Gathering looks at Aboriginal literacy

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Delegates from as far away as Ontario and South America came to the Echo Valley Conference Centre in early May for a major gathering on Aboriginal literacy.

The event, which saw as many as 200 attend workshops and seminar, was designed to lay a new foundation for Aboriginal education, said one of the conference's co-chairs, Lisa Wilson.

"We're going to develop a strategic plan for Aboriginal literacy in this province," said Wilson, a teacher with the Dumont Technical Institute in Saskatoon. "That Aboriginal theme will be incorporated into Saskatchewan Learning's strategic plan for literacy in this province."

The goal is to design a literacy program that better meets the needs of Saskatchewan's Aboriginal community. From the days of the residential schools to the high dropout rates of Aboriginal students in schools today, the existing education system isn't meeting the needs of Aboriginal people.

"In mainstream classrooms, we don't see ourselves reflected. It's difficult to connect with what's going on there . . . a mainstream, white, middle-class culture. Aboriginal culture really isn't there," Wilson said.

The conference brought together Elders, teachers, education officials and students to the conference center. Delegates at the event acknowledged that a different definition of literacy is required for Aboriginal people to feel comfortable in an education system.

"Aboriginal literacy, I think, takes much more of a holistic approach. When people think of literacy they usually think of reading and writing. There's much more to literacy than that," Wilson said.

"There are strong oral traditions in Aboriginal cultures. Aboriginal languages are also a part of this. That's not reflected in the mainstream culture; that has to be reflected in Aboriginal culture."

Other aspects of Aboriginal culture have to be incorporated into education, she added.

"It takes into account not only the academic but also the cultural and spiritual aspects into literacy program. It's not necessarily about making people literate in their own culture, but it's about taking their own culture and extending it through into literacy."