APTN National News
Saskatchewan’s education minister, Donna Harpauer, is joining several First Nations leaders in the province in saying that the new money promised for First Nations education money is not enough.
“We need to ensure and keep the pressure on the federal government,” says Harpauer. “We have an economy that’s growing and we need our First Nations students to graduate and to engage in our economy.”
APTN National News reporter Delaney Windigo has the story.
But the economy is in transition in tandem with our communication methodologies. How can we ignore the fact the economy has contracted and that despite reforms in banking, proactive measures and so forth, these actions are not meant to put money back into the economy that was taken out.
Imagine a scenario where we receive more and more and more money (NOT of our creation) so that we eventually overtake and control the steering from the government that serves us, what would the government look like then?
I f we all play a part to help the economy grow, rather than seeing ourselves as mutually exclusive, there will be a time when we can receive more money based on what we put in. As our input grows and grows, so does our self-reliance, self-sustainability and self-determination in a circular power feed arrangement.
It is my hope that the federal government will take more seriously its role in addressing the prison population and incarcerated first nations, which although without a doubt is inextricably tied with educational opportunity, it is only one facet of a long outstanding problem.
We can gauge results of things like post secondary entry and high school graduation and see improvements, what about graduates from the prison system how are we looking after them and what about ensuring they do not enter that cruel system n the first place?
I like the spirit and intent of education for fist citizens but like health care, money is not a panacea. IMHO.