From Taking Ownership to Decolonization - Looking Back Over Five Decades of Indigenous Post-secondary Education in Quebec

Oct 15, 2026

The article traces changes in Indigenous post-secondary education in Quebec over five decades, beginning soon after the landmark 1972 policy paper “Indian Control of Indian Education.” It links expanding Indigenous demand for post-secondary graduates to tailored programs and services, including the UQAC “Amerindianization” initiative (1971) and the founding of Manitou College (1973). It analyzes student trajectories shaped by identity, systemic racism, and discrimination, and concludes with the roles of universities and CEGEPs in decolonizing and democratizing education despite persistent barriers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Indigenous post-secondary education developments (1971–1973 milestones)

Programs and services changes (1972–2021)

Student experiences: identity, systemic racism, discrimination

Barriers and institutional efforts

Role of universities and CEGEPs in decolonizing and democratizing education

From Taking Ownership to Decolonization: Looking Back Over Five Decades of Indigenous Post-secondary Education in Quebec Jean-Luc Ratel Université du Québec à Montréal Marco Bacon Université du Québec à Montréal Annie Pilote Université Laval Note: This is an English translation of the original, which appears after the endnotes. Abstract In the early days soon after the release of the landmark policy paper Indian Control of Indian Education (1972), postsecondary studies among Indigenous people in Quebec were still new and relatively unknown. Against a backdrop of Indigenous communities starting to take ownership of their own services, the demand for postsecondary Indigenous graduates began to increase significantly, resulting in the development of tailored programs and services: theAmerindianization program led by UQAC in 1971 and the founding of Manitou College in 1973, for example, stand out as two major milestones. The distinctive linguistic reality of Quebec moreover soon became apparent, adding to the initial bilingual dimension (moving from an Indigenous language to an non-Indigenous one) the duality of a francophone and anglophone education system rooted in colonial history. Drawing on a review of literature on postsecondary Indigenous education in Quebec from 1972 to 2021, our analysis in the present article is framed around the changes that took place over these past five decades in programs and services provided by postsecondary institutions. Also discussed are issues involving Indigenous student paths marked by identity, systemic rac-ism and discrimination. We note that in spite of sustained efforts by an increasing number of institutions, Indigenous people still face enduring barriers. We conclude with some thoughts on the university and the CEGEP as postsecondary institutions, their development model and their role in decolonizing and democratizing education. Keywords: Indigenous, higher education, student services, study programs, Quebec Résumé À l’aube de la parution de la Maîtrise indienne de l’éducation indienne (1972), la poursuite d’études postsecondaires chez les Autochtones du Québec demeurait un phénomène encore récent et méconnu. Dans le contexte de prise en charge par les communautés autochtones de leurs propres services, la demande en diplômés autochtones postsecondaires s’est nette-ment accrue et a donné lieu à des programmes et services destinés spécifiquement aux Autochtones. On pense notamment au projet d’« amérindianisation » de l’éducation à l’UQAC en 1971, et à la création du Collège Manitou, en 1973, comme tournants. La spécificité linguistique québécoise s’est d’ailleurs tôt fait sentir, ajoutant à la dimension bilingue initiale (avec le passage d’une langue autochtone à une langue allochtone) celle propre à la dualité linguistique francophone et anglophoned’un système d’enseignement issu de l’histoire coloniale. Cet article s’appuie sur une recension des écrits concernant l’éducation postsecondaire autochtone au Québec de 1972 à 2021. Nous articulons notre analyse autour des changements qui se sont opérés au fil des dernières décennies concernant les programmes destinés aux Autochtones, les services offerts par les établissements, ainsi que les enjeux impliquant les parcours des étudiants autour de l’identité autochtone, du racisme systémique et de la discrimination. Nous constatons qu’endépit des efforts soutenus d’un nombre croissant d’établissements, les Autochtones connaissent des entraves à la poursuited’études postsecondaires encore bien présentes. Nous concluons avec une réflexion sur l’université et le cégep comme institutions, leur modèle de développement et leur rôle dans la décolonisation de l’éducation et la démocratisation scolaire. Mots-clés : autochtone, enseignement supérieur, services aux étudiants, programmes d’études, Québec Canadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 51:3 (2021) Introduction In the wake o

FAQs

What major milestones shaped Indigenous post-secondary education in Quebec in the early 1970s?

The article highlights the UQAC “Amerindianization” program (1971) and the founding of Manitou College (1973) as major milestones in building tailored programs and services.

How does the article frame changes in Indigenous post-secondary programs and services over time?

It uses a literature review covering 1972 to 2021 and organizes the analysis around developments in programs and services offered by post-secondary institutions.

What barriers to post-secondary education do Indigenous people continue to face?

Despite sustained efforts by an increasing number of institutions, the article concludes that Indigenous people still encounter enduring barriers, particularly affecting students’ paths through identity-related and systemic discrimination dynamics.

Oct 15, 2026

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