Two St. Thomas graduates are back on campus as part of a provincial plan to increase Aboriginal participation in post-secondary education.
Christopher George, a 1999 graduate, works as Director of Aboriginal Education, while Doreen Saulis, who graduated from St. Thomas in 1980, serves as an Aboriginal Education consultant.
The Action Plan to Transform Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick came out in 2007 with a number of recommendations, including “increasing participation of Aboriginals and other underrepresented groups.”
“My goal is to improve St. Thomas’ Aboriginal population, to see them through to graduation,” said George, who started his position in February. “If we can get 50, 70, 100 students graduated with the education I received here, with the knowledge I received here, with the sense of confidence that I gained while a student here and send them out into the world, that’s going to be great.”
To accomplish his goal, George says he’ll have to “break down barriers” and address the feelings First Nations students sometimes have when leaving their reserve.
“When you come to Fredericton, when you’re used to living in an environment where everyone has the same cultural mentality, you come here and there’s a little intimidation for some people,” he said.
A month ago, six First Nations communities in the province made it on to a list of the 10 poorest postal codes in the country.
The statistics come after the province released its poverty reduction strategy.
“[First Nations] were a partner at the table for the poverty reduction initiatives,” said Premier Shawn Graham during his visit to the St. Thomas campus on March 18.
Graham didn’t comment on what specifically is being done to address poverty in the six communities, but rather stated what must be done to revamp education in First Nations communities in hopes of eliminating the poverty.
“We still have a dropout rate of 60 per cent of kids within our First Nations schools. That’s unacceptable,” he said. “That’s a huge challenge that we’ve got to create opportunities for those kids to remain in school.”
George blames the poverty these communities face on a troubled history.
“Some of the problems that we’re dealing with when you’re talking about poverty and some of the socioeconomic conditions in First Nations communities [or] in Canada in general you can trace that back to the Indian Act, you can trace that back to residential schools,” he said. “[They’re] historical events that have an effect 100 years later.”
With early education, George believes that First Nations students will be more likely to go on to post-secondary education.
“There are a lot of obstacles in the education department and getting through some of those requires a strong sense of pride in who you are and where you come from,” he said. “There really hasn’t been a lot of push from either government to instil that sense of pride.”
Frank Jr. Molley, president of the Native Student Council at St. Thomas, said the appointments are encouraging, especially since both George and Saulis are STU alumni and understand what it’s like being an First Nations student at university.
But he says more can be done to improve the Native Studies department at St. Thomas, which he believes is the program that draws the most Aboriginal students.
“I agree with it, I accept it, it’s great, but more has to be done,” he said. “It’s two people on one campus. If you really want to help First Nations students achieve at St. Thomas, you’ve got to look at the Native Studies department. Improve the facilities there.”
