Aboriginal Programming

Free The Children’s local programs and initiatives work to change attitudes and priorities. They empower youth and adults alike, and create a holistic learning and action-based experience for all who wish to embark on a journey to social change.

With the support of Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, Free The Children is delivering programming that will educate non-Aboriginal Canadian youth and help make Aboriginal issues a priority in Canada.

Through campaigns, leadership programs, inspirational We Day events, lesson plans, video clips, blog posts and social media channels, Free The Children is educating Canada about Aboriginal culture, history, traditions and more.

Together, our Aboriginal programming:

• Is non-political, youth-friendly and designed to create empathy and understanding.
• Provides tools and support for young people to actively support their Aboriginal peers in improving their access to quality education.
• Helps educators meet curriculum requirements.
• Provides interest and encouragement for students to further explore Aboriginal culture and history.
• Is always created through collaboration with experts on the topic and Aboriginal representatives to ensure all materials reflect their experiences and views.

By forming partnerships with leading Aboriginal organizations, Free The Children is expanding its Aboriginal programming offerings to ensure more Canadians are aware of, and equipped to take action on the issues facing Aboriginal Peoples.

Read more about some of our current Aboriginal programming:

• We Stand Together: Shining the spotlight on Aboriginal issues in Canada.

• Sacred Circle: Empowering a generation of young Aboriginal leaders.

• Raising Awareness of Aboriginal issues through We Day: Spreading the word about Aboriginal issues to thousands of young people.

We Stand Together

Every year, Free The Children and the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative shine the spotlight on the successes and challenges of Aboriginal youth education in the hopes of making this issue a priority in Canada.

The campaign consists of 10 days of learning and awareness on Aboriginal history, culture and tradition, as well as the challenges and opportunities present for Aboriginal education today. It sheds light on the inequalities in education within Canada and engages non-Aboriginal youth to explore this topic and draw attention to it in their schools and communities.

Participants receive resources like daily facts, background information, engaging elementary and secondary school lesson plans, a learning activity and a presentation guide.

Learn more.

Sacred Circle

Me to We, Free The Children’s partner social enterprise, offers a dynamic youth leadership program for self-identified Aboriginal students: Sacred Circle. The program aims to educate and empower Aboriginal youth to make change and become leaders in their communities.

Incorporating two universal Aboriginal principles, the Seven Teachings and the Medicine Wheel, as well as the communities’ perspective by involving elders and Aboriginal mentors, Me to We delivers a three-day workshop aimed to empower Aboriginal youth as leaders.

All program components are designed for Aboriginal youth and customized to meet the needs and vision of each community.

Learn more.

Raising awareness of Aboriginal issues through We Day

Each year, within stadiums full of thousands of cheering young people, We Day brings some of the greatest social issues to the forefront, and—no matter the cause, no matter the issue—provides ways in which every young person can create change.

We Day is the perfect platform to focus on issues—like Aboriginal education—that Canadian young people may not be sufficiently aware of; issues that, in order to change, need the awareness and action of the country’s younger generation.

The issues facing Canada’s Aboriginal community have been brought to the forefront at several We Day events. The organization strives to ensure Aboriginal representation at every We Day event. In addition to a segment at We Day in Winnipeg and Waterloo in 2011 dedicated to Aboriginal education, the thousands of youth We Day participants have heard from the Head of the Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo, Waneek Horn-Miller, Dennis White Bird, Sharn Conway, Justice Murray Sinclair and Ghislain Picard.

Learn more.

Testimonials.

“Without giving too many of your secrets away, who does your work for you on the Aboriginal team? The lesson plans are fantastic! I will be handing some of these out to our teachers in the district on our Pro-D day next week as well, we sent out a link for them to sign up on. Thank you for that.”

- C. Kulhavy, District Aboriginal Resource Coordinator, British Columbia

“Students were provided with the skills to allow them to develop a project they believed would make their school, community [and] world a better place. They looked for volunteer opportunities in and around their school [and] communities where they could give back or ‘pay forward’ … The experience is one I personally would do again.”

- Connie MacArthur, District Aboriginal Education Teacher, Nanaimo/Ladysmith School District