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Aboriginal education prioritized at Canadian ministers meetings 6 Tuesday July 7 2015 EDUCATION ABORIGINAL Seeking Public Comment on NWT Species at Risk Proposals The Government of the Northwest Territories is looking for your input on the following proposed actions under the NWT Species at Risk program Proposed addition to the NWT List of Species at Risk Western Toad as Threatened Comments due by July 20 2015 Proposed Draft Recovery Strategies NWT Boreal Caribou Recovery Strategy Comments due by July 20 2015 NWT Hairy Braya Recovery Strategy Comments due by August 10 2015 For more information on these proposals or copies of the recovery strategies visit the NWT Species at Risk website at www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca or contact your local Environment and Natural Resources Office. Send your comments to Lynda Yonge Director Wildlife Environment and Natural Resources Government of the Northwest Territories Box 1320 Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9 Phone 867 873-7588 Fax 867 873-0293 Email saragov.nt.ca cascade graphics New solutions. Book design Brochures posters Business stationery Greeting cards Logo design Marketing solutions Photography Promo material Signs banners Stickers magnets Call us at 867.872.3000 Email us at graphicsnorj.ca or designnorj.ca or simply drop-in at 207 McDougal Rd Fort Smith NT By DALI CARMICHAEL Yellowknife played host to two Council of Ministers of Education Canada CMEC meetings last week where Aboriginal education was singled out as a top prior- ity for educators and policy developers from across the country. Two days of conferences started on June 29 with a dedicated Aboriginal Edu- cators Symposium followed the next day by CMECs 104th annual general meet- ing where recommenda- tions from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC were at the forefront of discussions. We have invited Aborig- inal educators and elders from across Canada to tell us how to encourage more Aboriginal people to pur- sue a teaching career said NWT Education Culture and Employment Minister Jackson Lafferty. We are also asking what we can do to ensure that seasoned Ab- original educators remain in the profession. The meetings provided an opportunity for about 75 delegates to network and share ideas on both policy development initiatives and on-the-ground practical methods of improving edu- cation for students and for closing the gap between indigenous and non-indig- enous youth as many pre- senters commented. At last years AGM Laf- ferty and his Alberta coun- terpart were tasked with developing CMECs Aborig- inal Education Plan. At the meetings they presented their findings organized into four key areas of devel- opment the rst of which is supporting the development of more Aboriginal teachers Lafferty said. Numerous studies includ- ing a 2010 research report by Canadian Teachers Fed- eration have found that not only do Aboriginal teachers enjoy providing education that focuses on indigenous histories and frames peoples in a positive light but also better integrate Aboriginal teachings and perspectives in a variety of subject matter. Aboriginal educators are a positive inuence on their students and will play a piv- otal role in reducing the aca- demic achievement gap be- tween Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal students Laf- ferty said. To ensure more Aboriginal people become educators we needed to listen closely to and learn from the true experts on this topic Aboriginal teachers themselves. The second priority is to promote understanding of the history and legacy of res- idential schools in all K-12 education systems across the country. For several years high schools in the NWT and Nunavut have delivered curricula based on the his- tory and legacy of residen- tial schools to Grade 10 stu- dents. At the CMEC meet- ings the Northern educa- tors took the opportunity to share that curriculum with the intent of having it become a model for other regions to develop their own residential school cur- riculums. They were joined by TRC commissioners Dr. Marie Wilson and Wilton Littlechild who presented to delegates sharing insights from the commissions final report. Some of those recommen- dations include eliminating the discrepancy in federal education funding for First Nations children being ed- ucated on and off reserves publishing annual reports looking at the funding and outcomes for schools on and offreservesdraftingnewAb- original education legislation withthefullparticipationand informed consent of Aborigi- nal peoples and encouraging provincialandAboriginalgov- ernments to develop cultur- ally appropriate early child- hood education programs for Aboriginal families. The recommendations tie into a third priority which is to ensure teachers - both in- digenousandnon-indigenous - understand the intergener- ational legacy of residential schools on families. In 2016 the Alberta and NWT ministers are set to lead the development of teaching resources that will delve into the history and legacy of residential schools for both Bachelor of Educa- tion students and pre-service teaching programs. In addi- tiontheywillsetupanonline resource to share resources between jurisdictions to be used by teachers from all backgrounds. The nal key priority for CMEC will be sharing best practices on improving indig- enous education throughout the country. In addition to the exchange of ideas CMEC members put forward a draft renewed in- tergovernmental agreement that will allow representa- tives from one of the three territories to chair the or- ganization for the rst time in its history. The initiative led by the NWT clears the pathway for more Northern people to lead the charge in improving Canadas educa- tion system. This was not possible in the past and marks an im- portant step in the evolution of the territories role in the Canadian federation Laf- ferty said. Elders and delegates at the CMEC Aboriginal Educators Symposium open with a feeding the re ceremony on June 29.