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Aboriginal Opportunity, Success, Education, and Future (warning: very long entry)

By jarvis666

So okay! This post is long overdue (and VERY long, but I did my best to note my own seemingly contradictions and tried to address them: comments always welcomed), but here goes. Back in early December (or was it late-November?) there was some interesting news that half of all Aboriginal people do not graduate. I think it was one out of two aboriginal people do not finish high school, and how this will cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars (according to a study by the Ottawa Centre for the Study of Living). A lot of people like to make suggestions, comments, or solutions to such problems. Some of the posts left at The Globe and Mail say a variety of things.

Often I think about my own success in life thus far (I?m not bragging or anything like that; just very thankful and fortunate about life), and occasionally was asked a lot why Aboriginal people do not graduate from high school and or post-secondary institutions to the extent that non-Aboriginal people do, especially considering how status Indians can get most of their school expenses covered by their band (truth me told; I was asked this more often in undergrad than in law school).

In giving my own thoughts on the whole education drop-out rate of Aboriginal people, I?ll share my own two cents with both a macro and micro perspective.

On a macro (i.e. systemic) view of things, it?s no surprise of drop-out rate that we face. For one, success breeds success: if your parents are successful (i.e. academically and financially), chances are that this is also engrained in you too, and thus, more likely than not to be on par with what your parents are (best way to be rich is born rich). If you are an Aboriginal person, chances are you don?t have such parents. More likely, you probably attain the same level of ?success? that they had (which is sadly, very little). But an Aboriginal person?s parents too probably come from along the same line of socioeconomic status levels as well (and so on and so forth). Furthermore, what you are ?exposed? to growing up will also affect how well-off you are later in life. If you are surrounded by educated role models (especially in your own family), the potential great benefits of going to educational institutions (which lead to higher earned incomes), the advantages of being empowered with education and knowledge (nothing better than knowing what your opportunities and rights are in life), and the such, then chances are, you will not drop out of school.

If instead you are ?exposed? to violence, poverty, illnesses and early mortality, sexism and racism, as well as historical disempowerment, alienation, dispossession, and denial, then obviously, one is not exposed to such benefits and advantages of post-secondary education. All this is a reality for many Aboriginal people (although obviously not all), and it comes not from a recent phenomenon of ?Indians becoming lazy all of a sudden,? but rather, generations and hundreds of years from the effects of colonialism. Placed on a reserve (away from mainstream educational role models) also furthers this. Take what I said about success breeds success, and slap that on a whole race of people, then its little wonder why Aboriginal people drop out from schools.

Even if Aboriginal people make to as far as a university and or beyond, there is still the culture shock of dealing with going from on-reserve to off-reserve. Trust me as an Indian when I say this; this sort of cultural shock can be extremely challenging for an Indian. The cultural differences can be so extreme that an Aboriginal person may just want to drop out all together rather than deal with the new world they are living in, or maybe even be too scared to try university in the first place. I myself back in grade school was terrified of the thought of university since I saw so many from my old high school drop out after their first year (or even first semester) of university. Indeed, the road to success is no easy one, especially for an Indian who already has their own burdens to deal with in addition to the high expectations Western society has of success.

I am not a human without hope though. I always believe that things can be better no matter how awful they can get (history has taught us great stories of overcoming tough odds). Many more Aboriginal people are pursuing higher education today then they were many years ago, but still, the road to success is no easy one.

Now from a micro perspective on things, all of what I just said obviously affects the individual person. But also, I am a believer in agency. I know that there is a huge system in place that has hurt us (and to a lesser extent, still does to this day). I know about what has happened for generations and hundreds of years. I am not an expert on poverty, but have seen a lot of it to know why it is hard to escape the shackles of despair, hopelessness, and dependency and lack of fulfillment and autonomy, all of which hurt Aboriginal people (any wonder why the Canadian Aboriginal youth suicide rate is the highest in the world?).

With respect to agency in the big system, there must be true opportunities in the big system to be able overcome many of the problems I just ranted about. More funding for not only education, but also counseling, health, social programs, and as well as economic development, could help address the big system problems. Further along, recognition of our rights (Constitutional, Treaty, and Aboriginal) too would also be a way to help fix the big system as well. In recent years, some of these systematic wrongs have been fixed, but it?ll take more than just a few years to undo hundreds of years and numerous generations of the aftermaths of colonialism. Some (but not all of course) Canadians shouldn?t be so quick to point fingers at Indians so quickly for the hardships they live with. You too would be like us if you were treated like us.

To undo all of what we have been through, it is important to start anywhere and wherever. To help with the new generation, you have to try and expose them to the benefits of empowerment and success. This is why I always love to talk to youth about the importance of education and staying in school. Whether I am doing IB&M recruitment, or simply talking to grade school children back home on my reserve, I always emphasize the importance of staying in school, and to never listen to those people who try to tell you to drop out. A people?s greatest resources are their children, for it is they who carry on what the previous generation had before them. A generation of Aboriginal people was almost destroyed through the residential school system by attacking the children. Thankfully, this was not fully successful, although it has sadly left numerous scars on our people. I too know how important children are for a people, and this is why I never say no when asked to speak to youth about the importance of education. If you can try and destroy a people by their children, then you can also help a people through their children.

