Nothing About Us Without Us
Advancing Indigenous-Led Education in Yukon
First Nation School Board, in partnership with Save the Children Canada | ITE Grant Recipient | $ 433,457| Retain Stream
Region:
Across the Yukon, the First Nation School Board (FNSB) is reshaping the future of education—led by community, guided by culture, and driven by the belief that Indigenous knowledge belongs at the heart of learning.
With support from the Rideau Hall Foundation’s Indigenous Teacher Education (ITE) Initiative, Save the Children Canada and FNSB are partnering with three Yukon First Nation communities, to co-create a bold new model: Nothing About Us Without Us.
Building Resources, and Pathways:
This project supports the development of 27 culturally authentic resources—from decodable literacy passages to land-based numeracy lessons—designed by and with First Nations Elders, Knowledge Keepers, language speakers, educators, and community members. The goal is to build a classroom where students not only learn, but see themselves reflected.
Throughout this two-year initiative, local community members will work shoulder-to-shoulder with educators, gaining skills in curriculum development and pedagogy. As they share their knowledge, many are also discovering their own pathways into teaching—sparking interest in formal accreditation and building a stronger foundation for Indigenous-led classrooms.
“Our communities carry the teachings. This project creates space for those teachings to guide how we educate our children.”
At its core, Nothing About Us Without Us is a mentorship model, a cultural reclamation, and a strategic answer to one of the most pressing challenges in education today: retention. Indigenous teachers are underrepresented in schools across Canada, and those who are in the classroom often carry the added burden of developing their own culturally relevant materials in isolation.
This project changes that—by valuing Indigenous voices at every stage of learning resource development and creating tools that will immediately benefit over 600 students and 100 educators in Yukon.
Why It Matters:
“This is about more than literacy and numeracy. It’s about belonging, pride, and preparing the next generation of First Nations teachers.”
Indigenous students often attend schools where few—if any—teachers share their culture or language. This gap contributes to educational inequity. Nothing About Us Without Us offers a community-driven response: creating culturally grounded materials and opening pathways for community members to become the educators their students need.
Outcomes:
- 27 culturally co-created educational resources
- 600+ First Nations students reached
- 108 educators supported through new tools and mentorships
- Long-term pathways for community members to pursue teacher certification
Our locally developed resources are inspired by the people, places, and teachings of each specific traditional territory. We honour and hold up the community’s knowledge and stories in a new way so that learners see themselves, their families, the land around them, their language, and their traditions in the words they are learning to read.
~ Melissa Flynn, Executive Director of the First Nation School Board
About the Indigenous Teacher Education Initiative
The Rideau Hall Foundation launched the Indigenous Teacher Education Initiative to grow and support a representative, culturally rooted Indigenous education workforce. Through a national Open Call, projects were selected through a rigorous peer-review process led by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis education experts.
Two funding streams—Reinforce and Retain—respond to urgent priorities in Indigenous teacher education, from scaling successful training programs to improving teacher retention and support. FNSB and SCC’s project was selected under the Retain Stream, which funds projects up to $500,000 that build tools, relationships, and environments where Indigenous educators can thrive.
Learn More
Explore how Indigenous communities across the country are leading education transformation.
Yukon is just one of many regions taking bold steps. Read more about other ITE grant recipients.