Voluntary Indigenous
Self-Identification

WHY SELF-IDENTIFY WITH THE YCDSB?

BENEFITS OF SELF-IDENTIFICATION

York Catholic District School Board is committed to putting programming into place which honours the experiences, history, spirituality and contributions of Indigenous People. It is our firm belief that all students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, benefit from such awareness and knowledge.

It is our call and duty as a Christ-centred community of learners to do all we can to meet the needs of all students in our care. With this in mind, the York Catholic District School Board is committed to providing supports to ensure that students of Indigenous ancestry are successful.

This voluntary process provides an opportunity for those of Indigenous ancestry - First Nation, Métis or Inuit - to identify their ancestry to the York Catholic District School Board.

Students benefit from learning about Indigenous perspectives via:

Courses that embed and celebrate Indigenous voices
Culturally specific learning opportunities and activities
Additional supports for academic achievement and well-being
Supports for transitions to post-secondary education
And other opportunities based on student self-identification information

WHAT DOES THE PROCESS OF SELF-IDENTIFICATION INVOLVE?

The process of self-identification began within the York Catholic District School Board in Spring 2009. Students Indigenous ancestry are able to self-identify. Indigenous self-identification can be completed below through this website using the form at the bottom of this page.

Parents will be asked the following question: Do you consider yourself or your child to be of Indigenous Ancestry? You do not need to provide proof or have formal Indigenous identification. Once you have self-identified, the system will ask for you to identify one of the following Indigenous Ancestry:

First Nation
Métis
Inuit

The Indigenous Education Department will then collect your child's school, name and grade level.

WHO WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE DATA?

Personal Information is collected pursuant to the Ontario Ministry of Education First Nation, Métis and Inuit Policy Framework (2007)
The data collected will be securely stored and will be used only to determine programming and support for students of Indigenous ancestry. It will inform the Board if the strategies that have been implemented to support students of Indigenous ancestry are resulting in improved student learning.
The information will be honoured and treated in the same manner as Ontario Student Records (OSR) and protected and governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection Privacy Act.
Personal information will not be shared publicly

REMOVAL OF IDENTIFICATION

Parents/guardians of students under the age of 18, students 18 years of age and older, and students who are 16 or 17 years of age and are withdrawn from parental control shall be entitled to remove the identification at any time, upon written request to the YCDSB Indigenous Education Department.

YORK CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD INDIGENOUS SELF-IDENTIFICATION DIGITAL FORM

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