Indigenous Students in the Current Education System

EDUC3730: Education and Human Rights

By: Emma Gordon

ID: 214751788
 In the past, education has been used to colonize Indigenous Peoples as a means to force

assimilation into Westernized ideology. This was accomplished by destroying their language,

culture, and way of life. Sadly, not much has changed – Westernized institutions and ideology are

still dominating education today. Canada’s education system creates a vicious cycle that the

majority of Indigenous students are negatively impacted by. This cycle causes multiple issues

within and out of education that infringe upon many of Indigenous Peoples rights, including the

right to education. Indigenous student’s failure in mainstream education is caused by many

factors including poor quality of life, culturally dissonant learning environments (Ball, 2012),

racism, and various barriers affecting their entrance or graduation of postsecondary institutions.

This paper will also explore the benefits of Indigenous student’s educational attainment, and

various proposed solutions to decrease the current infringement of Indigenous’ right to education.

First, one must outline what is one’s “right to education” and what it entails.

Every person in Canada has the right to an education. Every student is entitled to a, “free

elementary and secondary education in Canada” (Clarke, 2007), and an accessible, barrier-free

postsecondary education (if one chooses to attend postsecondary i.e. college or university). The

right to education includes an “equitable, inclusive education system… in which all students,

parents, and other members of the school community are welcomed and respected” (Ontario,

2014). It also allows students to be supported, inspired, engaged and included (Ontario, 2014).

However, this is not true for all Indigenous students.

This fundamental right to education is not being afforded to all Indigenous students.

Currently in Canada, the statistics of Indigenous students graduating from secondary and

attending postsecondary is increasing from what it once was. However, they are still well below

the national average. In today’s society, at least 43% of Indigenous youth do not have a high
school diploma (Preston, 2008), compared to the 13% of non-Indigenous youth (Hare &

Pidgeon, 2011). In general, “50% of First Nations people, aged 25 to 64, living on-reserve and

38% of First Nations people, aged 25 to 64, living off-reserve do not have a high school

diploma” (Preston, 2008). This in turn causes the decreased amount of Indigenous students

entering a postsecondary education compared to non-Indigenous students. Those who do attend

university are usually older (Barnes, 2009), which comes with more barriers such as, ageism,

racism and family commitments. Based on these facts and statistics, it is clear that, “completing

elementary, secondary school and university for Aboriginal students remains below the national

average population” (Barnes, 2009). There are many factors that influence Indigenous student’s

completion of an elementary, secondary and postsecondary education.

The quality of life and the realities that some Indigenous students face everyday can act as

barriers to their educational attainment. For example, Indigenous Peoples are,

“disproportionately burdened with poorer health outcomes than their non-native counterparts”

(Flicker et al, 2014) due to poverty. High unemployment rates, poor living conditions, and

limited access to clean drinking water and nutritious food, (Preston, 2008) are just a few

examples of how poverty can limit one’s “prospects for educational success” (Schissel &

Wotherspoon, 2003). Decreased educational attainment increases the “Aboriginal economic gap”

(Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003), which leads to increased rates of poverty, allowing the vicious

cycle of diminished educational attainment among Indigenous youth to continue. These external

factors have a major impact on Indigenous youth continuing and completing their education.

However, there are aspects of education that also influence Indigenous student’s educational

attainment.
 Today’s mainstream education system attempts to colonize Indigenous students through

Westernized curriculum, and pedagogies by creating a culturally dissonant learning environment

(Ball, 2012). A culturally dissonant learning environment (Ball, 2012) utterly ignores “the needs

of the Aboriginal learner” (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003) and Indigenous culture, creating an

environment for institutional racism to flourish. Canada’s education system is a form of

institutional racism because it “positions Western knowledge as the center of the curriculum”

(Hare & Pidgeon, 2011) and completely ignores “Indigenous histories, worldviews, and

perspectives” (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). Therefore, Indigenous students “struggle to find

relevance in mainstream curriculum and pedagogies” (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011), and effectively

reduces educational attainment. This can be reversed through cultural programming in schools –

programs that bring Indigenous culture into education. However, this is either limited to certain

subjects (like art) or not offered at all (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003). Without relevant

curriculum and pedagogies, or cultural programming, educational performance is reduced

leading to increased school dropouts (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003) or, rather, “push-outs”.

Clearly, Canada’s education system is effectively pushing out Indigenous students instead of

decolonizing curriculum and pedagogies to allow Indigenous students to complete and continue

their education. This is not the only way schools “push-out” Indigenous students.

Overt racism in school through, “negative attitudes and stereotypes directed toward”

(Hare & Pidgeon, 2011) Indigenous students by non-Indigenous students and teachers is yet

another factor Indigenous student’s face that hinders their educational success. Racism can take

many forms. Sometimes it is not explicit, causing students to feel marginalized, or alienated

(Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). Other times, it is explicit from “verbal and psychological abuse to low

expectations and policies and procedures that limit education and employment opportunities”
(Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). The impact and consequences of racism in schools are endless. It can

result in students not going to school, discipline issues, low self-esteem and self-worth, and

underachievement (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). Racism can even have an impact on Indigenous

student’s educational choices such as, whether they stayed in school or not, where they went to

school, and if postsecondary was attainable or even an option (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). Racism is

a huge, multifaceted issue that Indigenous students deal with everyday in education. There are

barriers other than racism that effect Indigenous student’s ability to receive a postsecondary

education.

