Aboriginal Education in Canada: A Saskatchewan Perspective

• Main Authors: Larry E. Steeves, Sheila Carr-stewart
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.586.4906; http://www.csls.ca/events/cea2009/steeves-etal.pdf

negotiated the numbered treaties, which not only addressed land issues but ultimately outlined the obligations of the Crown to provide educational services for First Nations People. Education was identified as a way “to prepare for the future ” so that the people “will prosper ” in a system “equal to the whites ” (Morris 1991/1880, pp. 233-238). As part of its treaty negotiations, the Government of Canada was obligated to fulfil its treaty commitments and provide educational services for First Nations people. Yet a century later research has consistently documented differential rates of academic achievement for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. Student achievement is not merely an individual issue but one set within a broader historical, social, and economic context, both nationally and internationally. In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in so doing recognized (1) Everyone has the right to education… (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality