NTI president, Nunavik teacher named to Indigenous educators’ committee

National Advisory Committee on Indigenous Teacher Education aims to increase the number of Indigenous teachers in Canada

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk, left, and Nunavik teacher Andrea Brazeau have been named to the National Advisory Committee on Indigenous Teacher Education. (File photos by Meral Jamal and Jean Leduc)

By Nunatsiaq News

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk and Nunavik teacher Andrea Brazeau have been named to a national committee that has a goal to increase the number of Indigenous teachers in Canada.

The Rideau Hall Foundation made the announcement in a news release Tuesday.

National Advisory Committee on Indigenous Teacher Education has 10 members and two co-chairs. Its objectives include increasing recruitment, education, and employment of Indigenous teachers through Indigenous-led research and partnerships.

Kotierk has served as NTI’s president since 2016. She’s also held leadership roles with the Government of Nunavut and other Inuit organizations. Brazeau is a teacher at Ulluriaq School in Kangiqsualujjuaq, on Nunavik’s Ungava Bay coast.

The other committee members were drawn from across Canada.

“First Nations, Inuit, and Métis educators are essential to building sustainable Indigenous communities, yet we face a dramatic shortage requiring urgent action,” said committee co-chairs Roberta Jamieson, who was the first Indigenous woman in Canada to earn a law degree, and Mark Dockstator, former president of the First Nations University of Canada, in a joint statement.

“The journey to having more First Nations, Inuit, and Métis teachers across Canada is one that will require significant systems change, and for that we will rely on this outstanding advisory committee to lead us in a good way.”

The Rideau Hall Foundation is an independent and non-political charitable organization that aims to celebrate what is best about Canada while working to foster conditions to improve the lives of Canadians.

Share This Story

(28) Comments:

  1. Posted by How it looks from here on

    Her prominence as a quasi-political figure tells us nothing about her skill or suitability for a position like this. In my opinion Aluki is not an asset to this committee, she is a liability.

    70
    9
    • Posted by Inuk Teacher on

      Agreed. They should have delegated the position to someone with experience in education.

      There are so many qualified Inuit teachers both in the practical sense of teaching and in philosophy, who would be able to add more to the committee than Kotierk. I must add that I really do like her as the President of NTI, but there are spaces that she should not take up just because of her status. I believe this position should have been filled with an Inuk teacher from Nunavut.

      61
  2. Posted by Delbet on

    Unqualified is an under statement. The education system in Nunavut is failing. Look at the graduation levels. And if they do graduate. Very few can meet the entrance requirements. To further their education. At southern colleges or university’s. Appoint all educators mot politicians.

    28
    2
    • Posted by oh ima on

      Most teachers are non-Inuit teachers with no experience living in remote communities. Most teachers come to Nunavut to get experience so they can move back south to teach. They are not invested in the future of children or communities. Once they move here, they isolate themselves from the community. Not all are like that; some teachers stay in communities for over ten years.

      15
      38
      • Posted by John K on

        I know plenty of teachers from the south who WERE committed to the Territory.

        We cultivate a terrible environment that almost no one wants to live in permanently and when we actually do get competent, committed educators they’re derided as white saviors and settlers. The fact that people would rather teach in Ontario with 2/3 the pay and an outrageously disrespectful electorate says more about us than it does them.

        SMH

        47
        4
        • Posted by 867 on

          John K for Premier!

          16
          3
          • Posted by John K on

            We’re leaving too.

            11
            2
            • Posted by Turnover on

              He’s saying some. Not all. Those who think otherwise hear ‘all’ when it isn’t even that. Those who feel targeted needlessly blanket it to themselves. Johnny is right. Those who are not committed do not invest themselves. A job is a job. Fact. There are individuals who are committed and then there are some committed individuals who get offended thinking they are targeted too. The fact is, as ‘locals’, some of us get worn out by some individuals who swoop in and not care. It’s our kids and grandkids who suffer the most. Some can’t ‘get over it’ as some newcomers tell us to do. Those who do stay, some are caring and make a big difference and some who stay who aren’t committed. Some who come for a short time and who care, leave too soon.

              3
              10
              • Posted by Careful reader on

                Be honest, Turnover, Johnny did not say ‘some’ he said ‘most.’ As in ‘most’ of his comments drip with resentment and xenophobia.

                If you call him out he sure does a quick retreat into being the victim though. Poor Johnny.

                Did you notice?

        • Posted by oh ima on

          Typical, indigenous(Inuit) are to blame for failure when policy, managers, teachers and anyone that’s involved with the education system in Nunavut are settlers.

          3
          15
          • Posted by Here’s A Thought on

            Here’s oh ima again, continuing to use the tired old (and offensive) settler word.

            Tell you what, it is the same as ‘native’. Neither one is acceptable in polite society.

            13
            4
        • Posted by Jamesie on

          Very well said, sir.

          1
          2
      • Posted by What do you mean? on

        Hi Johnny, can you explain what you mean when you say teachers “are not invested in the future of children or communities”? Is that to say they don’t ‘really’ care?

