While the Cree School Board celebrates a growing number of graduates in diverse fields, First Nations leaders remain concerned that the Quebec government’s French-language laws are creating additional systemic barriers to higher education.
As Quebec’s National Assembly closed for the summer June 12, Bill 8 aiming to expand French requirements to adult education and vocational training died on the order paper along with the CAQ’s controversial constitution bill. English-language school boards and First Nations vociferously oppose both bills.
“Quebec continues to advance a colonial approach that risks increasing barriers to graduation, access to higher education and the development of a skilled workforce in our communities,” stated Denis Gros-Louis, director general of the First Nations Education Council (FNEC).
After decades of political struggle, Indigenous communities are gradually assuming responsibility for education, a federal jurisdiction. However, when students leave for post-secondary studies, they’re now forced to take additional French-language courses and pass a French exit exam.
Although limited exemptions exist for certain on-reserve Indigenous students, directors from five English CEGEPs have jointly declared these insufficient and inaccessible. The FNEC shared that the majority of First Nations students enrolled in English-language programs fail the French courses imposed by Law 14 (formerly Bill 96), jeopardizing their graduation.
“We refuse any assimilation policy against our learners,” Gros-Louis asserted. “We want a comprehensive exemption for First Nations learners. They’re trying to do to First Nations what they say the North American continent is doing to French.”
When language requirements push students to study out of province, their qualifications aren’t recognized in Quebec unless they pass a French exam. Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo recently called for certification from other provinces to be recognized in Quebec and for Indigenous people to be excluded from any French-language charter rules.
“Kahnawake First Nations people are not Quebec citizens,” said Diabo. “This constant overture of legislating over First Nations needs to stop, and there needs to be proper separations in that sense, and staying in each other’s lanes.”
Gros-Louis said Quebec’s laws are forcing Indigenous students to abandon their language and culture, while potential community leaders are moving out of province and self-determination is being compromised. Budget cuts to English education risk the closure of programs and institutions that communities rely upon for advancing skilled workers.
“With every graduate who loses this opportunity, we’re losing teachers, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs,” said Gros-Louis. “The whole province is losing if we deny fundamental inherent rights to education. I don’t understand why this government for years now has refused to sit down and discuss solutions in good faith.”
French is a third language for many Indigenous students, particularly in Cree, Inuit, Kanien’kehá:ka, Naskapi and Mi’gmaq communities. Before Law 14’s adoption, CSB chairperson Sarah Pashagumskum said, “Not only will this affect the career plans of our youth, but it will also impact our goals of capacity development as a nation.”
When the law was implemented, Cameron Biron, a Cree student from Wemindji at John Abbott College, said, “It’s putting my education at risk – I don’t think I can do it, so I’m making the choice to leave.”
Despite these emerging obstacles, the CSB’s growing post-secondary education programs in partnership with John Abbott College and McGill University resulted in an impressive array of graduates this year. On June 4, a ceremony at John Abbott celebrated eight graduates from the Iyeskuwiiu preparatory program and 20 from the Springboard to Nursing program.
“Our graduates this year are examples of resilience and perseverance, showing us that anything is possible when we put our mind to achieving our goals,” said Pashagumskum. “Some of them are parents on top of all the other responsibilities that they have. All of them are role models, now and for the future.”
Two days earlier, 10 Cree students graduated from McGill with various education degrees and certificates. Five earned a bachelor’s of education, four achieved certificates in education, and Celeste Awashish attained a Master’s degree in education psychology.
“I’m intrigued by how and why people learn,” explained Awashish. “We look at cognitive flexibility, adaptability, which motivations drive people. Learning more about all of that tickled part of my brain so it made it easier to learn because it’s something I’m interested in.”
Having tutored Indigenous students in French since CEGEP, Awashish backs the language’s protection but said the new laws create “more barriers in an institution that’s already hard to navigate.” She credits her support system and the CSB’s assistance for helping achieve her goal.
“My educational journey was far from linear,” Awashish emphasized. “I repeated elementary grades, dropped out of high school, completed an adult ed that took years. Entering classrooms with people a lot younger than me, I felt like I was behind, but it’s important to celebrate the challenges you’ve overcome and not just set a timeline for yourself.”
Mistissini members Minnie Loon and Kelly MacLeod also recently obtained Master’s degrees. MacLeod has pursued nursing since high school, attaining a DEC from John Abbott in 2009 before a stint at Montreal General Hospital. After moving to Alberta, she completed her bachelor’s remotely, then took a larger role in Mistissini during the pandemic.
“I loved having more autonomy and was learning so much that I wanted to go back to school to become a nurse practitioner,” MacLeod explained. “I will be working in primary care with an Indigenous community around Edmonton. The CSB was fantastic, [helping me] focus on my studies and be there for my family.”
Admitting she didn’t apply to McGill because of Quebec’s language laws, MacLeod suggested networking through a school’s Indigenous Student Centre to overcome the challenge of leaving home.
“That was a big adjustment being away from your family and friends, learning how to ‘adult’ together,” said MacLeod. “You develop your own little community as you meet people. Be patient with yourself. Don’t give up on it – it feels good once you accomplish it.”