Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Thank you, too, for speaking in your native language. I really appreciate that. Language—if you don't know your language, you don't know your culture. Education has been something that tried to strip away all of that language knowledge from us, but as an indigenous post-secondary student I am learning my language because I am reclaiming that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  First of all, that is a treaty obligation. Education is something that was negotiated with the government and indigenous peoples of Canada. I believe that education is a treaty right and they need to honour that right. Indigenous people across Turtle Island, across Canada, have been neglected and systemically discriminated against because we have been thought of as less than the rest of the Canadian settler population.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  When you think of the demographic of how many indigenous learners are coming to the age at which they are eligible for post-secondary education, approximately 130,000 new indigenous students qualify to join post-secondary this year and approximately 70% of those will not be able to enrol because there is inadequate funding.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. What we have identified for CASA.... We represent over 400,000 students. Specifically for this indigenous committee, we asked all of our members what was needed, and the top three things we identified immediately were better housing, better mental health care supports and increased funding.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Sylvia. Thank you for the question. With regard to attendance, we also need to address the intergenerational trauma that is affecting entire family units in their home lives. That is a major aspect of why children do not complete their high school education. There needs to be a lot more support for mental health.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Madam Chair, Chief Elmer and distinguished members of Parliament, hello. [Witness spoke in Cree] [English] How are you my friends? My name is Shannon. I was born in Edmonton. I studied at the University of Alberta, and I understand a little bit of Cree. It's important for me to introduce myself in Cree, because it is the language of my ancestors and because my mother is a residential school survivor.