        14
        2
  3. Posted by 5 Steps to Success on

    Step 1. Create an environment that encourages and supports people to train to become teachers.
    Step 2. Show that teachers are appreciated, respected and rewarded.
    Step 3. Make the training available for lots of prospective teachers.
    Step 4. Create an environment that encourages and supports people to apply for positions as teachers.
    Step 5. Support new teachers as they start their careers.

    22
    3
    • Posted by Think About It on

      Step 1: Protect the teachers; after watching teachers be abused through high school, I doubt anyone is lining up to be a teacher after witnessing that for 4 years.
      Step 2: Have the teachers back. Teachers need to feel that they are supported and make a difference
      Step 3: Ensure that the prospective teachers have the educational requirements to teach.
      Step 4: Hold the students accountable, make sure they show up for class on a regular basis and respect the environment they are in
      Step 5: Create mentorship programs to help young Inuit teachers.

      Not rocket appliances as a friend would say.

      27
    • Posted by jawbones on

      GN and Ed. Dept. please review and study this proposal until you have a full understanding of it.

      7
      2
  4. Posted by art thompson on

    One can be assured that her appt has nothing to do with actual education but rather the furtherance of NTI’s political agenda. Which is a full ciriculum in Inuit. First all us Kabullanks gotta get out of the way.

    26
    7
    • Posted by iThink on

      NTI appears to want a curriculum entirely in Inuktitut, or something close to it. On the other hand, they don’t want, or know how, to do anything to help get us there.

      This is the problem I see with the organization generally, and Aluki specifically, they bring nothing constructive to the table. Sure, they make a lot of noise, they complain, they rally the press, they threaten the Government with lawsuits. Yet their record of accomplishments, to be generous, is very thin.

      With this appointment The Rideau Hall Foundation clearly confused spectacle for substance.

      25
      1
      • Posted by Nunavummiuq on

        Whenever Inuit have said, we want better Inuktitut curriculum and schooling, there is often an assumption is to get rid of English in schools. Wake up, we are in Nunavut. We want both, just improve the Inuktitut, but also the English. NTI wants the education system do a better job. That is our right, as Nunavummiut, to get education in our language and recognize our culture.

        7
        11
      • Posted by Inuk on

        The only department making money rather than draining it is in the Kitikmeot (Cambridge Bay). The Dept. Of Lands and Resources. It’s funny how the least thought of region is carrying the organization’s philanthropist ideals and goals with actionable contracts. These guys deserve more than praise by being on the same page as the rest of the world while the rest of the org is caught up in headline chasing.

        4
        2
  5. Posted by 867 on

    Radicals rarely have real solutions, as they are too focused on one issue, rather than being able to look at macro issue through a broad lens. These efforts need to be led by actual educators, not people with radical ideas. Are we supposed to sacrifice the quality of education of young Nunavummiut to ensure that unqualified inuit are fast-tracked into teaching positions without credential?

    Also does anyone know what happened to the two-to-four-year teacher training programs that popped up at all these Arctic College campuses across Nunavut? Has anyone actually followed through with this program?

    19
    2
  6. Posted by Merry on

    I wonder if Aluki will use this for her self government mission?

    10
    1
  7. Posted by Nunavummiutaq on

    I was confused at first when I saw the title. Why is NTI President appointed to a national committee? Isn’t there enough issues in Nunavut to begin with, so that we need to add those from the rest of the country? I agree this is a missed opportunity to have an Inuk teacher share our unique experience in the field of education, learn from others and gain experience.

    18
  8. Posted by Congratulations Andrea! on

    You make all of Nunavik proud, and we are happy to have you helping our kids as a teacher!
    .
    Pisitiuvutit!

    8
    5
  9. Posted by S on

    Appointing Aluki Kotierk to the National Advisory Committee on Indigenous Teacher Education (NACITE) is an insult to the other members of the committee, a disappointment to all Nunavut educators, a slight to all Nunavut Inuit, and a burden to to all other Canadians. Buy hey, Canadian politics is strictly ………. politics: no beauty, no growth, no truth.

    27
  10. Posted by Bert Rose on

    A bit of background on Alookie.
    Her mother was a teacher in Igloolik so she grew up in a home where teaching was a a common topic of discussion.
    2. She taught f of rvseveral years at the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program.
    3. She is multi lingual speaking Inuktituut English Spanish and some French.

    I believe this is a great appointment decision.

    7
    17
    • Posted by My Dad was a Nuclear Physicist on

      So Bert from your analysis if my dad was a Nuclear Physicist, and I was a casual instructure at a community college on fine art, and spoke 3 languages I could be on a national Nuclear Safety committee?

      That makes a lot of sense……

      Just because your parents did something does not mean you are qualified to do it without the same training……

      14
  11. Posted by C.M. on

    May God bless ye merry gentlemen and women teachers. Well educated people with the wisdom of age and experience are the foundation of community and society, it is needed now more than ever.

    2
    1

Comments are closed.