Education Among the Canadian Aboriginals

Education Among the Canadian Aboriginals. Education is a fundamental need for all people and all nations. It has the power to influence and transform the lives of people, communities, countries, and the world as a whole. Some people have attributed education to the “key of life” while others have related to “power.” Irrespective of individual or group perspectives, it is undeniable that education is a crucial human want. Many governments recognize and have documented that denial of education to a people is equal to breaching their fundamental human rights. As such, there have been continuous and sustained researches and evaluation of education qualities for various groups of people. The Aboriginals (Inuit, Metis, and First Nations) of Canada are among the communities that have attracted significant attention among human rights advocates and sociologists as well as researchers. The reason for the focus attributes to historical abuses that the people faced in the course of the establishment and development of the Canadian nation. Education is one of the areas used by past regimes to abuse the rights of the Aboriginals. Education is among the various items that the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions defined as requiring action to administer justice and reassure the Aboriginals after years of discrimination and maltreatment. Understanding the nature of the abuses and the efforts made to encourage the Aboriginals requires extensive analysis of the progress of their education.
The Past Issues in Aboriginal Education
The education for the aboriginal people in Canada has faced numerous challenges.

The problems related to the governmental policy executed through the Indian Act. The Bill established the residential school system in the 1860s. The government used the opportunity to compel the Inuit and First Nations parents to register their children in residential schools. The primary intention of the residential school system was to allow for the assimilation of the Intuit and the First Nations to Christianity and English. The move entailed the breaking and frustration of the aboriginal culture. Majority of the Christian and English culture conflicted with the beliefs of the aboriginals. The learners in the school received instruction that their language, dressing style, and traditions were inferior and unnecessary. Even though the residential facilities closed down (the last to close in Alberta was in 1988. Nationally, the latest residential school to close was in 1996 in Saskatchewan), their impacts continue to affect the lives of the aboriginals.
About five to six generations of the Inuit and First Nations people went through the residential school arrangements. For the Metis people, things were somewhat easy because parents only sent their kids to residential school voluntarily. The practice seemed inhumane as the government separated children as young as four years from their parents and placing them into institutions that were often far from homes. The toddlers faced ban against speaking mother tongue and practicing their traditions. Consequently, the subjects developed shame towards their culture, family, and language. Parents also suffered prohibitions from visiting their kids, and they could spend several years without seeing them.
The residential school system established by the Indian Act also suffered from limited funding. This underfunding encouraged overcrowding that promoted unhealthy living conditions. The situation exposed children to illnesses like tuberculosis. As such, about half of the kids, who through the system died prematurely without benefitting from the education received. The funding problem also increased during the 1930s Depression when the government cut budgets of many projects. The problem affected the Aboriginal students in the residential schools in severe manners. At the close of the 19930s, reports emerged that a cook working at the Kenora’s Presbyterian school sold bread to students at ten cents per loaf. The cook always responded positively to inquiries about the sufficiency of bread to the students when many learners suffered hunger. Truth and Reconciliation Commission accuses that the fact that learners bought food in 1939 to compliment meals demonstrates the failure of the government to provide adequate funding to residential schools.
The separation of families also affected the transfer of parenting skills and encouraged trauma among many adults and children. Parents missed the opportunity to nurture their children. The kids also lost the privilege to enjoy parental love and security of their families, homes, and communities. Disciplinary measures adopted by the residential school increased the pain the students experienced because of isolation from parents. According to Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015), flogging and public humiliation were common forms of punishments. Some institutions had severe measures that involved cells for detaining indiscipline children. In some instances, the detention accompanied with a poor diet such as water and bread alone of “water-diet.”
