Members of the Anishinabek Nation have voted to move forward with the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement with Canada.
Votes were held in communities across the AN territory from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2. An official vote count won’t be released until mid-December, but the AN said 12 communities needed to ratify the agreement in order for it to move forward.
“Niigaan gdizhaami — We are moving forward,” Grand Council Chief Pat Madahbee said in a release.
“I can't help but think about the students! The people who made this happen have really done something so important for them. What we did was historical”
The Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement is the largest self-government agreement in Canada.
It involves the recognition by Canada of the Anishinabek First Nations’ jurisdiction over primary, elementary and secondary education, and the funding to operate the Anishinabek Education System (AES), a stand-alone, parallel, education system.
The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 member communities across Ontario, representing approximately 60,000 people.
The Union of Ontario Indians is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.
