Yukon to create First Nations school board after parents vote for change

The Yukon territorial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

WHITEHORSE -

Preliminary results show parents at eight schools in Yukon have voted in favour of creating a First Nations school board.

A referendum on the proposal ended with parents at schools in Old Crow, Watson Lake, Beaver Creek, Haines Junction, Ross River and Whitehorse approving the measure.

Parents of students at J.V. Clark School in Mayo voted strongly against the move and Elections Yukon said the school can continue to be supported by a school council.

Elections Yukon said official results of the voting will be available Monday.

The drive to create a First Nations school board in Yukon dates back to 1973 and supporters say it will offer a model of reconciliation, providing education from Indigenous and non-Indigenous points of view.

Melanie Bennett, the executive director of the First Nations Education Directorate, said she's overwhelmed by the support and turnout.

"I'm just trying to breathe today and savour the moment," she said on Friday.

The directorate is an independent body established in 2020 to help First Nations assume more control over their children's education.

Bennett, who is from the Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation in Dawson City, said the vote is a culmination of decades of work by Indigenous leaders.

"It's been a long journey," she said in an interview.

Once elections for the new First Nations board are held in March, trustees will have the authority to hire staff, review and modify school plans, and request education programs in an Indigenous language.

Nearly a quarter of students in Yukon identified as Indigenous in 2019.

The territory's auditor general said in a 2019 report that Indigenous children routinely lacked the educational supports to help them succeed in schools or graduate. Yukon also failed to adequately reflect First Nations culture and languages in the classroom, the report said.

Lauren Wallingham, whose daughter goes to a school where parents approved the school board, said she feels a sense of "hopefulness."

"This is a first step that will lead to real change," she said.

Wallingham, who is Indigenous, was part of a group that petitioned parents to take part in the referendum at Takhini Elementary School in Whitehorse.

Education Minister Jeanie McLean said in a statement the vote is a major step forward in advancing a path to reconciliation.

"The establishment of a Yukon First Nation School Board will contribute to and improve the educational outcomes for all students across the territory."

By Nick Wells in Vancouver