will be resources aside from fund to develop their program and to achieve their vision.

St. Augustine School: Building Capacity through Collaboration

St. Thomas Aquinas School Division (STAR) and Nipisihkopahk Educational Authority (NEA) have entered into a education partnership through an Alberta Education Grant- “Building Capacity Through Collaboration.” Together, these schools are sharing, teaching, learning and collaborating on best practices in education.

St. Thomas Aquinas School Division (STAR) and Nipisihkopahk Educational Authority (NEA) have entered into a education partnership through an Alberta Education Grant- “Building Capacity Through Collaboration.” Together, these schools are sharing, teaching, learning and collaborating on best practices in education.

Chief Whitecap School – An Alliance with Saskatoon Public Schools

The Principal and Counsellor from Chief Whitecap School and the Superintendent from Saskatoon Public Schools discuss the importance of the alliance that brought about the school.

In partnership between Whitecap Dakota First Nation and Saskatoon Public Schools, Chief Whitecap School embodies the vision of provincially mandated curriculum taught in a good way and in alignment with Dakota First Nations culture, language, and traditions. With funding from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Chief Whitecap School is the designated school for Whitecap Dakota First Nation students in Grade 5-8. The funding helps to reduce the education and graduation gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students which has given opportunities for continued Dakota cultural learning and language acquisition. This partnership is committed to reconciliation as it works towards the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. The success of the school is determined within the relationships of the partners, teachers, students, and community.