Supporting Indigenous Education

Department of Education and Early Year’s Commitment to Reconciliation

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Department of Education and Early Years is committed to delivering educational programming, courses and materials that are respectful of Indigenous knowledges and perspectives. There is a collective responsibility to develop a genuine understanding of our shared history and its continuing impacts on Indigenous Peoples.

The Department is committed to creating supportive and culturally safe environments where students feel empowered to learn about truth and reconciliation and Indigenous knowledges.

The Department  helps achieve this by:

• Acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land
• Ensuring training on truth and reconciliation is ongoing
• Expanding cultural and linguistic knowledge through ongoing curriculum development and professional learning
• Challenging and addressing inequities within policies and practices

What is the Province doing to advance reconciliation?

As part of the Department of Education and Early Years' mandate, and in collaboration with other provincial departments, an Indigenous Education Advisory Committee was established to strengthen the provincial commitment to ongoing initiatives to advance Indigenous Education within public schools across PEI.

The Indigenous Education Advisory Committee is comprised of members, including the Abegweit First Nation, Lennox Island First Nation, Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI, and UPEI.

The committee reviews Indigenous education priorities and projects, curriculum development, professional learning opportunities for the department and front-line educators, as well as resources to enhance Indigenous education and curriculum for all students in public schools across PEI. 

The Department plays a key role  in advancing actions towards reconciliation and honouring the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Calls for Justice and Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action. Through meaningful activities and initiatives within public schools, work by departmental and front-line staff, as well as professional learning opportunities, the Department looks to continually further its work on the shared path to reconciliation within PEI’s public education system.