The Alberta government is awarding grants to support the mental health and learning needs of First Nations students in reserve schools.
A total of $4.6 million in funding will be distributed among 27 First Nations, including the Siksika Board of Education, to enhance classroom supports and improve access to mental health resources for kindergarten to Grade 12 students during the 2025-26 school year.
The funding is a part of the province's effort to address long-standing mental health and educational disparities among Indigenous youth.
According to a Health Canada evaluation of the First Nations and Inuit Mental Health and Addictions Cluster (2005 to 2010), suicide rates among First Nations youth living on reserve are estimated to be five to seven times greater than those of their non-Indigenous counterparts in Canada.
Educational outcomes for Indigenous youth continue to lag. A Statistics Canada study for the 2015-16 school year found that 63 per cent of all First Nations youth had completed high school, compared to 91 per cent of non-Indigenous youth. The study added that 46 per cent of First Nations youth living on reserve completed high school, compared to 73 per cent living off reserve.
More recent provincial data reflects a similar trend. According to an Alberta Education annual report for the 2021-22 school year, the three-year high school completion rate for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit students was approximately 60 per cent.
In addition to the $4.6 million in grants for reserve schools, the province is allocating nearly $94 million through Budget 2025 to support First Nations, Metis, and Inuit students attending public school boards during the 2025-26 school year.