Posted on by Kevin Fitzmaurice
Kelly-Lee Assinewe is from Sagamok Anishnawbek and is the Coordinator for N’Swakamok Native Alternative School which provides, community and culturally based education for students at the N’Swakamok Friendship Center. Indigenous Education is a life-long education that is holistic and includes the mind, body, and spirit of students. It is education that incorporates a diversity of […]
Kelly-Lee Assinewe is from Sagamok Anishnawbek and is the Coordinator for N’Swakamok Native Alternative School which provides, community and culturally based education for students at the N’Swakamok Friendship Center. Indigenous Education is a life-long education that is holistic and includes the mind, body, and spirit of students. It is education that incorporates a diversity of teaching methods in a safe, inclusive, and non-judgemental place of learning. It is community and culturally based and includes Elders, Knowledge Holders, and land-based learning experiences in Indigenous languages and it contributes to a sense of pride for Indigenous students. Indigenous education needs to be self-determining; there needs to be more Indigenous Teachers and Staff, Principals, and Trustees in positions of power.
Posted on by Kevin Fitzmaurice
Barbara Nolan is an Elder from Wiikwemkoong First Nation. She is the Language Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation and has a long history of teaching the Anishnaabe language and has developed many different resources to help with the teaching and learning of Anishnaabemowin including the ‘Nishnaabemdaa’, an Anishinaabemowin language app available for iOS and Android […]
Barbara Nolan is an Elder from Wiikwemkoong First Nation. She is the Language Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation and has a long history of teaching the Anishnaabe language and has developed many different resources to help with the teaching and learning of Anishnaabemowin including the ‘Nishnaabemdaa’, an Anishinaabemowin language app available for iOS and Android devices. Barbara also teaches Anishinaabemowin immersion on a part-time basis at the Garden River Child Care Centre.
According to Elder Barbara Nolan, traditional Anishnaabe education was on the land and children were included in everything that the parents did from picking berries, to cleaning fish and it was all done in the language. All these teachings can be included in today’s curriculum as part of land-based learning that is immersed in the language. This is Indigenous education and this is how our spirits get filled up.
Posted on by Kevin Fitzmaurice
Brandon Petahtegoose of Atikameksheng First Nation disusses the importance of land-based learning and teaching the Anishnaabemowin language as part of this learning. Without this knowledge one can become lost and susceptable to negative influences in life; knowing oneself is possible in relation to one’s culture and community. Brandon has been fortunate to have had the opportunities to learn the traditional Anishnaabe Knolwedge of his family and community and this has helped him as well as those in the community. Indigenous education is learning from the land, medicines, plants, and animals all within the Anishnaabemowin language. Learning in this way is critical to the survival of Anishnaabe people.
Posted on April 7, 2021 by OFIFC and United Native Friendship Centre
The Alternative Secondary School Program (ASSP) addresses the needs of urban Indigenous students in Fort Frances and surrounding areas by creating a culture-based educational environment where the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual areas of a student’s life are centered.
Founded in 2004, the Alternative Secondary School Program (ASSP) in Fort Frances is the culmination of a partnership between United Native Friendship Centre, Fort Frances High School and the Rainy River District School Board. The ASSP addresses the needs of urban Indigenous students in Fort Frances and the surrounding areas by creating a culture-based educational environment where the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual areas of a student’s life are centered. Through the program, students are empowered to become active members in the community and obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. The program is based on individual, independent learning courses that students can complete at their own pace and offers additional tutoring. Cultural teachings, Indigenous language, and wholistic learning approaches are integrated in the curriculum to prepare urban Indigenous students for workplace readiness, skills development and training, or transition to mainstream high school or post-secondary education institutions. The program addresses food insecurity and student nutritional needs by providing a lunch program to enrolled students. Cultural programming is made possible through collaboration with Friendship Centre staff such as the Cultural Resource Coordinator, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers.
The ASSP at United Native Friendship Centre is part of an Ontario-wide network of 11 Alternative Secondary Schools supported by the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). The OFIFC is the largest urban Indigenous service network supporting the vibrant, diverse, and quickly-growing urban Indigenous population through programs and initiatives that span justice, health, family support, long-term care, healing and wellness, employment and training, education, and research. The OFIFC represents the collective interests and vision of its 29-member Friendship Centres, which are hubs of community and gathering spaces where people can connect to their culture, access services and programs and build community.
The vision of the Friendship Centre movement is to improve the quality of life for Indigenous people living in urban environments. Education has always been an integral part of this vision, as access to culturally-safe learning opportunities that center learners’ needs and gifts is key for the wellbeing of urban Indigenous people. The Alternative Secondary School Program was first piloted in 1990, as Friendship Centre communities organized to meet the needs of students and their families, in response to major gaps in mainstream schooling that included lack of safe, culture-based, wholistic education available to Indigenous learners. The program is realized through a partnership between Friendship Centres and their local District School Board, supported by a long-standing relationship between the Ontario Ministry of Education and the OFIFC. As a program dedicated to offering personalized support to Indigenous students within a setting that combines community and academic support, the ASSP reflects Indigenous student needs and delivers education tailored to Indigenous students in an Indigenous environment.