All that aside, I do have something to say. If you are indeed an Aboriginal person, and especially if you have parents who were successful, and especially if you are young, able-bodied, healthy (physically and mentally), single, without dependents, have readily available access to post-secondary funding from your band (or wherever), and are at least somewhat aware of the great benefits of educational empowerment, and you got absolutely nothing better to do, then you know what? Get off your ass and get yourself in school or a job (provided one is available). I know this sounds harsh. But you can?t wait around forever and hoping for the jackpot to come your way. Seriously! What I just said does not contradict what I just rambled on about. If you are young, then perhaps you can adjust better to the cultural shock of going to school. If you are able-bodied or healthy, then nothing is stopping you. If single and without dependents, then you got no other relationships to worry about (although I know even single Aboriginal mothers in law school; how awesome is that?). If you have easy access to education funding, and you at least somewhat know or are aware of the benefits of school and work, and most of all, got absolutely nothing better to do, then go to school or get a job (provided, like I said, if one is available: I know with how some reserves lack resources and are isolated, a job may not be immediately available).

Given what I said about education, I know for a fact that there are a few Aboriginal people that say that they don?t believe in ?the white man?s education system,? schooling, education, etc? simply because it was not a part of our ?ancestor?s way of life.? So as a result, not only do they discourage our youth from attending school, but they also don?t put education at such a high paramount as it should be for their own children. I don?t want to be one to tell someone how to raise their kids, but by discouraging higher learning and education, their children are going to have a very hard time later in life.

Seriously! If you don?t like school or education, and just want to be lazy about things (and continue to perpetuate the stereotypes about us rather than break them), then fine; go ahead and be lazy. But when you start telling our youth and children that school?s ?assimilating? them, and making them ?forget? who they are, then those people who say such garbage are only hurting our future generations of our people. If you don?t care for schooling, then just shut up and keep it to yourself. Don?t be poisoning our people with how you feel personally about schooling. Yes I know that formal educational institutions were probably not a part of who we were as Mi?kmaq, but learning is something that?s for everyone, not just Mi?kmaq or White, school buildings or not. If we stay out of schooling and education, then it?ll do nothing but hurt our future. The way I see it all with regards to schooling and education (and especially with the law) is that we could either just sit on the fence, and watch mainstream society leave us behind and move forward on without us, or we can join in, not as in assimilation (because I believe that it is possible to maintain your own identity while accommodating, not assimilating into, mainstream society), but as participates. We can still keep our language, cultural identity, etc? without losing it in schooling, economic development, etc? and other things that may be ?White,? but yet, can strengthen our people. It is like what Chief Clarence Louie said; you are going to lose your language and identity faster in poverty than you will in business. I too feel the same way, and that we will lose our identity, language, etc? faster in violence, poverty, suicide, racism, etc? than we will in schooling and education. Education is empowerment, and with empowerment, you can do a lot. One thing you can do is maintain your language and identity.

I believe that when people think that schooling and education will hurt our people, it comes from ignorance. Obviously, these people have not earned much education themselves, and thus, are not in a position to say if it will hurt our people. They shouldn?t be one to talk. I can maybe understand a residential school survivor not caring for schooling for obvious reasons. But for the later generations, they have no reason or excuse (given the numerous exceptions that I have earlier mentioned above).

With the law especially, I too know it?s the ?white man?s law? (even Aboriginal law, which tends to be common law applies to Aboriginal people). But I see it like a game of Monopoly that we as Aboriginal people are forced to play. If we chose to be ignorant and not understand the rules of the game, then we will be continued to be moved along the board, have our choices made for us by someone, and yet still pay for the consequences. We have no choice but to play the game. But if we learn the rules (i.e. the law) of the game that we are forced to play, then we will be better off than not knowing the rules at all because at least we know our rights, and thus, our opportunities in the game (i.e. mainstream society). If we chose to stay ignorant and have others move our playing pieces along the board, then this could seem like creation of dependency (and perhaps potentially, lack of autonomy, and deriving us of all motivation to work for ourselves; think of what I said above). But if we know how to play, then we become active players in the game, and thus, no need for anyone (i.e. Indian Agents) to tell us how to play, etc? and this is cuts off our dependency, restores our sense of empowerment, and the start of the road to self-government/control. It may not be our game that we?re playing, but that does not mean that we can learn the rules and still play, and still win.

I will close for now once again with National Aboriginal Achievement Award recipient Chief Clarence Louie: ?Our ancestors worked for a living. You should too.?

Full post as published by The Co-co Banana on January 10, 2008 (boomark / email).