Even though the numbers of Indigenous student’s going into and graduating from

postsecondary institutions are increasing, they are still well below non-Indigenous students due

to various reasons. Indigenous students face many barriers getting into postsecondary

institutions. For a lot of students, postsecondary institutions are not easily accessible due to

geography (Preston, 2008). Many postsecondary institutions are in Southern Canada, and for

those who are from Northern communities, going to postsecondary can be isolating, and

expensive (Barnes, 2009). The financial burden of postsecondary tuition, rent, and other living

expenses can also act as a barrier for Indigenous students. For example, the Ontario Native

Education Counselling Association indicated that, “close to 3,000 Aboriginal students were

denied funding for postsecondary education” (Preston, 2008) in 2007. Even though that was 11

years ago, that number hasn’t decreased enough. Indigenous students are not getting an education

they have a right to have due to financial and geographical barriers. For those who do succeed in

getting into a postsecondary institution, only a portion of those students actually graduate

(Barnes, 2009). One reason is that many Indigenous students believe that their primary and

secondary education did not prepare them for postsecondary attainment (Barnes, 2009) due to
institutional, systemic and individual racism. Another reason is that Indigenous students have to

become ““departers” from their former communities” (Barnes, 2009). Meaning that Indigenous

students must “depart from their culture if they are to succeed in university” (Barnes, 2009). In

other words, Indigenous students have to assimilate to succeed in an education system that

promotes a “paternalistic… gendered, classed, and racialized politics of knowledge” (Battiste et

al, 2002). Obviously, a lot of Indigenous students “struggle for survival on several planes –

intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual – and striving for success on their own terms in a

cultural setting not their own” (Barnes, 2009), and one that does not promote nor accept

Indigenous culture or ideology. This creates an unwelcoming environment that makes it difficult

for Indigenous students to succeed. What if this wasn’t the case? What if Canada allowed

Indigenous students the complete, full right to education? How would that benefit Indigenous

Peoples?

As mentioned previously, Indigenous student’s attainment in education has been slowly

increasing. The benefits of continued increase of educational attainment are limitless. Not only

would it decrease the “Aboriginal economic gap” (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003), but it would

also promote “healthy lifestyles, healthy social development, positive life choices, and higher

incomes” (Preston, 2008). Which would lead to improved living conditions and health outcomes

as well. By increasing opportunities and access to postsecondary education, Indigenous Peoples

would have the “potential to alleviate inequitable social conditions” (Preston, 2008) within their

communities. It is essential to allow Indigenous Peoples to exercise their right to education to its

fullest. However, this will not happen without a few changes to Canada’s education system,

progress needs to start somewhere.

 Some proposed solutions to continue the rising statistics of Indigenous educational

attainment is to decolonize education by promoting equity and inclusion, Indigenous culture, and

changing school policies and teacher’s attitudes and perceptions to support Indigenous students.

As previously stated, the right to education includes an education that is equitable and inclusive –

society needs to change the current mainstream education system to make it fair and inclusive for

Indigenous students. A fair and inclusive education would aim to “understand, identify, address

and eliminate the biases, barriers, and power dynamics” (Ontario, 2014) that limit Indigenous

student’s educational prospects. Education and training programs would become “innovative,

supportive, and empowering for Aboriginal Peoples” (Preston, 2008). To allow Indigenous

students to excel in a welcoming, safe, and a barrier and bias-free environment. Indigenous

culture would also be celebrated and respected within an equitable and inclusive education

system.

It has been well documented that integrating, respecting and understanding Indigenous

culture in education increase Indigenous student’s educational success (Schissel & Wotherspoon,

2003). For example, the most successful programs at postsecondary institutions include,

“transitional supports into the programs, the presence of Elders, Aboriginal resources, Aboriginal

instructors and staff members, community-based programs, and curricula and pedagogy

reflective of Aboriginal cultural beliefs and values” (Preston, 2008). Indigenous students who are

taught in a culturally appropriate education (Curwen Doige, 2003) system are the most likely to

enjoy school, stay in school, and succeed in school (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003). Also, it is

essential to provide Indigenous students “access to Indigenous mentors, teachers and artists”

(Flicker et al, 2014). Indigenous students need Indigenous role models to connect with, to

idolize, and to respect in education. Every student needs someone to look up to that is part of
their culture, Indigenous students need that as well. However, culture in education will not be a

reality for all schools without changes to school policies.

