April 20, 2023
Manitoba Government Announces New Resources to Promote Indigenous Inclusion in Schools
– – –New Supports Enhance Well-Being of Indigenous Students, Improve Educational Experience for All Learners: Ewasko
The Manitoba government is launching new educational resources and guidelines to support Indigenous education and truth and reconciliation across Manitoba schools, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced today.
“As we continue along the path towards truth and reconciliation, it is more important than ever to empower educators with resources that reflect Indigenous languages, cultures and identities,” said Ewasko. “In doing so, we can help foster more inclusive learning environments that enhance the achievements and well-being of Indigenous students and improve the educational experience for all learners.”
The new resources, entitled Mamàhtawisiwin Tools for Reflection, Planning and Reporting, provide school divisions with a framework to identify priority areas for funding and policy development, as well as professional learning for educators and school staff. It also provides a structure for planning and reporting on progress towards the building of Indigenous-inclusive school communities.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Learning has partnered with the Manitoba Rural Learning Consortium to facilitate orientation and training with rural school divisions of the Mamàhtawisiwin tools for teachers, school leaders, superintendents and Indigenous education leaders.
"The Mamahtawisiwin Tools for Reflection, Planning and Reporting are practical guideposts for assessing implementation of the framework document within a school and its classrooms as well as within a division,” said Jonathan Toews, executive director, Manitoba Rural Learning Consortium. “With the tools, planning for an Indigenous inclusive education system will be greatly enhanced."
Starting this spring, the Manitoba government will also begin distributing six books that were developed as part of the Manitoba Museum’s Nametwaawin: Land and Language project, a collaboration with the Poplar River, Pauingassi, Little Grand Rapids and Bloodvein First Nations.
The bilingual English and Anishinaabemowin books cover a range of topics including plant life, artifacts and archival photographs, the Ojibwe language, common Anishinaabeg teachings and the history of Treaty 5 negotiations at Berens River. A total of 2,848 books will be delivered to 37 school divisions and 71 First Nation schools.
The minister also noted that new Elders and Knowledge Keepers in Schools guidelines have been developed to support and strengthen understandings of how to engage and benefit from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, grandparents and community members.
The guidelines embed the guiding concepts of the four Rs (relevance, relationship, respect and reciprocity) and were informed through talking circles with Elders and Knowledge Keepers and conversations with Indigenous education leads. These guidelines also incorporate learnings from the first annual symposium of Elders and Knowledge Keepers held last fall, with an expanded symposium planned for the two-day Mamàhtawisiwin conference later this year.
The new guidelines and resources build upon the annual investment of $2.2 million in funding to support the implementation the Elders and Knowledge Keepers program across all school divisions as well as six provincial learning sessions that have taken place, the minister noted.
These new resources support the Manitoba government’s commitment to advancing actions 62 and 63 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, which call upon federal, provincial and territorial governments to develop and implement resources on Indigenous Peoples in Canadian history, the minister added.
Mamàhtawisiwin: The Wonder We Are Born With, an Indigenous education policy framework, was launched in April of last year. The policy supports holistic achievements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners by helping Manitoba educators to incorporate Indigenous languages, cultures and identities into their teaching and practices, setting Indigenous students up for success in school and beyond, the minister said.
To learn more about Mamàhtawisiwin: Tools for Reflection, Planning, and Reporting, visit https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/iid/mamahtawisiwin.html.
To learn more about the Elders and Knowledge Keepers in Schools Initiative, visit https://edu.gov.mb.ca/iid/elders.html.
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