UOI OFFICES, Curve Lake FN (October 28, 2010) – History will be made on December 1, 2010 when a unique think tank led by First Nations academics is brought together through a dynamic partnership between the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) and Ryerson University’s Centre for Indigenous Governance.
There are hundreds of federal and provincial reports that highlight the critical gap in the educational achievement levels between First Nations and non-aboriginal Canadians.
“The challenge to date has been that these working groups and reports have had a high participation rate and influence by governmental bureaucrats that has left these reports subject to federal or provincial interpretation and analysis,” said Union of Ontario Indians Education Director, Murray Maracle.
“The ultimate goal of the think tank is for First Nation academics to provide strategic guidance and innovative ideas about how First Nation Governments can address education and specifically post-secondary education,” he said.
Dr. Pamela Palmater, Chair for Ryerson University’s Centre for Indigenous Governance stressd that this event is non-political in nature and not coordinated by federal or provincial governments.
First Nations education has been described as one of the keys to nation-building and this preliminary joint academic think tank will keep the momentum going.
The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 member communities across Ontario, representing approximately 55,000 people. The Union of Ontario Indians is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.
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