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I am a big proponent of inviting Indigenous community members, Elders, and artists into your schools.
I am an even bigger proponent of giving fair honorariums to these folks that value their knowledges and skills, and of creating sustainable, medium to long term relationships between them and your school community.
The Ontario Arts Council gives grant money to schools wanting to partner with Indigenous artists and provides a list of local arts organizations if you do not yet have anyone in mind.
I chatted with Anishinaabe musician and media artist Melody McKiver (@m_melody) who offered the following:
I'd encourage educators to support Indigenous artists through the grant writing process.
What I learned from Melody is that teachers or others at the school assisting with the writing is crucial, as these applications can be long and onerous on the artist.
To me, working in collaboration with the artists and providing writing and editing support can be an important way to forge and sustain meaningful relationships.
The 2017 deadline was May 10, but it is never too early to start thinking about your 2018 application. Here is the link to the information!