By Thia James

PAGC First Nations plan to develop own education acts

Sep 20, 2013 | 6:53 AM

The 12 First Nations of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) each plan to develop their own education acts, aiming to better reflect the culture and needs of the First Nations.

The acts will recognize First Nations culture, language, academic achievement, First Nations jurisdiction over education, as well as the treaty right to education, PAGC Grand Chief Ron Michel said on Thursday morning.

“Through the development of our own education act[s], we are asserting our indigenous right and authority over our children’s education, not only for this generation, but for generations to come,” he said.

Michel made the announcement at the Sturgeon Lake Complex in Prince Albert. It comes ahead of the mid-October resumption of Parliament, where Michel said Ottawa plans to move ahead with drafting fresh legislation for a new First Nations Education Act. The PAGC hopes to have the acts ready before Parliament resumes.

The new act is in the blueprint stages and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development said the blueprint has been informed by months of consultations with First Nations chiefs, councils and organizations, provincial governments and experts.

Plans in place

Construction begins on permanent Humboldt Broncos memorial site

1h ago

Highlight reel Hildebrand

Raiders fall in overtime following third period comeback versus Silvertips

8h ago

Healthcare

'It's terrifying': Health-care workers sound alarm at Legislative Building

Oct 04, 2024

Any move ahead with the legislation is currently on hold, since Parliament has been prorogued be Prime Minister Stephen Harper and won’t resume until Oct. 16.

The PAGC is opposed to federal education legislation for First Nations, and plans to present United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues James Anaya with the education acts. They will make the presentation to Anaya when he visits Canada in October.

Michel was flanked by PAGC education directors and educators as he told members of the media that the chiefs of the PAGC are already in the process of developing and implementing their First Nations’ education acts.

“Our 12 First Nations have come forward, that we will develop our own education acts, at their band level. [The] Prince Albert Grand Council and the chiefs of Saskatchewan have developed and implemented many programs and services that have supported students and their needs,” he said.

He said that in the 1970s, it was First Nations in the PAGC that pulled their children out of provincial schools to home school them. “We did this because mainstream education and the federal government, were failing our children. Since this time, we have [made] significant gains in [the] education of First Nations youth.”

But he pointed to the systems that are currently in place, developed by First Nations, and said they have good governance and regularly meet with principals, co-ordinators and directors, in his rebuttal of the federal government’s education act blueprint.

“Many of our nations have developed [at] the request of students and families, comprehensive culture and language programs. No system is perfect. And I’m certainly not saying that ours is the perfect system. But we have went a long way in 40 years compared to what the government has done to us in the last 100 years.”

And after praising the successes of the First Nations, he called the proposed act “imposed legislation” which he said is a “slap in the face” to First Nations leaders.

He said the First Nations have educators with expertise that is as good, if not better, than provincial ones when it comes to educating First Nations students. Michel added that the federal government doesn’t have experience running schools of any type.

“The last experiment cost the lives of countless First Nations youth, with forced or coerced residential school systems. How dare they try to stand tall in the marbled halls of Parliament and state with confidence that they know what is good for [the] education of First Nations youth.”

He said the “father knows best” approach is paternalistic and they won’t stand for it. And so, the First Nations, as a result, are developing education acts which will “meet First Nations’ needs.”

“We have proceeded with the template, all our First Nations leaders are going to their communities, to present the template to their educators and also to their governance.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames