A landmark educational agreement announced Friday marked a major step forward in advancing educational self-determination for First Nations in Québec.
The agreement gives the First Nations Education Council (FNEC), which represents 22 First Nations in the province, control over the allocation of school funds for First Nations.
It comes with an increase of $310.6 million on top of the approximately $790 million earmarked for First Nations education through existing education funding streams, according to the press release.
From 1996 to 2016, there was a two percent annual cap on First Nations budgets across Canada.
The negotiations that led to the FNEC assuming control of school financing predate a 2016 Liberal announcement promising to lift the two percent cap and allocate more money to First Nations budgets, including for education. The cap was still in place for First Nations in Québec until March 2022, says Éric Cardinal, FNEC communications representative.
Going forward, First Nations in Québec will operate a needs-based funding approach for each community named in the FNEC agreement.
This new model was designed by and for the First Nations members of the FNEC, according to the press release.
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Member First Nations, including Kitigan Zibiacross Québec, it will use the additional money to develop a culturally appropriate curriculum, improve school transportation, and hire and retain more than 600 teachers and specialized resources such as technology.
“The [FNEC deal] is a significant step towards determining First Nations control over First Nations education for the [22] First Nations members of the First Nations Education Council,” John Martin, head of Gesgapegiag and head of education, said in the press release.
The agreement was signed in the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory in the presence of the Grand Chiefs, the Chiefs of the First Nations Education Council and the Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu.
With a new funding agreement, Québec First Nations have a greater ability to strengthen and decolonize their schools.
“This agreement will provide Kahnawà:ke with the necessary funding and assistance over the next five years to ensure that our children and young adults receive an education that represents our roots, language and culture,” Kahsennénhawe Sky-Deer, Grand Chief of Kahnawà: ke said in the press release.
The funding will be spread over five years for communities to support the academic studies of First Nations students, from kindergarten through grade 12, based on each nation’s community-focused models, priorities and realities.
Communities will have their own vision for the curriculum, reflecting the diversity of First Nations in the province that include Algonquin, Innu, Cree, Wendat, Mohawk and more.
“There is no one to tell our bosses and councils what to do in their own community. They have taken charge by signing the agreement,” said Denis Gros-Louis, director general of the First Nations Education Council. Canadian National Observer.
Cultural practices will be at the core of each community’s curriculum development, says Gros-Louis. The goal is for First Nations youth to learn their languages by learning in the bush with their community as well as learning abstract concepts in the classroom.
“We are saying that we want to decolonize the way we teach,” says Gros-Louis. “We don’t want our kids to be in classrooms all the time.”
The FNEC will continue to advocate for barriers in the catchment areaso that urban and off-reservation First Nations youth can return to their home communities to learn their own culture and language, says Gros-Louis.
“We would like Canada to look at education from a holistic point of view instead of an 1867 point of view,” he says.