To learn more about this program, please visit https://ofifc.org/program/alternative-secondary-school-program/ and https://unfc.org/alternative-secondary-school-program.
Posted on by OFIFC and N'Swakamok Friendship Centre
The mission of the N’Swakamok Alternative School is to offer a wholistic and culturally inclusive educational program that meets the needs of urban Indigenous students.
Founded in 1990, N’Swakamok Alternative School is housed at the N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre in downtown Sudbury. The program is based on individualized, independent learning courses that students can complete at their own pace. The culturally-based program provides one-to-one tutoring, small and large group instruction with an integration of Indigenous content and traditional ways of teaching and learning. The mission of the N’Swakamok Alternative School is to offer a wholistic and culturally inclusive educational program that meets the needs of urban Indigenous students. The program coordinator, teachers and Friendship Centre staff support all students as they work toward their secondary, post-secondary, career and personal goals.
The N’Swakamok Alternative School is part of an Ontario-wide network of 11 Alternative Secondary Schools supported by the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). The OFIFC is the largest urban Indigenous service network supporting the vibrant, diverse, and quickly-growing urban Indigenous population through programs and initiatives that span justice, health, family support, long-term care, healing and wellness, employment and training, education, and research. The OFIFC represents the collective interests and vision of its 29-member Friendship Centres, which are hubs of community and gathering spaces where people can connect to their culture, access services and programs and build community.
The vision of the Friendship Centre movement is to improve the quality of life for Indigenous people living in urban environments. Education has always been an integral part of this vision, as access to culturally-safe learning opportunities that center learners’ needs and gifts is key for the wellbeing of urban Indigenous people. The Alternative Secondary School Program was first piloted in 1990, as Friendship Centre communities organized to meet the needs of students and their families, in response to major gaps in mainstream schooling that included lack of safe, culture-based, wholistic education available to Indigenous learners. The program is realized through a partnership between Friendship Centres and their local District School Board, supported by a long-standing relationship between the Ontario Ministry of Education and the OFIFC. As a program dedicated to offering personalized support to Indigenous students within a setting that combines community and academic support, the ASSP reflects Indigenous student needs and delivers education tailored to Indigenous students in an Indigenous environment.
To learn more about this program, please visit https://ofifc.org/program/alternative-secondary-school-program/ and http://www.nfcsudbury.org/nswakamok-alternative-school/.
Posted on by OFIFC and N'Amerind Friendship Centre
Wiingashk Alternative Secondary School is located at N’Amerind Friendship Centre in London. This program offers urban Indigenous students a culture-based education that balances the secondary school curriculum with wholistic, culturally relevant educational approaches.
Wiingashk offers opportunities to learn life skills and Indigenous cultural teachings and is designed to help encourage Indigenous students to continue their self-voiced educational goals. The program coordinator and teachers work collaboratively with Friendship Centre staff, specifically Indigenous counsellors and mental health supports, to assist students with their overall well-being, personal goals, and life challenges.
The Wiingashk Alternative Secondary School is part of an Ontario-wide network of 11 Alternative Secondary Schools supported by the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). The OFIFC is the largest urban Indigenous service network supporting the vibrant, diverse, and quickly-growing urban Indigenous population through programs and initiatives that span justice, health, family support, long-term care, healing and wellness, employment and training, education, and research. The OFIFC represents the collective interests and vision of its 29-member Friendship Centres, which are hubs of community and gathering spaces where people can connect to their culture, access services and programs and build community.
The vision of the Friendship Centre movement is to improve the quality of life for Indigenous people living in urban environments. Education has always been an integral part of this vision, as access to culturally-safe learning opportunities that center learners’ needs and gifts is key for the wellbeing of urban Indigenous people. The Alternative Secondary School Program was first piloted in 1990, as Friendship Centre communities organized to meet the needs of students and their families, in response to major gaps in mainstream schooling that included lack of safe, culture-based, wholistic education available to Indigenous learners. The program is realized through a partnership between Friendship Centres and their local District School Board, supported by a long-standing relationship between the Ontario Ministry of Education and the OFIFC. As a program dedicated to offering personalized support to Indigenous students within a setting that combines community and academic support, the ASSP reflects Indigenous student needs and delivers education tailored to Indigenous students in an Indigenous environment.
To learn more about this program, please visit https://ofifc.org/program/alternative-secondary-school-program/ and http://www.namerind.on.ca/.
Posted on March 30, 2021 by Steffany Salloum
Sturgeon Lake First Nation community members reflecting on Harvest Days during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harvest Days is an example of what is possible – community members came together at the Healing Lodge, over the course of a week, and between young and old, they hunted, fished, picked berries, processed food, prepared medicines and drank pandemic immunity. Their efforts to support their community during a pandemic and their commitment to teaching the youth about land-based learning, community, and traditional health is shown in their food security preparations.
*Disclaimer: This video deals wth the processing of deer, moose, and fish for preservation and has graphic content.
