Saskatchewan First Nations are being asked to draft their own education legislation by the end of August.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is making the call in response to the Harper government’s own First Nations Education Act, which the organization accuses the federal government of drafting unilaterally.
Vice-Chief Bobby Cameron says chronic under funding of on-reserve schools is the real problem at hand and until this issue is addressed, students attending First Nations schools will not see improved educational outcomes.
“Comparable funding, once that’s addressed, once that’s adhered to, then and only then will we see improved outcomes for our treaty education school system,” he says.
Cameron adds on-reserve schools are already doing many of the things the new federal act requires such as attendance requirements similar to provincial schools, recognized high school diplomas, education support services, school success plans and community reporting.
The FSIN estimates on-reserve schools receive about 60 per cent of the funding provincial schools receive.