This will be the 5^th year that this symposium will be offered on May 16 and 17, 2000 at St. F.X. University in Antigonish. The success of this forum can be attributed to the efforts of the St. F.X. Education Department and Mi’kmaw participants who have facilitated this forum.

With the input and assistance of a committee drawn from First Nation educators in Nova Scotia, the symposium this year will focus on developing a framework document to Mi’kmaw Second Language. It will present a vision, principles and strategy statements for Mi’kmaw language instruction from P-12.

This forum continues to be supported by Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey, Nova Scotia Department of Education, and Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Previous conferences have focused on promotion of Mi’kmaw language in the schools as this most precious of gifts is being lost. The promotion and development of school-based strategies to stop and reverse this trend of language loss is the ultimate goal of this group.

Further information on this symposium and on previous conferences can be obtained from:

Hi…My name is Verlie Wile and I am the Aboriginal Student Advisor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish Nova Scotia. I am forwarding a picture of the students who will graduate in May 2005 and who received their XRings in a ceremony here in December. The attached article gives more information. These are 13 Mi’kmaq students and one student, Brian Dickson who is from the Ojibway Nation, Ontario. A proud moment! If you would like more info about this event please contact me.

December 3, St. FX Day, and the day senior students receive their long-awaited X-Ring is always a special day. This year, it was even more so for a large group of Aboriginal students. In what is thought to be the largest number ever of Aboriginal students to receive their X-Ring in one year, over a dozen students proudly received their X-Ring. “Aboriginal communities and provincial and national Aboriginal associations are dedicated to developing future generations of leaders through higher education. These graduates are the future leaders and role models in their home communities,” St. FX Aboriginal Student Advisor Verlie Wile says. “As Aboriginal communities continue to evolve towards more self-government and more participation in the Canadian economy, these graduates are significant.”

Pictured, this year’s X-Ring recipients, include, front row from left:

Charlotte Poulette, B.Ed, Mary Gould, B.Ed, Carol Anne Francis, B.Ed, Debbie Dennis, B.Ed, Vanessa Carroll, honours BA, and Brian Dickson, honours BBA. Back row, Cindy Poulette, B.Ed, Amber Johnson, B.Ed, Yolanda Denny, B.Ed, Carol Ann Paul, B.Ed, Jeremiah Johnson, B.Ed, and Mike Isaac, B.Ed.