By Cheryl Jahn

New Leadership Table formed

Jan 14, 2022 | 1:02 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Lheidli T’enneh and the McLeod Lake Indian Band are once again joining forces to make change.

Today, the two announced the creation of an Indigenous Education Leadership Table to address the issues identified in a Special Advisory’s report last summer.

“This new table is going to, hopefully, raise awareness about Indigenous values, Indigenous protocols, Indigenous ways of knowing and it will give us a new way of defining a new relationship with the School District,” explains Jayde Chingee, Deputy Chief of the McLeod Lake Indian Band.

“I’m excited at the potential the Indigenous Education Table has to offer for the School District,” says Joshua Seymour, Councillor with the Lheili T’enneh. “With a more hands-on approach, with direct leadership, because our nations have always been involved with the school district, but it was always in an advisory capacity. This will be more of a leadership and hands-on to support our students.”

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The Special Advisors Report found: “There is a clear and palpable lack of trust and hard feelings between many of the Indigenous stakeholders in Prince George, the First Nations and the District. With focused, equity informed leadership from both the board and senior leaders, we believe there can be a much stronger system of governance responsive to local communities and rightsholders.”

The top recommendation to the Provincial Government from the Special Advisory reads: “That the Ministry of Education develop a policy framework that requires all school boards to create mechanisms that give First Peoples voice and authentic engagement in decision-making processes for Indigenous learners, i.e. Indigenous Trustees.”

The Lheidli T’enneh and the McLeod Lake Indian Band have pursued the addition of two trustees from their First Nations for more than two years, to no avail. Disappointing to Seymour, who says they are still pursuing that.

The Lheidli T’enneh held the first potlatch in decades in November of 2019 and Seymour says that was the first time members of the school district got to see the type of governance the Lheidli T’enneh have in place.