1st-ever Aboriginal Educators' Symposium underway in Yellowknife
Provincial and territorial ministers of education are in Yellowknife today to discuss the strengthening of aboriginal education in Canada, in the first-ever Aboriginal Educators' Symposium.
The symposium, which will last through the week, will focus on teacher recruitment and training, as well as the lasting legacy of residential schools, according to N.W.T. education minister Jackson Lafferty.
"Our national plan builds on existing work and also the challenges for all of us to stake concrete action that focus on history and legacy of residential schools, and related teaching training," said Lafferty.
The symposium is the result of a recommendation from a report issued earlier this month by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Commission made a total of 94 recommendations in its report, aimed at repairing the relationship between aboriginal people and the rest of Canada. During the meetings, other recommendations from the report will be discussed.
The Northwest Territories and Nunavut were two of the first jurisdictions in Canada to develop a curriculum focusing on the legacy of residential schools. Developing such a curriculum was another recommendation from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report.
