Recognizing that educational change in Nunavut has not been extensively documented, this article provides an entry point for considering how Nunavut can be better understood and situated with scholarship on Indigenous education in Canada. Comparing the history of education in Nunavut with key turning points in First Nations education, the article…

Aboriginal education in Canada needs to shift away from the assimilative model to a model of culturally responsive pedagogy. Teacher education programs that serve Aboriginal teachers have an important role to play in developing an education system that both meets mainstream and Indigenous criteria for success. This paper examines the experiences…

Current Canadian scholarly literature, education policy, and curricular documents encourage the participation of Indigenous community members as a key component of Indigenous Education reform. Guided by sharing circles conducted with Indigenous Elders, families, teachers, and support workers, we present community voices and experiences of…

This study explored teacher candidates' perceptions of the potentialities and challenges associated with the integration of Aboriginal perspectives into mainstream education. Participants in this study were 2nd-year teacher candidates of a two-year teacher education programme who have completed a course on Aboriginal education. Using a…

For centuries Canadian First Nations education has been a substandard, abusive means of dealing with the "Indian Problem." In recent decades Native education has been under-funded and employed non-indigenized models. Despite these facts, many are surprised when these efforts fail another cohort of children. This article outlines Canadian Native…

From 2006 to 2009, Indigenous Elders and scholars shared their insights in the Comprehending and Nourishing the Learning Spirit Animation Theme Bundle of the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre (ABLKC). The ABLKC was an applied research, knowledge exchange, and monitoring program with a mandate to advance Aboriginal education in Canada. One of…

Aboriginal/Indigenous education is being increasingly emphasized in Faculties of Education across Canada. Through self-study as an instructor of a mandatory course in Aboriginal education in a Faculty of Education, the author is exploring the use of local, place-based education in the fostering of cross-cultural understanding of Aboriginal and…

First Nations people have both a Constitutional and a Treaty right to education; however, the Crown's jurisdictional obligations to provide educational services have not lead to similar educational opportunities and attainment achievement for First Nations students as compared to Canadian students in provincial schools. Canada's Auditor General,…

Across Canada, many Aboriginal peoples and communities are actively resisting environmental destruction and communicating to settler-Canadians traditions of respect for the land. Moreover, some Indigenous scholars and educators are calling for a foregrounding of Indigenous ways of knowing in environmental education for all students. However,…

This article reports on a recent study about Outward Bound Canada's Giwaykiwin program for Aboriginal youth. A key finding that emerged from the study was the need to design contemporary Aboriginal education programs based on a recognition of the evolution of Indigenous cultures and languages in close relationship with specific geographical areas.…

This article presents a case study of a First Nations educational initiative in British Columbia. Simon Fraser University's (SFU) Integrated Studies Program created two unique adult education programs in response to a request from the Aboriginal-operated Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT); this request involved the two institutions…

More than just the development of reading and writing skills, Aboriginal literacy is a wholistic concept, with spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional aspects, involving relationships between self, community, nation, and creation. Models are presented for incorporating traditional Aboriginal knowledge and methodologies into Aboriginal learning…

Literacy is discussed in the broadest sense. From an Aboriginal perspective, literacy is about sustaining a world view and culture, resymbolizing and reinterpreting past experience while honoring traditional values, living these values, and visioning a future in which an Aboriginal way of being will continue to thrive. Meaningful Aboriginal…

Aboriginal literacy encompasses oral tradition, culture, language, identity, and world view in addition to the written word, and is a process of lifelong learning, much of which occurs beyond school walls. When defining Native literacy, one must move away from measuring Aboriginal students by Euro-Western definitions and move toward a balanced,…

Aboriginal literacy programs in Canada are using literacy as a means of reclaiming Aboriginal languages and a positive cultural identity. The Rainbow/Holistic Approach to Aboriginal literacy uses seven ways of knowing, each corresponding to a color. The approach recognizes that spirit, heart, mind, and body equally contribute to a life of balance,…