The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
WHITEHORSE --
Preliminary outcomes present dad and mom at eight colleges in Yukon have voted in favour of making a First Nations faculty board.
A referendum on the proposal ended with dad and mom at colleges in Outdated Crow, Watson Lake, Beaver Creek, Haines Junction, Ross River and Whitehorse approving the measure.
Mother and father of scholars at J.V. Clark College in Mayo voted strongly towards the transfer and Elections Yukon stated the varsity can proceed to be supported by a college council.
Elections Yukon stated official outcomes of the voting can be out there Monday.
The drive to create a First Nations faculty board in Yukon dates again to 1973 and supporters say it should supply a mannequin of reconciliation, offering schooling from Indigenous and non-Indigenous factors of view.
Melanie Bennett, the chief director of the First Nations Training Directorate, stated she's overwhelmed by the help and turnout.
"I am simply making an attempt to breathe right this moment and savour the second," she stated on Friday.
The directorate is an impartial physique established in 2020 to assist First Nations assume extra management over their youngsters's schooling.
Bennett, who's from the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation in Dawson Metropolis, stated the vote is a fruits of many years of labor by Indigenous leaders.
"It has been an extended journey," she stated in an interview.
As soon as elections for the brand new First Nations board are held in March, trustees can have the authority to rent employees, overview and modify faculty plans, and request education schemes in an Indigenous language.
Almost 1 / 4 of scholars in Yukon recognized as Indigenous in 2019.
The territory's auditor basic stated in a 2019 report that Indigenous youngsters routinely lacked the academic helps to assist them achieve colleges or graduate. Yukon additionally did not adequately replicate First Nations tradition and languages within the classroom, the report stated.
Lauren Wallingham, whose daughter goes to a college the place dad and mom accredited the varsity board, stated she feels a way of "hopefulness."
"This can be a first step that can result in actual change," she stated.
Wallingham, who's Indigenous, was a part of a bunch that petitioned dad and mom to participate within the referendum at Takhini Elementary College in Whitehorse.
Training Minister Jeanie McLean stated in a press release the vote is a serious step ahead in advancing a path to reconciliation.
"The institution of a Yukon First Nation College Board will contribute to and enhance the academic outcomes for all college students throughout the territory."
By Nick Wells in Vancouver
Post a Comment