Incorporating Indigenous teachings and cultures is essential to keeping students in school, a move researchers in Calgary say will build trust and community among Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

According to the Calgary Board of Education’s Alberta Education Results Report (AERR), more than 58 per cent of self-identified Indigenous students finished five years of high school in the 2023-2024 school year. This is significantly lower than their non-Indigenous peers – 89 per cent of students finished five years of high school that same year.

Indigenous students are also disproportionately represented in chronic absenteeism statistics. According to the AERR, 26.4 per cent of Indigenous Grade 10-12 students missed more than 50 per cent of their classes in the 2023-2024 academic year. This is much higher than their non-Indigenous peers, where only six per cent of Grade 10-12 students missed more than 50 per cent of their classes during the same time period.

Audra Foggin, associate professor at Mount Royal University’s faculty of child studies and social work, called the statistics “really concerning.”

“Only half of Indigenous students are completing [high school]. I think that given the economy that we’re living in, it’s important to have education, and the dropout rates are not looking great,” Foggin told LiveWire Calgary.

“I think this is a really urgent concern because I think there are things to be aware of in that process around what’s going on for Indigenous students … I think there’s a number of factors that surround that, so I think we could look at the early indicators of disengagement.”

One of those factors is the lack of Indigenous teachings in school, Foggin said. Indigenous youth often feel culturally disconnected even if the curricula may have some Indigenous content, she said. Indigenous students may also have inadequate support systems at school and face environmental pressures like family responsibilities or lack of transportation.

“By addressing those root causes, along with giving a flexible learning option, I think that can help reduce the absenteeism and improve student retention, as well as systemic and structural barriers,” she said.

“When you think about these systemic barriers compounding with limited access to mental health support or culturally relevant resources … Maybe there are not enough resources in place around systemic barriers, or teachers who are trained in Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, and I think these factors contribute to the lower graduation rates. There should be part of the conversation as well.”

Jennifer Markides, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Youth Wellbeing and Education, said intergenerational trauma and legacies of colonization also play a role. There is a deep distrust in the education system due to residential schools and the Sixties Scoop which were intended to wipe out as much Indigenous cultures and connections as possible.

Foggin added that the Indian Act also played a role in this, which repeatedly called Indigenous people “mentally incompetent Indians.” Bill C-38 was introduced in December 2022 to amend the Indian Act to repeal that term and other racist terms. The bill passed first reading on Oct. 20, 2023 and was debated at second reading on March 22, 2024, where it was then referred to a committee.

“[Education] was used as a weapon against Indigenous people as a tool of colonization. If you don’t see any Indigenous people or any Indigenous content, it’s not meaningful, right?” Markides told LWC.

“For me, being Métis, there are little footnotes of how we helped the settlers survive on the land and how we helped the fur trade, but there’s nothing beyond that … There are also depictions of rebellions and other things that aren’t accurate either, and are very biased tellings of our history in a lot of ways.”

Markides added that school is often not a safe place for Indigenous students because educators and staff often have lowered expectations of Indigenous students. Many Indigenous youth she worked with were told they weren’t ever going to “amount to anything,” she said. Even though more schools require Indigenous Studies classes, it will take generations for schools and Indigenous students to see that change.

“I’ve heard colleagues say they were told to go to a counsellor or a career counsellor or whoever in their school, and they were told, ‘Oh, no, you couldn’t. You’ll never get into that program, or you’ll never become that,’” she said.

“It’s all too common. There’s just that belief that Indigenous students aren’t going to amount to anything and it has been prevalent and it’s been okayed … That becomes a barrier because those students are not given the advice of how to get into programs for their chosen career paths.”

CBE responds

A spokesperson for the CBE said the district continues to learn about Indigenous ways of being, belonging doing and knowing to enhance Indigenous well-being in schools. The spokesperson also said all CBE schools are implementing the Indigenous Holistic Lifelong Learning Framework, a guiding document that was published after consulting with several Indigenous Elders.

