We Aren’t Asking for Permission.
We’re Enforcing Our Rights.
Summary
In Ontario’s publicly funded education system, more than 57,000 self-identified Indigenous students — including 42,221 First Nations, 13,285 Métis, and 1,566 Inuit learners — attend classrooms built on their ancestral lands. Yet the majority of these students have no access to their own languages or knowledge systems in school.
This brief calls on the Government of Ontario, in collaboration with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments, language experts, and educators, to take immediate legislative and policy action. These steps will align Ontario’s education system with its constitutional, statutory, and moral obligations to recognize and integrate Indigenous languages and knowledge into public education.
The Legal and Policy Foundation
Constitutional Rights
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Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights, which include the right to language, culture, and self-determined education.
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The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees equality before the law. Denying Indigenous students access to their own languages while funding colonial languages such as French and English creates systemic inequity.
National and International Obligations
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Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 13–16: direct governments to acknowledge Indigenous language rights, fund revitalization programs, and incorporate Indigenous languages into education.
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United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Articles 13 and 14: require governments to support Indigenous peoples in establishing and controlling educational systems that reflect their languages, histories, and knowledge.
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Bill C-91 – The Indigenous Languages Act (2019): recognizes that Indigenous languages are fundamental to identity and culture. However, the Act currently lacks explicit provisions for education.
Provincial Responsibility
Education falls under provincial jurisdiction. Ontario’s Education Act and Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy commit the province to eliminating systemic barriers. To meet these commitments, Indigenous language and cultural education must be embedded in core curriculum policy, not treated as optional programming.
The Precedent
In 2025, educator Sha’tekayèn:ton Brant of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory successfully challenged the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) to recognize Indigenous language credentials and remove discriminatory barriers.
This decision established a provincial precedent: Indigenous knowledge systems hold equal professional and legal legitimacy.
The alternative pathways for teacher certification that were/are already in progress gained urgency and accountability because of this case. Together, these frameworks now allow more First Nations, Métis, and Inuit educators to become fully qualified without colonial credentialing barriers.
Current Reality
Despite constitutional protection and national commitments, Indigenous languages remain largely absent from Ontario classrooms. Where they exist, programs are underfunded and short-term, often treated as cultural enrichment rather than as a right.
This absence undermines reconciliation and deprives all students of the opportunity to learn about the original languages, governance, and environmental knowledge of this land.
Call for Legislative and Policy Reform
A. Federal Action – Revise Bill C-91
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Amend The Indigenous Languages Act to explicitly include teaching, education, and credential recognition as essential parts of language revitalization.
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Require the federal Minister of Canadian Heritage to coordinate with provincial education ministries to fund Indigenous-led teacher training and immersion diploma programs.
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Embed a duty to consult under Section 35 in all program development.
B. Provincial Action – Ontario’s Responsibility
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Mandate that the Ontario Ministry of Education and OCT formally recognize First Nations, Métis, and Inuit languages as equal to colonial and other world languages.
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Implement Indigenous language classes across all publicly funded schools, with funding and resources equal to those provided for French-language education.
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Provide sustained funding for Indigenous-led immersion and teacher-training diploma programs, ensuring communities can train and certify their own educators.
C. Curriculum Integration
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Indigenous education must not exist in isolation. Ontario should embed Indigenous points of view, histories, and knowledge systems across all subjects and grade levels.
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Integrate Indigenous worldviews, land-based learning, and environmental knowledge throughout the curriculum.
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Make teacher education in Indigenous history, treaties, governance, and language a mandatory component of professional learning.
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Require each school board to collaborate with local Indigenous nations to ensure accuracy, authenticity, and relational accountability in all content.
Educational and Cultural Rationale
Indigenous knowledge is not supplementary; it is the foundation of understanding this land. Integrating these perspectives will strengthen cultural identity, mental wellness, and academic success for Indigenous students while enriching learning for all.
Knowledge that has existed here for millennia can guide sustainable coexistence for the next seven generations. When all learners, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Canadian, grow together in truth, reconciliation becomes lived practice rather than policy language.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.
