Manitoba First Nations gear up to build more schools

A new partnership between the federal government and First Nation leaders in Manitoba will examine the possibility of building new schools for Indigenous children here in the province and many are calling it an investment for the future. 

The initiative, announced Friday in Winnipeg, saw Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu joined by local leaders from five First Nation communities, saying the aim of the project is to provide high-quality education within the communities and eliminate the practice of Indigenous kids being forced to leave their home for school. 

“We can actually see a future where we can get up in the morning and go somewhere and feel like we belong,” said Norway House Cree Nation Chief Larson Anderson. 

The projects include a new K-12 school and teacher housing on the O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation and renovations and building improvements to the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre and Jack River School in Norway House Cree Nation. 

Two schools, a new elementary school and secondary school, are set to be designed for the Tataskweyak Cree Nation, with feasibility studies and designs for new schools on the Garden Hill First Nation planned as well. 

“I’m happy they are going to have a new school,” said Kurt Mason, Director of Education at Garden Hill, saying current conditions are far less than ideal. 

“They won’t have to worry about fires, they don’t have to worry about heat, they don’t have to worry about mold, we have all those problems at the high school right now”

Chief Kerwin Chaboyer, of the O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also expressed his approval of the agreement, saying current facilities on the First Nation are in urgent need of an upgrade, stressing that keeping kids at home, close to their supports, is critical. 

“Just over 30 years ago we built a temporary school which we have since outlived, so it will be nice to see our kids go from K to 12 in our community and have parental support, instead of having to leave,” he said. 

However, while the partnership is promising, other challenges are still present when it comes to keeping kids at home in their community 

For example, Mason says one major issue has been the shortage of certified teachers, as many won’t fly in without an all-weather road. 

Efforts to address the shortage include The Garden Hill contracting 16 teachers from Jamaica and Europe for three years and launching a three-year program to certify local residents as teachers, ensuring those positions are filled locally once the contracts end and raising teacher numbers overall.

“That way they know our kids, they’ll know our culture, they know what to expect,” said Mason. 

In other cases, key services may be the issue, said Chief Chaboyer. 

“The thing that the community wanted was a new school, but what was holding it up is that we didn’t have a water plant,” said the First Nation leader, Canada’s own Minister saying the partnership has offered the federal government new insight and perspective into the issues on the ground. 

“The goal is for everyone that students have a safe space to learn and communities are working really hard to get through the various stages of projects and we will work with them to make sure they have all the tools they need,” said Minister Hajdu. 

Adding later: “So many people including myself before I had this file didn’t understand how interconnected infrastructure is.” 

The projects are at various stages of planning and will continue into 2025.