Pathways for First Nation and Métis youth in the oil sands

The first five sections of this report set the context by presenting an historical overview of government-Aboriginal relations, a review of statistics related to education and training of the Aboriginal identity population in Canada and Alberta, recent literature focused on Aboriginal youth, and a description of relevant education and training policies and issues. [...] Factors seen as contributing to the poor quality of education for First Nation and Métis students in rural schools include: • Low expectations of teachers, lack of discipline/structure in the school • School staff turnover; insufficient preparation of staff to teach in the province’s small, northern schools • Low levels of parental involvement both at home or in the school ○ Influences on parental [...] A portion of the education professionals and employers whom we engaged in the region are of First Nations or Métis descent, and representatives and staff of various Aboriginal organizations in Wood Buffalo are for the most part also First Nations or Métis individuals. [...] Wood Buffalo has been the site of oil sands development since the 1970s and, as a result of growth in this industry, has outperformed the rest of Alberta and Canada in terms of employment and unemployment rates in recent years (Brisbois and Saunders, 2005). [...] Less than a handful of decisions have been rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada expressly considering the rights of the Métis.13 In the fall of 2006, the Métis in northeastern Alberta filed a statement of 12 TLE claims are a type of specific claim arising when a First Nation asserts that the Government of Canada did not provide the reserve land promised under treaty.