The flawed nature of the residential education structure allowed some people the opportunities to abuse the Inuit and First Nations learners. According to Robb and John (2005), a few staffs in the schools used their positional powers to inflict emotional and physical insults on the learners. In fact, some teams committed abused students sexually, which had adverse effects on the subjects. Resultantly, the Inuit and First Nations communities experienced elevated rates of suicide and violence. Even today, the survivors of the Indian schools have had their lives influenced by previous experiences (Clarke, 2014). Majority of the subjects struggle with identity after years of training to hate selves and culture. The survivors inflict pain and abuse on their children since they mastered the practice as a technique for adults to exert power and control over the young.
Robb and John (2005) elucidate that many attendants to the residential schools received a substandard education. They often spend only half of the days in classrooms and lacked equal opportunities as those enjoyed by peers in other institutions. The half-day learning was a routine designed to allow children time to do menial work to support their lives in the school. Learners involved in farm work to grow crops prepared food and repaired as well as sewn their clothes. The half-day system saw children spend time on vocational activities (Kulnieks, Young & Longboat, 2013). Disgustingly, the duties performed during the vocational time were repetitive and offered little chances for new knowledge. The half-day system was necessary for the practicing-school because of the limited funding received. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) laments that while the half-day policy ought to apply to senior or adult learners, schools incorporated all children. Since none of the educational laws recognized the half-day practice, schools committed it haphazardly with little order and consistency. During work, children operated under little supervision that exposed them to increased risk of injury. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) recounts that some learners had their hands caught by power machines in kitchens, laundries, fields, and workshops. Discouragingly, principals blamed students for negligence and often failed to report injuries to the government. In many occasions, the government learned about injuries when parents complained or upon receiving hospital bills. For instance, in 1935, at Qu’Appelle school, a mangled machine crushed many right-hand fingers of Florence McLeod (Robb & John, 2005; Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015)). The principal denied that the girl was reckless because several students had used the tool over many years and never hurt. In 1941, a twelve-years boy lost fingers of one hand in an incident in a school barn in Brandon, Manitoba. With the half-day system, it was a disgusting occurrence that majority of the Inuit and First Nations students dropped out of schools at eighteen years with knowledge equivalent to Grade 5 education.
In the culture of the Aboriginals, the environment is a crucial part of human life. Generations teach each other techniques and need to protect and relate to the situation. The holistic worldview informs the interest to see and consider things as a whole rather than as parts. In that line, the Aboriginals recognize environmental training as crucial part of their education curricular (Bains, 2014). Unfortunately, some of the regimes like the Ontario Government passed the legislation abolishing ecological education.
Current issues in Aboriginal Education
As demonstrated by Moore (2017), about 118,000 students of First Nations living in reserves receive the funding for their education from the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Approximately 60% of the population attend federal institutions on reserve and band-operated establishments. About 40% of the group participate in private or public schools off-reserve. Moore (2017) estimates that over half of the First Nations people are below twenty-five years and 350,000 age below 14. Only half of the entire First Nations compared with over 80% of other Canadian youths manage high school graduation. Furthermore, only 8% of the First Nations youth possess a university certificate.
Despite the numerous efforts and strategies by various parties including the Canadian federal and tribal governments as well as other stakeholders, some of the issues concerning the aboriginal education persist. Others issues may not have direct attribution to the historical mistreatments but are products of the past. According to Omand (2016), concerning a research report by C.D Howe Institute, reserve schools contribute to high rate of failure among the aboriginal students in Canada, and there are no quick-and-easy fixes. From the findings of C.D Howe Institute, a meager four in ten adults in reserves across Canada have completed high school education. The figure contrasts significantly with the seven in ten aboriginals living outside reserves and nine out of ten non-aboriginals (C.D Howe Institute, 2016). The findings demonstrate the harms that the reserve settlement systems have caused the aboriginals. The study further disclosed that eight in ten Metis attain high school certificates across Canada.

Omand (2016) decries that the low educational attainment among the aboriginals has extended repercussions to the entire Canadian system. The condition is responsible for negative economic indicators like high unemployment, increased crime, and health problems. Lower educational attainment also reduces access to economic and social opportunities and encourages the reliance on government for things like housing (Kelly-Scott & Smith, 2012).

