Our Story
MECC and TC² are transforming education, merging Indigenous perspectives with curriculum to empower youth. Together, they bridge cultural divides and champion Indigenous students' futures.
The Journey of Two Organizations Coming Together
The collaboration between the Matawa Education and Care Centre (MECC) and The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC²) is an effective and growing partnership that is continuously developing new and innovative ways to meet the needs of our Indigenous youth. But before we begin to discuss our successes, it is important to know our story. How did our two organizations come together to follow the path toward reinventing curriculum to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing?
MECC: A Nurturing Space for Indigenous Communities
The MECC was founded as an all-Indigenous high school that serves the nine communities that make up the Matawa Tribal Council (Aroland, Constance Lake, Eabametoong, Ginoogaming, Long Lake #58, Marten Falls, Neskantaga, Nibinamik, Webequie). Many of these communities are located in remote areas of Northern Ontario and are primarily accessible by ice roads or are fly-in only. In addition to the remoteness, the education infrastructure available to the students who live there is lacking. In some situations, students must leave their home communities and travel to Thunder Bay to complete their high school diploma. This drastic transition creates many barriers for the youth, including the learning disparities between schools in their community and those in the public systems, lack of family support, and living in boarding homes, as well as the harsh adjustment to living in an urban centre after a life on a remote reserve. The MECC was developed to help remove these barriers.
BRIDGING THE GAP: PERSONALIZING EDUCATION FOR INDIGENOUS STUDENTS
While creating the MECC and talking to Matawa students, we began to understand the barriers that exist for their success and, most important, the lack of suitable resources to assist in their individual learning. The MECC students did not see themselves reflected in the curriculum. The MECC reached out to TC² to establish a partnership that focuses on developing curriculum that applies to the MECC students and reflects their life and ways of knowing. The purpose of these adapted resources is to personalize the students’ academic journey, so they may see themselves in their education, especially for students that are coping with various disparities and have been disengaged from school for periods of time. Having resources that are centralized around their community traditions allows these students to identify with the school system and fit into the MECC school community, our country, and world contexts.
TC²'s Role: Merging Methodologies and Authenticity
TC² was identified by the MECC organization as the group that could meet these needs for MECC’s students. TC² understood the importance of integrating Indigenous Ways of Knowing into our curriculum to benefit students living in the community and attending the MECC. TC²’s methodology and framework aligned with the MECC’s approach to education in providing personalized curriculum and teaching practice. It was also considerate of and cohesive with the holistic framework the MECC offers its students. The MECC organization has assisted TC² through their research to challenge and consider how to best align their approach with more culturally resonant and authentic possibilities to best meet the needs of youth in the school’s program. From this partnership, we have successfully created and developed over 110 meaningful resources that blend Indigenous Ways of Knowing and the Ontario curriculum into six different high school courses: Grade 9 English, mathematics, geography, science, and learning strategies, as well as a Grade 10 Canadian history course. All of these courses are designed around a TC² framework while also using the input of Matawa community members, who emphasized what should be valued and taught in these courses. We have expanded our partnership goals and have begun to create learning resources that are focused on traditional teachings and preservation. We have also shared our work and research on the international stage. Our next big step is to begin conceptualizing a resource-sharing website that will be available to educators and students across Canada.
The Ripple Effect: Beyond the Curriculum
This story of coming together between our organizations has been impactful and rewarding for all involved. The MECC school community has benefited from using these resources to better meet the needs of our students, and we believe TC² partners have been empowered by leading the opportunity to intentionally improve learning resources and decolonize the curriculum. The MECC hopes this partnership continues to grow and improve as we work to create more opportunities for the success of our Indigenous students in academics and elsewhere.