Reconciliation fund opens doors

Approaching the sixth annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, a widely expressed sentiment in recent years about how to foster better bonds between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians is the importance of providing meaningful pathways to education.

An organization making a tangible difference for northern First Nations learners is Gakino’amaage: Teach For Canada. Gakino’amaage is Anishinaabemowin for “one who teaches.” The name also commends the reciprocity of teaching: a teacher learns as much from their students as they teach them.

Grant money from the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) established by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) further empowers Gakino’amaage in its mission to dismantle educational barriers for rural students by recruiting, equipping, supporting and retaining teachers across 34 First Nation communities in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

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The Archdiocese of Toronto’s IRF committed $450,000 over three years in an effort to help at least 4,300 students.

Gakino’amaage President Deanna Matthews, a member of the Sachigo Lake First Nation Oji-Cree community, beamed about how 11 years of investing in teachers have produced transformative outcomes for over 20,000 students.

“We have incredible donors that are deeply engaged in the work, Indigenous Reconciliation Fund being one of those,” said Matthews. “We (also) have incredible First Nation community partners that care deeply about their young people. The students are growing up and becoming education assistants, teachers, and principals in their own communities.

“Education is one of those things that it's a long-term investment in systems. You start to see that impact over more years than I think we initially hoped for,” she continued. “You make an investment, or you hire a teacher, and you start to see now, after 10 years, those young people are graduating. It continues to be incredibly rewarding.”

Statistics illustrate Gakino’amaage’s impact. Since 2015, approximately 700 teachers have been recruited and supported. Impressively, an 89 per cent first-year teacher retention rate has been achieved over that time. This past 2025-26 school year was even better, with 96 per cent of teachers retained for a sophomore campaign. Additionally, a solid 73 per cent of teachers are re-engaged for a third year, a robust figure Matthews said, is “pretty much the highest in the country for remote and rural First Nations schools.”

But make no mistake: teacher shortages at these educational institutions persist right across Canada, and vacancies often emerge during November, December and January.

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Matthews expressed the need for word to spread about the “valuable opportunity to make a difference towards reconciliation” that prospective teachers living in major urban centres can seize by venturing north.

“There's so much beauty and community as far as connection, learning and time spent on the land,” said Matthews. “It is an opportunity to reflect on something bigger than oneself. (That) is the power of Indigenous education long-term, and (we) hope to work with school boards and universities to get the word out about just the importance of this.”

She espouses the importance of education in the broader harmonizing effort as learning “continues to be that kind of tangible way to share more knowledge and more stories.” Her connection to reconciliation is deeply personal as her kôhkom (Cree for grandmother) attended residential school.

More Indigenous educators are encouraged to share their accounts and pass down their knowledge of the land as Gakino’amaage is making a concerted effort to prioritize them in the network.

“Over time, we've steadily looked to grow the number of Indigenous educators represented within our teacher cohort, but also in our (educational assistant) program,” said Matthews.

Valuing the strides the IRF has helped Gakino’amaage make in recent years, Matthews expressed gratitude to the Canadian Catholic community for “making an incredible difference” in helping more Indigenous students graduate high school and advance to university.

She enjoys seeing the differences made up close and personal. When touring the modernized Nisichawayasihk Neyo Ohtinwak Collegiate in Manitoba, Matthews marvelled at the Indigenous art on the walls, but she was more struck by the students’ joyful confidence.

“The students were just standing up a lot taller,” recounted Matthews. “You could see the confidence in themselves in that building, that they were laughing and talking with each other and speaking with adults. They had a pride in who they were as young Cree people.

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“A moment later, the school bell rang and rather than it being a traditional kind of school bell, it was the sound of a drum. And I just kind of had a moment of reflecting on just the power of being in Indigenous spaces, learning about Indigenous education by Indigenous educators and seeing young Cree students,” she said.

Learn more by visiting https://teachforcanada.ca/en/.

(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)

A version of this article appeared in the September 13, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Reconciliation fund opens doors"