School Trustees voted in favour of a 60-day consultation period on proposed changes to the District’s aboriginal education policy at last night’s meeting.
It was a split vote, with Chair Tony Cable breaking the tie. Cable says he hopes it will address Carrier Sekani Tribal Chief Terry Teegee’s ongoing concerns.
“We think our aboriginal committee structure will work very well. We have to work together with Chief Teegee because we want an organization – whether we call it a board or a committee – that represents the aboriginal community.”
Teegee also attended the meeting. He says something remarkable was lost when the district’s aboriginal education board was dissolved in 2014.
“There’s nothing like it in this province. You had two educational institutes – CNC and UNBC – we had two local first Nations, we had our organizations as well as the Prince George Metis Society and a number of training institutes. So, very unique.”
Teegee has concerns about the District’s proposed Aboriginal Education Committee, saying the language he’s seen seems to lean toward exclusivity, rather than inclusivity, and appears to seek consultation rather than representation. He’s also concerned about how committee members would be selected as well as the fact that the Carrier Sekani, at least, were not consulted about the proposed changes to Policy 1231.
Aboriginal education in School District 57 is currently managed by the Aboriginal Education Department.
“We have a great aboriginal department that is working really hard, doing great work,” says Cable. “They’re really working hard to raise the Aboriginal graduation rates so that more students are graduating.”
According to the department, graduation rates for aboriginal students in the district has jumped from 31% to 68% in the last five years.
Cable says the board is serious about addressing Teegee’s concerns.
“We’ve asked the superintendent to reach out to Chief Teegee and she’s going to hopefully meet with him. We’ve also sent a letter to Chief Teegee asking if he will meet with us. We want to consult with him.”
For his part, Teegee says he is fed up with the current state of affairs and the Carrier Sekani have retained legal council.
“We’re leaving every door open, including legal action, but before it comes to that end, we want to talk to everybody. You have to exhaust every avenue before you take legal action.”
Teegee says the Carrier Sekani do plan to meet with the school board but no date has been set at this time.
The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council’s concerns about aboriginal education now extend beyond the district.
“This was brought up in other circles and other jurisdictions, including Kamloops and Quesnel, have come forward and stated that, ‘They’re not listening to us. Resources are being reallocated. We’re only on boards because of tokenism and our voices aren’t being heard.’”
Teegee says it may be a systemic issue. At the meeting he presented a resolution signed by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs in support of First Nations’ sovereign rights to their children’s education, as set out by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The resolution supports the creation of working groups within school districts to ensure First Nations groups are “actively and meaningfully involved” in the education of their children.
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