Conferences

I got home last night from three days in Winnipeg at the "Lighting the Fire" conference put on by the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Center. It was a great time of learning and so nice to be in a city for a few days. I felt right at home.

I went with a colleague and we had a wonderful time getting to know one another better. She was a gracious host to me as it was my first First Nations conference. I was encourages to see strong parallels between the efforts of First Nations communities in building a culture-affirming school community with the efforts of the immigrants who built the Christian schools in Ontario in the 1950s and '60s. Many of the motivations are similar; a desire to protect a culture with its faith and language, a desire to raise their children within the context of their own value system, to avoid assimilation into the larger Canadian culture. It was also wonderful to be a part of the celebrations of success. We attended the Maria Ross Memorial Awards banquet and were able to observe reflection on four Native educators who were honoured for their work in building Native education.

More later, must go and get ready for a day in town with the family.