Heather Wright/The Independent

The new vice-chair of the Lambton-Kent District School Board is worried Indigenous voices will be lost if the province eliminates trustees.

Roberta Northmore, the trustee for Aamjiwnaang, Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point, Bkejwanong at Walpole Island and Eelŭnaapéewi Lahkéewii – Delaware First Nation is believed to be the first First Nation representative to serve on the executive of the local school board. 

Northmore, who has been an educator for over 28 years in Kettle and Stony Point, hopes to bring “the vision and the culture” of the Indigenous community to the board.

“I really am passionate about student achievement and well-being and learning outcomes and educational opportunities for our students,” Northmore tells The Independent. 

“The First Nations have always had a gap in education in our graduation rate.”

Northmore is also excited about a plan to bring Indigenous languages into the classrooms.

Indigenous voices are relatively new around the education board table. While some boards of education had First Nations representatives, they did not become full-fledged voting members of the board until 1997 under the Education Act. 

“It’s made a huge difference for us since that time to have Indigenous representation on the board. We are also able to sit on other committees within the board to have our voices heard,” says Northmore. But she is clearly worried that voice could have a limited time span.

This summer, Education Minister Paul Callandra mused while on CBC that he was considering getting rid of the office of trustee so the provincial governments would have more control of schools.

Nov. 13, the province announced it would open Student and Family Support Offices, “so parents and guardians have a clear, effective way to get help regarding their child’s education and find solutions faster.” Much of what the office will do has been considered the work of trustees. 

When asked what she hoped to accomplish as vice-chair, Northmore said; “that is all going be dependent on the Ministry of Education.

“One of the truth and reconciliation Calls to Action – number 63 – was to call upon the Ministry of Education to maintain an annual commitment to aboriginal, education issues, and…that we would have voice on the board and if they take away that voice, then I have no way to help my communities,” Northmore said.

“It’s certainly not a democratic way for the provincial government to pass this down without any consultation, I think consultation did not happen with the First Nations people. It did not happen with all the other stakeholders out there.”