_____________________________________________________________________________                                                

 

Vancouver B.C., April 21, 2010 -  On March 19th 2010, author Calvin Helin was keynote speaker at the Albert Education Learning Together for Success 2010 -  "Success for First Nations, Metis & Inuit Students" ATA Soaring with Knowledge Conference. The conference focused on collaborative efforts to enhance First Nation, Metis and Inuit student success.  The Alberta Teachers' Association First Nations, Metis and Inuit Education Council is a collaboration with the Government of Alberta to establish a First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Partnership Council to guide the future direction of Aboriginal education in Alberta, and is some indication how seriously the education of Aboriginal people is being taken there.

 

In his presentation Mr. Helin suggested that educating the Aboriginal population is the "most important question to the future prosperity and competitiveness of the Canadian nation." He pointed out that with one-third of the general population soon to retire, no longer paying into the tax coffers of the country, and with those retirees themselves reliant on expensive social welfare programs such as healthcare, Canada desperately needs to successfully engage the indigenous population in post-secondary education. "It is not a matter of a moral imperative to simply help out the Aboriginal population, it is critical to the future of the country," he said. He pointed out further that Canada will not be able to fill its future labour shortage from immigration alone, and the best investment the nation could make is to effectively engage the higher participation of the Aboriginal population in education. Mr. Helin noted the 2009 report by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards entitled Educational Attainment on the Labour Force, Output and the Fiscal Balance which pointed out the potential effect of improving Aboriginal education to the same level as the mainstream population as follows:

On March 22, 2010 the author was also a keynote speaker at Aurora College in Fort Smith NWT's conference, Breaking the Chain: Achieving Sustainable Independence.  One media source reported: "Margaret Dumkee, head of Aurora College's Business Development Program, was amazed when she first read Calvin Helin's book Dances with Dependency: Out of poverty through self-reliance. As head of a program teaching business skills to mostly Aboriginal students from across the NWT, Dumkee said the book resounded with what her program had been trying to instill in its students for years: the need to start looking after their own communities by developing economic opportunities and creating jobs." (for full article click here) Helin's message, that Aboriginal people need to take control of their own economic destiny and start planning ways to get their communities off welfare, resounded with students at the event such as  Lucy Tuluarjuk from Igloolik who  "...instinctively understands the message Helin brought to Fort Smith." (click here for full article, or here or here for related articles)

 

The author also recently brought a similar message to students and industry at the Ontario First Nation community of Lac Seul’s Relationship Building: Developing Capacity and Business Relationships in the Mineral Resource Industry Fair held on March 24, 2010 (click here for article) and as keynote speaker at the 25th anniversary of the Seven Generations Education Institute in Fort Frances. The Seven Generations organization is a wonderful example of a well-run, and accountable Aboriginal education institution that is achieving impressive results. (click here for full article on this visit)

 

Mr. Helin also recently co-authored the paper Free to Learn with David Snow for the MacDonald-Laurier Institute. The paper presented an alternative form of funding for post-secondary education for aboriginal students in Canada. If adopted, it would ensure every registered Indian person in Canada  could conceivably receive funding for their post-secondary education as opposed to current system which passes over many qualified students.

 

The author was also an advisory board member of the recent Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study,  a long awaited and much needed study of the Aboriginals living in Canadian cities (click here for recent television interview on this report). According to the study, the “leading life aspiration,” of urban Aboriginals is the pursuit of higher education. As the report summarizes, “Not only do urban Aboriginal peoples see higher education as a path to a good job or career for their own generation, many say that they hope higher levels of education will be key to how future generations of Aboriginal peoples will distinguish themselves from their ancestors.” Those planning to pursue post-secondary education see higher education primarily as a way to advance their personal career prospects and quality of life. Yet those who have already completed pose-secondary education say “the greatest impact of higher education has been to help them feel more empowered – in part by expanding their knowledge of their Aboriginal heritage and identity.”

 

Moreover, the study highlights a critical point noted in Free to Learn: the biggest obstacle to urban Aboriginals pursuing post-secondary education is funding. Urban Aboriginals who started but did not finish post-secondary education were less likely to have received financial support than those who finished post-secondary education.

 -30- 

___________________________                                                                                                                        

For further information on DWD double-click on the book image below or call (604) 275-6670. For information on the American published edition contact Ravencrest Publishing.

 

To be removed from this mailing list please send a return email to the sending address.