In April 2008, June Kaminski facilitated the launch of an Aboriginal Literacy forum discussion on the BC Literacy website. A call for partipation was put out to anyone interested in discussing literacy for First Nations peoples and what educators need to know/do to support this literacy
THE CALL "We invite all viewers to participate in this open dialogue devoted to exploring and understanding the literacy scope and needs of Aboriginal people. Self-governance and human rights inform us that all Aboriginal people have a recognized right to experience learning environments that cultivate literacy and education that is grounded in PreColonial pedagogy, practices, and literary traditions.
What does that mean for educators today? Beginning in early childhood and extending through the whole continuum of life long learning, Aboriginal people should be able to learn and grow within formal and informal environments in their own time-honoured traditional modes.
So, we need to define: What exactly is Aboriginal literacy?
And two, how can we ensure that Aboriginal literacy is tended to within all halls of learning?"
Valuable community input from other educators was shared on the forum discussion pages as well.
