12 May ACDE launches its Accord on Indigenous Education
May 15, 2025 | The Association of Canadian Deans of Education is pleased to launch its Accord on Indigenous Education, revised to reflect today’s contexts. The product of five years of consultation, reflection, discussion, and deliberation, the Accord represents and ongoing and shared commitment to systemic change in systems of education from early childhood to K-12 schooling, through to higher education.
Dr. Stephen Price, President of the Association of Canadian Deans of Education, articulates ACDE’s hope “that this living document will guide partnerships among Indigenous peoples and communities and our Faculty of Education programs—and inspire deans, education leaders, and educators—to act with courage and conviction toward real, lasting change. There is so much more work to be done. Through this Accord, ACDE members commit to moving forward together in right relations.”
The renewed Accord responds to changing policy contexts and anti-colonial practices that seek accountability to Indigenous education. Recognizing a wholistic and collective understanding of relationships, the renewed Accord upholds the vision of Indigenous Education articulated in the original 2010 Accord on Indigenous Education, which states that “Indigenous identities, cultures, languages, values, ways of knowing, and knowledge systems will flourish in all Canadian learning settings” (p. 4).
ACDE Past President Dr. Lace Marie Brogden, who oversaw the renewal work during the term of her presidency, cites the Accord launch as a new chapter within a shifting context. “The Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the MMIWG Inquiry, and the implementation of UNDRIP demand renewed urgency and deeper commitments. The need for systemic change remains critical. This Accord is both an impetus for engagement and a hope for transformation.”
Download the Accord on Indigenous Education
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Inspired by the leadership approach of nêhiyaw Elder, scholar, and educator, Dr. Verna Kirkness (2013), this renewed Accord is guided by the following considerations for transformative change: Where have we been, where are going, how do we get there, and how do we know when we are there?
ACDE invites those seeking to advance and lift up the vision and goals of the renewed Accord in their respective contexts to consider the following information.
Where have we been?
In 2007, under the leadership of Indigenous scholars Jo-Ann Archibald and Lorna Williams, and Education Deans Cecilia Reynolds and John Lundy, the ACDE initiated a three-year process of consultation, engagement, and feedback across the country to determine a path forward to achieve their stated vision for Indigenous education. To achieve this vision, the 2010 Accord lays out a series of goals, including respectful and welcoming learning environments, curriculum inclusive of Indigenous knowledge systems, culturally responsive pedagogies and assessment practices, mechanisms for promoting and valuing Indigeneity in education, affirmation and revitalization of Indigenous languages, Indigenous education leadership, non-Indigenous learners and Indigeneity, and culturally respectful Indigenous leadership.
Where are we going?
Increasing efforts to recognize the truth of Canada’s history, improve Indigenous-settler relations, honour treaty agreements, and advance Indigenous rights have unfolded in recent years resulting in relational shifts and educational transformations. These include Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the accompanying 2015 94 Calls-to-Action, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Girls and Women (MMIGW), and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) through mechanisms such as the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in British Columbia.
These directives emphasize reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenous self-determination. The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) advocates for accountability to these priorities through all forms of relationality – all-my-relations, good relations, and right relations – in commitments and actions to Indigenous education by all learners, educators, families, schools, higher education institutions, and communities.
How do we get there?
The following principles set out responsibilities with accompanying actions in the renewed Accord to assist all systems and levels of education:
- Recognizing and affirming Indigenous rights and self-determination
- Decolonization and Indigenous resurgence through in and through curricula
- Indigenous and anti-colonial pedagogies
- Indigenized approaches to assessment
- Indigenous language revitalization
- Indigenous education leadership
- Relational accountabilities
- Indigenous scholarly activity
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How Do We Know When We are There
ACDE recognizes the need to establish an accountability framework with clear expectations and measurable benchmarks that respond to the Accord’s objectives. We encourage those taking up their responsibilities to Indigenous education to document, describe, and share their achievements and successes. Ultimately, accountability must center Indigenous voices, uphold reciprocal and ethical relationships, and ensure that commitments to Indigenous education are both actionable and enduring.
We encourage all those engaging in this work to document and share their stories, strategies, and successes. Ultimately, accountability must:
- Centre Indigenous voices and perspectives
- Uphold reciprocal and ethical relationships
- Ensure commitments to Indigenous education are lived, sustained, and evolving
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Concluding Reflections
As you take up this Accord, ACDE invites you to reflect on these guiding questions:
- How do your policies and practices reflect commitments to Indigenous rights and self-determination?
- In what ways are Indigenous knowledges and languages made visible and valued in your learning spaces?
- How are relationships—with land, people, and communities—nurtured and sustained in your work?
- What does meaningful, accountable change look like in your context?
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