The Lheidli T’enneh Nation and the Mcleod Lake Indian Band are calling for two Indigenous trustees to be appointed to the SD57 Board of Education.
Mcleod Lake Indian Band Chief, Harley Chingee and Lheidli T’enneh Nation Chief, Dayi Clay Pountney made their proposal today (Tuesday).
“Years back, we did sign an LEA (Local Education Agreement) with SD57 as a tripartite agreement which has been going okay,” explained Pountney, “moving forward we realize that we have to move forward in a more progressive manner for all of our kids that are in SD57.”
This comes after both communities joined forces on the matter and sent a letter to SD57.
“The only way our communities can ensure that our students and other Indigenous students are receiving the support they deserve is for our communities to have a trustee making decisions at a Board of Education table,” added Pountney.
The Chiefs say that appointment of an MLIB Trustee and an LTN Trustee to the SD57 Board of Education are their communities’ number one education priority.
The minister designated one trustee position from Valemont and one from Robson Valley in SD 57 prior to the last local government election in 2018.
This means that within the two territories and SD57, there already is precedent for the Minister of Education to designate appointed trustees.
Both Chiefs explained that the low grad rates on reserves are a large factor in why they want a voice not just represented on an advisory committee.
Chief Harley Chingee explained that higher grad rates will in turn push Indigenous people to keep up with society and provide more career opportunities in a variety of industries.
According to Poutnenay, “our voice has always been heard, but they’ve (SD57) never taken action on it.”
McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief Harley Chingee says, “Our students for too long have been second class citizens in the public school system,” adding “the graduation rates of indigenous students continue to fall well below those of non-indigenous students.”
— Francoise Dione? (@dione_wearmouth) September 29, 2020