Educator Friends:
I'm pleased to let you know that we have put together some reporting and resources on reconciliation in Indigenous Education. For the better part of the last decade we've been working with Indigenous educators and policy leaders to support this critical element of reconciliation. We've done so because of TRC Commissioner Sinclair's simple expression of truth: “education got us into this mess and education will get us out." We also agree with our friend and colleague the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin in the belief that inequity in Indigenous education is 'a moral crisis for Canada.'
In the course of this work we've learned that Indigenous communities and Christian educational communities share some markers of success in education: respect for the child as a whole person; the importance of values and culture in education; and the participation of communities in the education of children. Because of these shared perspectives we think that Christian educators and students are natural allies in the urgent moral quest for justice, equity and reconciliation in Education on reserve.
For this reason, I encourage you as a Christian educator to read our Centre for Public Dialogue report card on the fulfillment of TRC Calls to Action 7-10 (K-12 education on reserve), and to engage your students in learning and action on this critical element of reconciliation.
Here then are some key web resources:
Thanks for considering this and please feel free to write or call with questions. We're eager to work with you to bear witness for reconciliation in Indigenous education.
Mike Hogeterp
Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue, Algonquin Territory