Changing the Story: Indigenous Youth Belong in Post-Secondary Education

Authors

  • Wanda First Rider Calgary Catholic School Division
  • Aubrey Jean Hanson University of Calgary
  • Angela Houle Calgary Catholic School Division
  • Patricia McCallum Calgary Catholic School Division
  • Teresa M. Miles University of Calgary
  • Maureen Plante University of Alberta
  • Erin Spring University of Calgary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/ajer.v70i1.77459

Abstract

This article describes a collaboration between an urban school board and a faculty of education aimed at supporting Indigenous youth transitions to post-secondary education. Drawing upon strengths-based approaches including wise practices, we offer a model for how postsecondary transition events can illuminate pathways for young people to see that they belong in higher education. We highlight the importance of connecting with Elders, hearing from successful Indigenous speakers, and seeing campus. The theme of our event reiterates to Indigenous youth that they have a story and that they can take the next steps to a new beginning in post-secondary education. 

Keywords: Indigenous education, Indigenous youth, post-secondary education, school transitions, virtual events

Cet article décrit une collaboration entre une autorité scolaire en milieu urbain et une faculté d'éducation visant à soutenir la transition des jeunes autochtones vers l'enseignement postsecondaire. Puisant dans des approches fondées sur les forces, y compris les pratiques sages, nous offrons un modèle de la façon dont les événements liés à la transition vers l'enseignement postsecondaire peuvent éclairer les passerelles permettant aux jeunes de voir qu'ils ont leur place dans l'enseignement supérieur. Nous soulignons l'importance d'établir des liens avec les aînés, d'écouter des conférenciers autochtones qui ont réussi et de visiter le campus. Le thème de notre événement rappelle aux jeunes autochtones qu'ils ont une histoire et qu'ils peuvent franchir les prochaines étapes vers un nouveau départ dans l'enseignement postsecondaire.

Mots-clés : Éducation autochtone, jeunesse autochtone, éducation postsecondaire, transitions scolaires, événements virtuels

Author Biographies

Wanda First Rider, Calgary Catholic School Division

Wanda First Rider’s Blackfoot name is Pukaki, or Little Woman. From the Kainai Nation of the Siksikaitsitapi, she was the Community Liaison and then District Elder for the Calgary Catholic School District for many years until her recent retirement.

Aubrey Jean Hanson, University of Calgary

Aubrey Jean Hanson is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. Her research and teaching are in Indigenous education and curriculum studies.

Angela Houle, Calgary Catholic School Division

Angela Houle is now an Assistant Principal with the Calgary Board of Education. At the time of this project she was the Indigenous Education Consultant for Teaching and Learning with the Calgary Catholic School District. Her family are from the Métis community of Willowbunch, Saskatchewan.

Patricia McCallum, Calgary Catholic School Division

Patricia McCallum is of Cree and English ancestry, with family from Waterhen Lake First Nation. She is the Indigenous education consultant for Diverse Learning with the Calgary Catholic School District.

Teresa M. Miles, University of Calgary

Teresa M. Miles is a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation. She resides in Calgary, AB. Her doctoral research was created with a focus on reconciliation as she studied the emotional experiences of non-Indigenous educators teaching Indigenous topics through a narrative inquiry lens.

Maureen Plante, University of Alberta

Maureen Plante is Iroquois Cree/Metis and of German ancestry. She is a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta. Her area of research include Indigenous mental health, with a focus on eating disorders, Indigenous pedagogy, and sexual violence.

Erin Spring, University of Calgary

Erin Spring is a scholar and educator of British descent now living and working with/in Treaty 7. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education where she teaches and researches in the area of young people’s cultures and literacies.

Orange background with text "ajer, Alberta Journal of Educational Research"

Downloads

Published

2024-03-13

How to Cite

First Rider, W., Hanson, A. J., Houle, A., McCallum, P., Miles, T. M., Plante, M., & Spring, E. (2024). Changing the Story: Indigenous Youth Belong in Post-Secondary Education. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 70(1), 83–97. https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/ajer.v70i1.77459

Issue

Vol. 70 No. 1 (2024): Spring

Section

ARTICLES

License

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA COPYRIGHT LICENSE AND PUBLICATION AGREEMENT

If accepted, authors will be asked to sign a copyright agreement with the following points:

A. Where there is any inconsistency between this Copyright License and Publication Agreement and any other document or agreement in relation to the same subject matter, the terms of this Agreement shall govern.

B. This document sets out the rights you are granting in relation to publication of your article, book review, or research note entitled (the “Article”) through inclusion in the academic journal titled Alberta Journal of Educational Research (the “Journal”) published through the Faculty of Education, representing the Governors of the University of Alberta (the “Journal Editor”).

C. There will be no payment to you for this publication and grant of rights. In consideration of the agreement to publish the Article in the Journal:

1. You are warranting that:

  1. the content of the Article is your original work, and its content does not contain any material infringing the copyright of others; or, where the Article is not entirely your original work, you have obtained all necessary permissions in writing to grant the rights you are giving in this agreement;
  2. the content of the Article does not contain any material that is defamatory of, or violates the privacy rights of, or discloses the confidential information of, any other person;
  3. the Article has not been published elsewhere in whole or in part, and you will not allow publication of the Article elsewhere without the consent of the Journal Editor;
  4. the names of all co-authors and contributors to the Article are:

2. You agree to license the copyright in the Article to the Journal Editor, on a worldwide, perpetual, royalty free basis; and to the extent required by the terms of this agreement. You shall retain the right at all times to be acknowledged as the/an author of the Article.

3. You further agree that the Journal Editor has the entitlement to deal with the Article as the Journal Editor sees fit, and including in the following manner;

  1. The right to print, publish, market, communicate and distribute the Article and the Journal, in this and any subsequent editions, in all media (including electronic media), in all languages, and in all territories, ing the full term of copyright, and including any form of the Article separated from the Journal, such as in a database, abstract, offprint, translation or otherwise, and to authorize third parties to do so;
  2. The right to register copyright of the Journal;
  3. The right to edit the Article, to conform to editorial policy as the Journal Editor sees fit.

4. If any co-author or contributor to the Article does not sign this agreement, the Journal Editor reserves the right to refuse to publish the Article.