The Government of Canada and the Ministry of Education needs to adapt and change school

policies to promote “the spiritual, emotional, physical, and academic wellbeing” (Preston, 2008)

of Indigenous students. Education policy needs to be aware of what experiences students bring

into school with them and the “community, political, and socio-economic environments in which

the schools are situated” (Schissel & Wotherspoon, 2003) upon. It is no longer acceptable to

allow ignorance in Canada’s education system. Things must change in order for Indigenous

students to reclaim their right to education. However, this will all be for nothing if the teachers of

Indigenous schools do not participate with these policies or culturally appropriate education

(Curwen Doige, 2003).

Teaching is one of, if not the, most important job in our society. Teachers have the power to

make or break students, and currently, there are a lot of broken Indigenous students due to

Canada’s colonizing education system. Teachers need to create a culturally safe learning

environment for their Indigenous students to allow their cultural identity to be respected and

understood (Ball, 2012). They can do this by welcoming parents and Elders to have an active

role in student’s education (Ball, 2012), effectively building a bridge between school and home

(Ball, 2012). Teachers have to “listen and understand how to provide an empowering education

for all students through appropriate attitudes toward others, learning” (Curwen Doige, 2003), and

refining their pedagogy. They also have a responsibility to address racism to “understand the

dynamics of racism and how racism and oppression have an impact on schooling of Indigenous

youth” (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). If educators and schools do not address racism, culturally

appropriate education (Curwen Doige, 2003) cannot be implemented (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011).
Slowly, Canada is admitting to its racist and colonizing education system. There still a lot of

work to be done, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel due to some educational programs

now offered in Canada.

There are programs now offered to Indigenous students all over Canada. Some programs are:

Aboriginal Head Start (Barnes, 2009), Ontario Native Education Counselling Association

(Preston, 2008), Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (Preston, 2008), Outward Bound Canada

and Save the Children. These programs offer educational, leadership, skills, and resilience

courses. Other programs offered at some postsecondary institutions aim to increase Indigenous

enrollment and educational success (Barnes, 2009). These programs include, “increased

Aboriginal faculty and staff; pro-active recruitment; early intervention; pro-active admission

policies; transitional/bridging programs; academic outreach programs; Native studies programs;

student support, cross-cultural awareness training; and Aboriginal input into university

governance” (Barnes, 2009). There is still a lot more work to be done to completely breakdown

the barriers that limit Indigenous Peoples from attaining educational success, but these programs

do give hope to the future.

In conclusion, there are many issues, factors and barriers that allow Indigenous Peoples right

to education to be infringed upon. Some issues, factors and barriers Indigenous students face

include: poverty, institution, systemic and individual racism, finances, geography, and

assimilation. One solution to increase Indigenous student’s rates of educational success is to

decolonize education through a fair and inclusive education system, promoting Indigenous

culture, and adapting progressive school policies and teacher attitudes. Canada still has a lot of

work to do to ensure that Canadian schools provide a “caring, inclusive, safe, and accepting

environments that support the achievement and well-being of every student” (Ontario, 2014),
including Indigenous students. Education has been and still is used as a way to distance or

assimilate Indigenous Peoples to Canadian society. It is time to change. It is time to support and

give Indigenous students the same opportunities that non-Indigenous students receive. It is no

longer acceptable to not allow Indigenous student’s the right to an inclusive, safe, welcoming,

and equitable education. Canada must be up for the challenge to accept responsibility for the

wrongs committed in the past and present against Indigenous Peoples to begin change. The new

programs offered in Canada are a step in the right direction, but more must be done to have the

statistics of Indigenous educational attainment increased.

References

Ball, J. (2012). Identity and knowledge in Indigenous young children’s experience in Canada.

Childhood Education, 286-290.

Barnes, B. G. (2009). Native students’ identity in higher education: merging, emerging or

struggling?. University of Calgary, 1-288.

Battiste, M., Bell, L., & Findlay, L. M. (2002). Decolonizing education in Canadian universities:

an interdisciplinary, international, Indigenous research project. Canadian Journal of

Native Education, 26, 82-93.

Clarke, S. (2007). Children’s rights: international and national laws and practices. The Law

Library of Congress, 51-60

Curwen Doige, L. A. (2003). A missing link: between traditional Aboriginal education and the

Western system of education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 27, 144-158.

Flicker, S., Danforth, J. Y., Wilson, C., Oliver, V., Larkin, J., Restoule, J. P., Mitchell, C.,

Konsmo, E., Jackson, R., & Prentice, T. (2014). “Because we have really unique art”:

decolonizing research with Indigenous youth using arts. International Journal of

Indigenous Health, 10, 16-30.

Hare, J., & Pidgeon, M. (2011). The way of the warrior: Indigenous youth navigating the

challenges of schooling. Canadian Society for the Study of Education, 93-107.

Ontario. (2014). Equity and inclusive education in Ontario schools. Guidelines for Policy

Development and Implementation, 1-98.

Preston, J. P. (2008). The urgency of postsecondary education for Aboriginal peoples. Canadian

Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 86, 1-17.

Schissel, B., & Wotherspoon, T. (2003). The voices of students of Aboriginal ancestry. Legacy

of School for Aboriginal People: Education, Oppression, and Emancipation, 66-106.