Lack of right to education of indigenous children - Louise LaFleur

Among many reasons to prioritize children’s right to education, one main reason is that education is essential in order to meaningfully advocate for the rest of their rights to be respected and protected as they grow into adulthood. In her article, Geraldine Van Bueren says, “the right to education on the basis of equal opportunity is so fundamental to the child's right to education that the drafters of the Convention on the Rights of Children made all other aspects of the right to education dependent upon it.” She goes on to say that despite this, “the fact remains that equality in education is not universal, and international law draws states' attention to specific groups of children who are more likely to be the victims of educational discrimination.” In Canada, children’s right to education fails most notably with regard to Indigenous communities, particularly children living in rural communities. This occurs despite the fact that there is specific treaty protection for the educational rights of minority and indigenous children. UNESCO has adopted both a Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education, wherein Article 4 emphasizes the necessity of ensuring that educational standards and the conditions relating to the quality of education provided in all public educational institutions are of the same level.

Much mistrust in the Canadian educational system stems from the way in which Indigenous education was treated through the Canadian Residential School system, essentially used as a mode of cultural genocide. Indigenous children were removed from their homes and forced assimilate to western understanding of formalized education, all the while enduring horrific abuse at the hands of those entrusted to provide their education. As noted by Lorie Graham in the The Right to Education and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, education, rather than being a force of empowerment, empathy, and strength, negatively impacted generations of indigenous students. Unfortunately, these issues surrounding education in Indigenous communities are not merely historical. Today, many communities experience intergenerational trauma related to the residential school system, as well as a concurrent lack of government initiative and support to deal with these issues and ensure adequate educational resources in remote communities around the country. These lack of resources have led to both inadequate programming and appropriate infrastructure for children’s education in rural communities. If a fundamental purpose of education is to teach children tools so that they can meaningfully participate in and advocate for their rights, this failing can be perceived as both contemporarily inexcusable historically accurate with regards to the colonialism and disempowerment already experienced. This oppression continues for Indigenous communities because education transforms lives and that transformation is unacceptable in the quest to keep these communities dependent. Education would mean a powerful force of people able to call out the Canadian government for both past and present illegal dealing. link to article by Lorie Graham