Did you know reserve schools get 30% - 50% less funding?  That lack of funding means schools on reserves don't get the repairs they need, so kids have to deal with things like freezing schools in the winter and  plumbing issues.  Schools also don't have a lot of education programs and have a considerable lack of supplies.  More than half of reserves do not have high schools, and the reserves that do, struggle to retain quality teachers.  So say a reserve that does not have a school bands together and asks the government for a school, they could be wait listed for years until they get one.  And guess what? The literacy rate on reserves is 21%! Where else in the world would you find a literacy rate that low?  This list could go on.

So what about the reserves that don't have high schools?  Where do they go after grade 8?  Well, if they had a choice and wanted to further their education, they would have to travel.  Sometimes miles out of the reserve to go to places like Dennis Franklin Cromarty high school.  This school is a federally funded school in Thunder Bay for aboriginal students only. Students have to leave their families and stay in a boarding home.  Students come from 23 different reserves to come to Dennis Franklin Cromarty.  Seven of those students have died over the past decade, most under influence of drugs or alcohol.  The staff at this school have become so worried about the students that after the final bell rings and it starts to get dark they often go out patrolling the streets to get students back to their boarding home.  Isn't it crazy that young kids have to leave their home, families, and culture to go to school, something that most non-aboriginal kids take for granted.

But some things are starting to look up.  In Manitoba, the Aboriginal Academic Achievement Grant (AAA Grant) is in effect.  This grant has a plan that will target a measurable increase in literacy and numeracy, that will take up a minimum of 50% of the grant allocation.  The remainder will go to relevant programming.  Also, there are many organizations trying to help out.  The Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative (MAEI) is a charitable Montreal based organization that's mission is to improve educational outcomes for aboriginal students.  People like you can help out to by signing this petition and other ones like it.

My main goal is for Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to at least consider  raising the funding to help out indigenous students all over Canada. Sign this petition to help close the gap and make aboriginal and non-aboriginal Kindergarten to Grade 12 students equal, in educational success and success in life.