The Manitoba government has announced that it will be launching a new education policy framework that seeks to expand programs around bringing Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers into the classroom.
The announcement of the program came from the Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko. He was in Niji Mahka School in Winnipeg when he made the announcement. Along with the program will come funding of around $1.6 million to provide resources for this endeavor.
“The framework is intended to support educators by helping them embed Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing into their teaching practices and deepen their understanding and progress along a path of Truth and Reconciliation in their school communities,” Ewasko announced in an official release.
The framework has been officially entitled “Mamàhtawisiwin: The Wonder We Are Born With.” It contains seven principles that serve as the foundation for the whole program. The learning initiative will serve as a guide from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Some of the inclusions to the program are an effort to discuss inclusivity and cultural safety as the program also hopes to create an environment in which indigenous leaders will feel respected and secured.
Along with the framework comes a set of clearly outlined roles and responsibilities that the students, teachers, staff, and division leaders will maintain through the duration of the project. The Mamàhtawisiwin is the result of a partnership that included over one hundred people from around the province. This group included elders and knowledge keepers.
“Not only are teachers stepping into the community, the community is stepping into school. Elders and Knowledge Keepers carry sacred knowledge all students can benefit from. I am so honoured to be a part of this time in our history where we are making the change together. I have waited for this my whole life,” adds Inclusive Director Advisory Council Co-Chair Starlett Beardy, who will also be collaborating on the initiative.
To read the education policy, check out this website.