The CBE is also deploying an Indigenous Education Learning Leader to pilot a holistic tool to track, monitor and support Indigenous students in all stages of their education. The tool will be designed to guide schools in establishing relationships with Indigenous students and their families while gathering cultural, relational, well-being and achievement data.

“Holistic transition plans are also developed for every Grade 9 student who self-identifies as Indigenous prior to entering high school, as a support to contribute to their learning, build connections to their new school, and can help address any identified educational gaps and improve education attainment rates. The transition process ensures that each Indigenous student is known prior to entering high school,” the spokesperson told LWC in an emailed statement.

“As one of three main goals of our Education Plan, CBE is committed to advancing the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.”

Fostering Indigenous joy in schools

Both Markides and Foggin said Indigenous cultures, teachings and ways of knowing should be fully integrated into Calgary’s public school curricula but they cannot just be “one-off” occurrences. Indigenous youth want to reconnect to their culture which has been stripped away from them, and successfully integrating Indigenous knowledge will make them more interested in school.

Indigenous youth should also be engaged and consulted when planning curricula and school programs, Markides said.

“In some communities, we’ve hired like a Beaver Teacher and Cree teacher, and then they’re put in the timetable and they do cultural teachings as part of the school day. And we’re finding that’s getting a lot of kids in the door. They’re coming and staying because of those classes,” Markides said.

“What are your interests? How can we support your goals and dreams for life after high school? What cultural teachings do you want to see in your education? Who should be teaching that? How are you of service in your community or in your school? Having youth tell us what they want, and then we do it, and then they hear it, then they see us do it, and then they ask for more things has been really well received.”

Foggin said schools should integrate more experiential learning and land-based learning into their schedule, which will benefit Indigenous and non-Indigenous students because it builds meaningful relationships and communities. She emphasized the importance of inviting Elders, knowledge keepers and wisdom holders to teach students about Indigenous culture, history and knowledge and incorporating them in various subjects like social studies, history, math, art, literature and science.

Teachers, staff, and administrators need to attend cultural competence training about Indigenous history, cultures and contemporary issues, she added.

“It has to be something that’s sustainable and an inter-generational relationship, rather than a pro forma or tokenistic gesture. It really enriches the learning environment for all students, not just Indigenous students, but it helps break down the historical barriers when indigenous teachings are presented in a superficial or somewhat disconnected manner, for simply checking off a box, it can perpetuate stereotypes, misunderstandings, and ultimately disrespect,” she said.

“It builds a sense of belonging for Indigenous students, creating inclusive spaces, and it’ll also heal historical trauma … Cultural erasure and forced assimilation has deep scarring in our communities, so acknowledging that it’s imperative that things change and that we’re acting on it because otherwise, we’re just perpetuating misunderstanding. We’re tokenizing folks. Were tokenizing knowledge and possibly even appropriating cultures.”

Both Foggin and Markides said schools should also create mentorship opportunities for Indigenous students.

Markides said she hosted successful lunch and learn panels with Indigenous scholars and Indigenous professionals in a variety of fields, and the youth who attended were very engaged and asked a lot of questions. The panelists also shared very relatable stories about leaving home and being the first person in their family to attend post-secondary, she said.

“I think having those really good role models is helpful and relatable because you got to hear the process and the honest, relatable pieces … Those are the realities of kids from remote places in particular, having to travel away from home to go to school,” she said.

Foggin also said there needs to be flexible options for Indigenous kids because they often have caregiving responsibilities and financial constraints that can impact their ability to engage in traditional schooling. These options can include online courses, evening classes and schools that are more focused on land-based learning to help accommodate Indigenous students and make sure they stay on track.

“It’s recognizing that supportive school environments mean that Indigenous staff and educators really recognize the unique challenges that students face as Indigenous learners … Are people really doing that work?” she said.

“What kind of mental health services or counsellors who are also culturally competent or creating safe spaces are in the CBE? I think that there’s a role and a place for family or community engagement where Indigenous knowledges are lifted up, or Indigenous voices are lifted up, or unique opportunities for dialogue between educators in the community that can be culturally based.”