Canada would be a better place if everyone had more knowledge about indigenous languages and cultures, aboriginal leader Wab Kinew told hundreds of education leaders in Whistler on Wednesday.
Kinew, who is a musician, journalist and University of Winnipeg vice-president for indigenous relations, was speaking at a national conference for school principals and vice-principals called Connecting Leaders: Inspiring Learning.
In an inspirational and moving presentation, Kinew said if the goal is to cultivate innovation in schools, students should be taught that there is more than one way to think.
“Shouldn’t we teach ... that there is a variety of world views? Some of those new ways of thinking about problems should come from indigenous people,” he said.
He used Facebook as an example of a company that used an Aboriginal idea to drive its innovation.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, “thought of (the social media network) as a global potlatch”, Kinew said.
“This company has generated a huge amount of wealth, and some part of their innovation was created by learning about aboriginal culture,” Kinew said.
Although this is often misunderstood, aboriginal learning was very systematized and formalized, Kinew said. “Our traditions are rich and complex and have a tremendous depth that I don’t think is really appreciated,” he said.
Research by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards shows that if aboriginal students had the same educational outcomes as other Canadians and the same access to employment, the Canadian economy would grow, tax revenue would grow, and government expenditures would shrink, Kinew said.
Long ago, a native leader proposed that the Europeans and the indigenous people should exchange children so they could learn about each others’ way of life and the two cultures could live in peace.
“Obviously, this vision was not fulfilled — only the native children were taken,” Kinew said. “Had this vision been realized, where would we be today? Would Canada look different? Yes.”
He said the leader’s idea that education could be the foundation for living in peace and harmony should be a way forward for Canada today.
For example, Kinew said that in indigenous culture, “the chief should be the poorest one in the community.”
“What they’re saying is that if you want to be a leader, it’s not about you. If you want to be a leader, it should be about a life of service,” he said. “If someone in your community is hungry, you should give them your food. If someone in your community is cold, you should give them your blanket.”
Kinew said if people grew up hearing this, their values and their moral compass would be vastly different. Other examples he gave were about how to deal with differences between people and how to protect the environment. He said Tatanka Iyotanke, known as Sitting Bull, said during the Indian Wars that “in order for there to be peace on these lands, it is not necessary for eagles to be crows.
“He’s saying that it is not necessary for us to be exactly alike to share the lands and live together,” Kinew said. “Reconciliation shouldn’t be a second chance at assimilation. ... We shouldn’t seek to humiliate our opponents. Really, the real goal should be reconciliation.”
Concerning the environment, he said globalized society views the natural world as subservient to man, while aboriginal culture says, “We don’t own the land, the land owns us.”
“Would we be in the same situation of environmental degradation if everyone in this country had learned the aboriginal way of life? I would suggest to you, probably not,” Kinew said.
Kinew began his presentation, which was introduced with a First Nations song and a presentation by high school students about murdered and missing aboriginal women, with a long passage in his native language.
“I always like to do that because Ojibway was the ... trade language of this country for hundreds of years, and yet now very few people can recognize it,” he said “For crying out loud, our country has an aboriginal name, yet who among us can properly explain the origins of that name? How can we claim to be Canadian if we can’t understand what the name our country means?”
Kinew talked about several initiatives at the University of Winnipeg that are acting as a pipeline for aboriginal children from the time they are toddlers until the time they enter university. For example, the university was perhaps the first in Canada to waive tuition payments for former foster children. Beginning in 2016, the university will require all students to take a mandatory aboriginal studies course.
In another program, teenage girls learn about aboriginal culture and then teach their peers about it. In another, young children learn about science using aboriginal language and cultural teachings to interpret it.
Kinew’s father was a residential school student. He said his father’s name was changed, he was abused, starved and lost his culture and language. Not only that, but Kinew said he was part of an experiment in which additives were put in flour that was fed to the students.
“Think about what that says. That happened in this country, within living memory,” Kinew said. “We are in an era of truth and reconciliation. I like to turn that around and say, ‘No truth, no reconciliation.”
But today, Kinew’s sister is working on her PhD at Harvard, which shows that there are some very notable success stories in the aboriginal community.
“The socio-economic indicators, generally speaking, are grim, but there are some positive indicators. The education gap still exists, but there are now 27,000 indigenous students in post-secondary institutions so the ship is turning,” Kinew said. “(This) is the face of Aboriginal resurgence — young, educated, successful by any measure, but also deeply connected to Aboriginal culture, language and community. Also predominantly female.”
Kinew said all Canadians should push for better outcomes for aboriginal students and want Canada “to be the greatest nation in the world — a nation in which every child can meet their potential bolstered by a fair and just education.”
Sun Education Reporter
tsherlock@vancouversun.com
