CBC – Some Alberta Indigenous leaders and an elder say the provincial government has used them or misrepresented their positions to gain endorsements for a new elementary school curriculum they do not support…Last month, the Sovereign Nations of Treaty Eight wrote to Premier Jason Kenney telling him to revisit the draft curriculum. The letter, co-signed by Laboucan, says the “glaring absence” of First Nations people from the writing process is “deeply offensive.”…After facing criticism last year for initially hiring a slate of all-male, mostly white curriculum advisers, the Alberta government asked five Indigenous elders to review the material and provide feedback.

One was Betty Letendre, a Métis residential school survivor who has worked for years with Edmonton schools to help teach students about Indigenous history and culture. She said the government on multiple occasions handed the group of mostly senior citizens hundreds of pages of documents and gave them one day, or a few days, to respond. They weren’t allowed to consult any other experts and the conditions were inadequate for providing meaningful feedback, she said. She feels the government took advantage of her position and identity. Education Minister Adriana LaGrange has said in the legislature that all of Letendre’s feedback was included in the drafts. Letendre disputes this, and says mentions of Indigenous people and history appear as an afterthought.