Treaties, Relevant Legislation, and Aboriginal social systems as contextualizations for FNMI education

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/#/aboriginal_and_treaty_rights/beginning_together

The problem with FNMI Treaties and Land Entitlements is that the government, federal or provincial, doesn't always honor the contracts they wrote, mainly due to policies and laws that should have been thrown out a century ago. The Indian Act gave the government power to determine who "is" or "is not" an "Indian" based on their rules in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as how the government will alow their bands to operate. It seems little has changed since then. Even Metis people, officially recognized as a nation in Alberta in the 1920s, struggle with the government's reluctance or outright refusal to fulfill their written contracts with Metis people and give them the rights to land that they are entitled to. This may be a prime reason for there being so many poorly-housed or homeless Aboriginal or Metis people in Alberta. To add insult to injury, despite some people regaining their "Indian" statuses thanks to Bill C-31, there are still far too many First Nations/Metis people who are not considered to be "Indians" in the eyes of the government because of problems with paperwork, and therefore are not entitled to any "Indian" benefits. This is especially problematic for them in a society which, to quote the resource in the link, "views them as neither Aboriginal nor part of the mainstream society."

How does this affect education for FNMI youth and students?

Interestingly enough, the Treaties do not just affect FNMI people; they affect all of us.

Here is a good resource I found for Treaty 6:
http://treaty6education.lskysd.ca/treaty6basics

It tells about Treat 6 - where and when it was signed, who was involved in and impacted by the Treaty, and what was expected to be fulfilled by signing the treaty.

All the treaties in Canada work this way; they have a purpose in mind, generally to serve as a contract between two or more nations to co-exist in the same land peacefully, and receive the benefits of said land.

But it still seems like a case similar to two siblings sharing a room who can't get along, where they split the room down the middle, and if one sibling crosses into the other's territory, there will be trouble. In essence, the nations are still struggling to coexist. While politics is happening on the forefront of education, within the public and private schools, First Nation students are minorities trying to juggle school with trying to fit in, faced with the stigma and discrimination that challenges most Native Canadians - ideas of alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, drug use, etc. In a society that expects failure from students, it is hard for one individual to change that society's perspective. When people see you as being a burden beyond help, it is hard to seek genuine assistance that will help you succeed.
As teachers, we need to meet them halfway. If they ant to be treated with the same courtesy that we give other students, while also having their cultural identities recognized, then that's what we should do.