Efforts to establish First Nation school board in Yukon decades in the making
CTV
Parents at eight schools in Yukon are voting on a proposal that could put the control of education for their children in the hands of the territory's Indigenous bands, the result of an effort that one official says began almost 50 years ago.
The parents are voting on the proposal to create a First Nations school board with the authority to hire staff, review and modify school plans, and request that an education program be provided in an Indigenous language.
Melanie Bennett, the executive director of the First Nations Education Directorate, said the push to establish a First Nation school board in the territory dates back to 1973.
Bennett, who is from the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation in Dawson City, said the board would offer a chance to improve a system that has left Indigenous children behind, and provide education fromIndigenous and non-Indigenous points of view.
"It's about a model of reconciliation and in order to do that, you have to provide a platform where both world views are acknowledged," she said.
