Popularity of AWASIS a positive sign for future

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Improving the state of education is one of the few goals shared by virtually all Saskatchewan residents. Everyone, after all, wants the best for their children, and education is one of the surest routes to a bright, prosperous future. The Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation (STF) certainly supports this goal, offering dozens of conferences and workshops each year for its members to hone their teaching skills, pick up new methods, and learn of new developments in their fields of interest. With a large and increasing proportion of the province's school-aged children being of Aboriginal descent, the annual AWASIS conference - named for the Cree word for child - is one of the most successful and popular of these events.

The AWASIS conference, which this year will be held at the Centennial Auditorium in Saskatoon from April 24 to 26, has for over ten years provided a forum where teachers, principals, counsellors, parents and other interested individuals can gather to discuss Aboriginal education problems and solutions, and to hear presentations on all manner of First Nations topics. Organized jointly by the STF, Saskatchewan Education, and Saskatoon's Joe Duquette high school, the conference each year attracts more educators (attendance has increased from 700 to 1200 in the past five years), a trend that bodes well for the province's ever-growing number of school-aged First Nations youth.

This year's conference is highlighted by keynote speeches from Dr. Marie Battiste, an expert on Aboriginal education from the University of Saskatchewan, and Judge David Arnot, Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan. Some 70 workshop sessions are also scheduled over the event's three days, with topics ranging from spirituality to storytelling skills to traditional dance to nutrition.

A common theme running across many of the workshops is the importance of culture and tradition. One workshop will deal exclusively with ways of involving Elders more directly in school programs. Another will cover the intriguing Iskwewak Emerging Leadership program, which many schools are now adopting to develop skills in leadership, cultural preservation and involvement, community development and self-esteem building among female Aboriginal students. A third will look at the need to preserve and pass on Aboriginal knowledge, languages and concepts by better incorporating these topics with existing course materials.

Though the conference is an annual highlight on its schedule, AWASIS is an ongoing initiative whose members work year round. A special subject council of the STF (one of 29 such councils the federation has established to provide its members professional growth and learning opportunities in specialized areas), its broad goal is the continuous improvement of education for Indian and Metis peoples. AWASIS works to accomplish this through professional development events, core curriculum recommendations, policy suggestions, the undertaking of projects to study key issues, and every other method available to it.

"The council advocates a holistic approach to child growth and development," its guidelines explain. "Four strands guide the council in setting its annual conference program: wellness, spirituality, culture, and education. Secondary to the child-centred focus of the council is the wellness and professional growth of all people whose efforts enhance the education of Indian and Metis children. The council believes we can support children by supporting the individuals who most influence their lives and well-being."

This support has been instrumental in the many improvements that have already been made to Aboriginal education. Thanks to the AWASIS conference, and the council's other initiatives, Saskatchewan educators are learning about and making such improvements within their own schools on a daily basis.

Information on registering for the conference, or on specific workshop topics, is available from the STF Web site (www.stf.sk.ca), or b calling 343-5999.