Shannen’s Dream campaign launched Nov. 17

Shannen’s Dream is alive and well.
Six months after Shannen Koostachin died in a car accident, her dream that all First Nation children should be able to get an education in clean, “comfy” schools just as non-Native children do is being carried forward by a group of national First Nation, education, labour and children’s rights leaders who are calling for the federal government to end the double-standard that exists between First Nation schools and provincially-funded schools.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo emphasized this past June that First Nations students receive on average $2,000 less in educational support than other students in Canada.
“Shannen was tireless in her fight for equitable school rights for First Nation children,” said Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus during the Nov. 17 launch of the Shannen’s Dream campaign. “She became the face of a generation of forgotten First Nation school children. We are carrying on the work she started so that other children will not be left behind.”
Angus said it is time for the federal government to fix the funding problems on reserves.
“Shannen was an inspiring young woman who has been recognized nationally and internationally for her human rights work for education,” Angus said. “I am amazed at how many people are coming forward to make her legacy a reality.”
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), one of the organizations taking part in the campaign, is challenging elementary students and teachers across Canada to take up Koostachin’s campaign for more equitable funding and better conditions for First Nation schools.
“Shannen’s advocacy helped us see very clearly the impact of underfunding by the federal government on schools in First Nations communities,” said Sam Hammond, president of the ETFO. “We’re challenging teachers and students in elementary schools to support the Shannen’s Dream campaign to ensure that every young Canadian — no matter where they live — realizes the same fundamental right to decent schools and education in order to reach their full potential.”
Koostachin, a young First Nation activist from Attawapiskat who was nominated for an International Children’s Peace Prize, opened the eyes of many Canadians to the inequality faced by First Nation students during her fight with the federal government to build an elementary school for 400 students who had to attend school in drafty portables in her community.
Earlier this fall, Angus introduced Motion 571 — Shannen’s Dream — in the House of Commons calling for the right of First Nations children to high-quality, culturally relevant education, transparency in school construction, maintenance and replacement, and funding that will put reserve schools on par with non-reserve provincial schools.
“Because of its fiduciary responsibilities under the Indian Act, the Department of Indian Affairs is functioning as a school board. How then can the Department justify that funding for Aboriginal students is $2,000 less than that for students in the provincially funded public and Catholic systems?” Hammond said. “In the case of Attawapiskat, it is unacceptable that the community has waited more than 10 years for the department to build a new school there, despite protests from First Nations and many others including ETFO.”
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Minister John Duncan said Nov. 19 there is some debate over the numbers between First Nation on-reserve schools and provincial schools.
“This goes beyond a funding issue,” Duncan said. “We’re looking at K-12 from the standpoint of trying to make the programming work in a way where we would have equivalent education whether they are in provincial public schools or whether they are in First Nation schools.”
Duncan said one of the difficulties is public school education authorities have teacher certification, school certification and economies of scale on procurement while First Nation schools are often smaller and operated independently.
“With our First Nation schools, one-quarter have 25 students or less, one-half have less than a hundred students and they are stand-alone entities for the most part,” Duncan said. “We’ve made some real progress on that front, specifically ... in British Columbia where we have had a four-year collaboration between First Nations, the province and the federal government that can now point us to how we can make major improvements. We’ve got a demonstrated track record now of having a seamless system between First Nations and the schools and the public schools.”
Duncan said the federal government has “put a lot of new money” into First Nation schools through the federal Economic Action Plan.
“We actually made an announcement just more than a year ago that we would be replacing the school in Attawapiskat,” Duncan said. “We’ve allocated money this year in the capital plan. It’s anticipated the assessment, design and construction phases will all be complete by the end of 2013.”