The performance of the Canadian aboriginals seems to vary across provinces. Omand reports that in 2016, the education minister of British Columbia (B.C) Province, Mike Bernier celebrated a 9% increase in the graduation rate among the on and off-reserves high school students. Averagely, B.C recorded the highest graduation rate of 60% for the aboriginal students (C.D Howe Institute, 2016). This measure exceeded the national mean of 42%. In Manitoba, the rate of graduation among high school aboriginals was 30%, which nearly half of the case in B.C. Moore (2017) reveals some disgusting events in the education of the Canadian aboriginals. In 2011, an entire Grade 9 class taught by four distinct teachers failed a math test.
Besides the abysmal performance facing aboriginal students, the other problem is funding for education. Moore (2017) reports that reserve school experience inadequate and unequal funding that affects the stability of their operations. For instance, in British Columbia (B.C) where First Nations have agreements for supplemental funding, the per-student allocation is approximately 20% less than the amount that received by learners in provincial institutions. Outside B.C province where the additional agreements are absent, the funding is 37% less than the much given to students in provincial public institutions.
Moore (2017) explains that the persistent underfunding of the on-reserve institution causes them to operate below the average budget. The situation is one of the factors that hinder their ability to retain qualified and competent teachers. The schools also face the difficulty to develop the proper infrastructure required for standard learning. Additionally, the underfunding makes the on-reserve institutions to offer fewer programs than the public counterparts.

Remedial Measures to Fix the Educational Problem for the Aboriginals
The “Call for Action” in the Truth and Reconciliation report enumerated the fixing of the educational system for the aboriginals as one of the remedial steps. Nonetheless, the federal and the provisional governments have approached the matter in different ways. In 2016, the Ottawa government allocated about $300 million as an addition to the annual funding for the reserve schools (C.D Howe Institute, 2016). This allocation translated to about 20% increase to the regular or previous funding to the cause. The Ottawa authority also assigned $100 million for capital among other investments in the reserve school system. Moore (2017) discloses that the Ottawa government spends an average of $1.4 billion yearly on the post-secondary and elementary education of First Nations.
Moore (2017) discusses that many people have objected the consideration of increased funding as the sole remedy to the educational problems facing aboriginal learners. Essentially, raising financing cannot guarantee equality between the band-operated and provincial school systems. The solution requires a combined package encompassing programs and comparable services among others.
Responsibilities of Students towards Reconciliation
The evil of the past against the aboriginals continue to inflict pain and hurt the current generation. The abuse exasperated on the Aboriginals have remained to cause divisions and distrust in the Canadian society. It has been difficult for the Aboriginals to trust the government and has always championed for own governance. Students bear significant duties at personal levels to push the agenda of reconciliation. First, students from both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities should take steps to learn and understand the past. The learning should focus on the ancient traditions of the Aboriginals and the process of assimilation as well as the associated repercussions. Secondly, it is essential for the students to lead campaigns within schools and the community to persuade people to forgive each other and repent about the past evil. At the same time, students at individual levels need to push the governments to provide appropriate resources to the Aboriginal institutions. It is also necessary for students to take courses that teach about reconciliation. Students should train as teachers and target skills that can help in integrating the isolated Aboriginal to the mainstream society without compromising cultural practices.
References
Bains, R. (2014). Myths and Realities of First Nations Education. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/myths-and-realities-of-first-nations-education.pdf

C.D Howe Institute. (2016). Improving Education for Indigenous Children in Canada Rapporteur’s Summary. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://www.cdhowe.org/sites/default/files/attachments/other-research/pdf/Education%20Conference%20Report_2016.pdf

Clarke, K. (2014). Native education problems won’t be fixed through more funding, study says. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/native-education-problems-wont-be-fixed-with-more-funding-study-says

Gordon, C. & White, J. (2014). Indigenous Educational Attainment in Canada. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, Vol. 5, no. 3: 1-28.
Kelly-Scott, K. & Smith, K. (2012). Aboriginal Peoples: Fact Sheet for Canada. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-656-x/89-656-x2015001-eng.htm

Kulnieks, A., Young, K., & Longboat, D. R. (2013). Indigenizing Environmental Education: Conceptualizing Curriculum that Fosters Educational Leadership. First Nations Perspectives 5, 1: 65-81.
Moore, D. (2017). Native school conditions in Canada are shocking: panel chair. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/native-school-conditions-in-canada-are-shocking-panel-chair/article557527/

Omand, G. (2016). Canada’s failing reserve schools jeopardize aboriginal students: study. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/01/28/canadas-failing-reserve-schools-jeopardize-aboriginal-students-study.html

Robb, M. & John, C. M. (2005). Our Words, Our Ways: Teaching First Nations, Métis and Inuit Learners. Alberta, Alberta Education.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.