Symposium on Indigenous education wraps up In Thunder Bay

Confederation College wrapped up the Colleges and Institutes Canada Indigenous Education Symposium in Thunder Bay Friday.

The two-day conference gathered 120 higher education professionals from colleges across the country to discuss how to best implement Indigenous learning practices.

"We expect that the symposium will help us move forward in advancing Indigenous education and training at colleges all across the country," said S. Brenda Small, vice president, of the centre for policy and research in Indigenous learning at Confederation College.

Seven principles

In 2014 the Colleges and Institutes Canada came up with a protocol on how best to support Indigenous education. It has seven principles that outline things like curriculum, governance, and Human Resources practices.

Fifty-five colleges across the country have signed the protocol and the symposium talked further about how to implement the principles outlined in it.

"Canadian people, or non-Indigenous people, are becoming much more engaged in the conversation and many of those folks are decision-makers in institutions," said Small.

Small said that the the symposium spoke about the Truth and Reconciliation commission calls to action, which have been influential in how the colleges frame their strategic policies. The conference also discussed how education institutes need supports in place for Indigenous students, and that staff need to have awareness of Canada's relationship to Indigenous people.

"Indigenous education is not just for Indigenous people," said Small. "Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous content, is important for all Canadians and important in Canadian learning institutions."

This was the 12th annual symposium on Indigenous education.