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Aboriginal People in Manitoba 2000 Chapter 4 : Education and Training

The level of primary and secondary education of Manitoba’s Aboriginal people is improving, but still lags significantly behind that of the general population. Statistics show that 12.4% of Aboriginal youth aged 15-29 have less than a Grade 9 education, compared to 15.1% of Aboriginal people aged 30-39 and 18.3% of those aged 40-49. This indicates improvement, but by way of contrast only 1.9% of the non-Aboriginal population aged 15-29 have not completed Grade 9.

There has been a long-term trend toward increasing educational attainment, for Aboriginal people as for all other groups in Manitoba. A literacy survey undertaken in Manitoba by the Metis National Council asked its respondents aged 15+ about their highest educational attainment, and also that of their mothers and fathers. The largest group of Metis respondents (43%) fell into the Grade 9-11 group, followed by Grades 5-8 (18%) and Grade 12 (17%). Of their parents, however, the largest group fell into the Grade 5-8 range (34% of mothers and 30% of fathers, followed by Grades 9-11 (about 21%) and Grades 1-4 (about 12%).²

In recent decades, increases in the numbers of Aboriginal people completing Grade 9 have been slow and uneven. Despite school construction on reserve and increasing Band involvement in education, there remains a wide gulf between educational levels of Status Indians on and off reserve, and between Status Indians and Metis. Statistics show that 16.8% of Metis aged 40-49 have not completed Grade 9, and 27.1% of Status Indians. For those aged 15-29, 16.8% of Status Indians and only 4.6% of Metis have not completed Grade 9. Of Status Indians aged 15-29 and residing off reserve, 9.8% have not completed Grade 9, compared to 21.5% on reserve.³

Low educational attainment continues to be associated with geographic isolation. In 1991, the five First Nations with the highest percentage of adults aged 15+ who had not completed Grade 9 were all communities accessible year-round only by air. Of the 15 First Nations with the highest percentage, 11 were accessible only by air. In all of these communities, over 50% of adults had less than a Grade 9 education.⁴