Celebrating the work of two great advocates

Our news & views

December 06, 2011

On November 28th, People for Education celebrated the work of two great advocates for education.

“On the importance of education generally we may remark it is as necessary as the light – it should be as common as water and as free as air.“   Egerton Ryerson, 1846

 

Roberta, Daisy and Annie

Roberta Jamieson is the president and CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, which is dedicated to realizing the potential of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit youth through scholarship assistance and other support.

Frank McKenna, Paul Martin, A Kidder

The Right Honourable Paul Martin leads the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, which is focused on reducing the Aboriginal youth dropout rate and increasing the number of Aboriginal students attending post-secondary institutions.

Their work was celebrated at an evening that included presentations from Shawn Atleo – Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine – former chief, Senator Gerry St. Germain, the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, Colton Quinn Clause – a Brock student who received support through the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, and the Honourable Laurel Broten – Minister of Education.

If you would like to learn more about how to support Aboriginal education, here are a few simple things you can do:

  • Join the ongoing discussion in People for Education’s online community. Just click here to add your thoughts.  
  • Sign on as a supporter of Shannen’s Dream.  Shannen Koostachin was a young student from the Attawapiskat First Nation who started a campaign to ensure ‘safe and comfy schools and culturally based education for First Nations children and youth’.  Sadly, Shannen died in a car accident in 2010 at the age of 15. However, her dream lives on, and we can all support it simply by signing as a supporter at www.fncfcs.com.
  • Visit the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF) website to see how you can help provide bursaries and Scholarships to First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth across Canada: http://www.naaf.ca/
  • Find out more about the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative (MAEI) and the two elementary model schools projects they are conducting in partnership with Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Walpole Island First Nations. Visit their website at http://www.maei-ieam.ca
  • Share ideas or projects through Inspiring Approaches to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Learning, which provides an online platform to enable participants to discuss and share innovative ideas, to comment and vote on entries, and to become eligible for awards ranging from $500 to $5,000. http://www.changemakers.com/fnmi-learning

People For Education Viewpoint:

The Egerton Ryerson Award is named for the founder of Canada’s public education system and each year, People for Education gives an award in his name. In the 1840′s Ryerson set out to develop a system of education that was free for all and that would educate the children of “the blacksmith and the magistrate alike” (both revolutionary ideas at the time). He envisioned schools that would provide a broad education to all students – including the arts, sciences, libraries and health and physical education, and his goal was to create educated, engaged citizens. But Ryerson was also a man of his time. He was a Methodist preacher, so he also assumed schools should be building ”good Christians.” And while Ryerson supported free and compulsory education, he also believed in different systems of education for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. These beliefs influenced, in part, the establishment of what became the Indian Residential School system that has had such a devastating impact on First Nations, Métis and Inuit people across Canada. So while we celebrate many of Ryerson’s accomplishments, it’s also important to recognize that some of his ideas were destructive, discriminatory and the opposite of inclusive. Roberta Jamieson made a great speech at the event which addressed some of those issues. To read her remarks, click here.

Join the Discussion »

  • Aboriginal education in Ontario

    The Aboriginal population is often forgotten in discussions across the board, but education is the most important one that many people are unfamiliar with. The Aboriginal population in Canada is the fastest growing population in the country, and the potential work force is being ignored. There are many restrictions to solving this dilemma; you can’t simply get rid of Reserves or force Aboriginal children into off-reserve schools. I would encourage everyone to discuss this issue in a positive manner with their school boards; MLAs, MPs as well as their local Aboriginal population, to gain a better understanding of how Aboriginal Education affects everyone in the province in all areas. I know that there are a lot of issues which I did not touch on, but please fell free to contribute you comments or questions. All ideas on how we can better the current situation would be greatly appreciated.  View the full discussion.