Restructuring First Nations’ Education: Trust, Respect and Governance

Abstract

Many of the problems that First Nations’ peoples in Canada encounter with formal schooling can be traced to the structure of our educational institutions. Among other things, this structure reflects a disrespect for and lack of trust in indigenous peoples in the relationships that it sustains between the federal government and First Nations’ peoples, between schools and communities and between educators and students. This paper describes these relationships and suggests possible changes, including adjustments in hierarchy, divisions of space and time, and student assessment