Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The importance of basing education in local culture has long been recognized in the Northwest Territories. Although language and cultural activities have been a part of school programs, communities, educators, school boards and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment have recognized the need to include aboriginal culture and language in the school system in a consistent way.
I am pleased to tell this Assembly that Dene Kede, the first curriculum to provide a Dene perspective on education, was officially launched at a ceremony in Rae in mid-October, and has been officially introduced into schools across the western Arctic. The curriculum encompasses the language, culture and way in which five Dene nations view the world.
Approximately fifty themes, such as drumming, fire, and caribou, are used to teach the four concepts central to Dene perspective: the spiritual world, the land, the self and the people. The purpose of the curriculum is to enhance Dene culture and language, and to help students develop respectful relationships with themselves, other people, the spirit world and the land.
To ensure that Dene Kede is truly community-based, it was essential to involve as many communities as possible in its development. Elders, in particular, had a key role to play at every stage. As a result, the way in which Dene Kede was produced was unique. Over a period of three years, a group of elders from all five of the Dene regions developed the curriculum by identifying the major themes and how they reflect Dene perspective. The staff of the department and 24 other aboriginal teachers acted as support to these elders.
The curriculum was piloted in five schools in the western Arctic in 1992-93, including Fort McPherson, Fort Providence, Rae-Edzo and two schools in Yellowknife. The curriculum is now being implemented in all western Arctic schools and is expected to take up to three years, at which point it will be evaluated. I am proud of this accomplishment and will be providing every Member with a copy of this curriculum. Mr. Speaker, I would like to note that my colleague, the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, was Minister of Education when work began on this important initiative.
Dene Kede has currently been developed for students in kindergarten to grade six. Work on the curriculum for grades seven to nine is scheduled to begin in 1995-96. I am also pleased to announce that work is proceeding on Inuuqatigiit, the Inuktitut language and culture curriculum, which will be piloted in January of 1994. I will keep the Assembly informed of progress on this curriculum. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause