Marie Battiste facts for kids

Marie Ann Battiste is an amazing author and educator from Canada. She works as a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, helping to teach others about education.

Early Life and Learning Journey

Marie Ann Battiste was born on September 30, 1949, in Houlton, Maine. Her parents, John and Annie Battiste, were Mi'kmaq people from the Potlotek First Nation in Nova Scotia.

She finished Houlton High School in 1967. Then, she went to the University of Maine at Farmington, where she earned a teaching certificate and a science degree in 1971. She continued her studies at Harvard University, getting a master's degree in education in 1974. Later, in 1984, she earned her doctorate degree from Stanford University, focusing on how to teach and what to teach in schools.

Making a Difference in Education

After finishing her studies at the University of Maine in 1971, Marie Ann Battiste started working at the Maine Indian Education Council. There, she helped create and launch a program called Head Start for young children on three reservations and in many other communities.

For 25 years, she worked in Cape Breton with James (Sakej) Youngblood Henderson. They helped young Mi'kmaq students become teachers and lawyers, and they also worked hard to get them into universities. Because of their efforts, the number of Mi'kmaq teachers grew from just a few to sixty, and ten Mi'kmaq lawyers joined the profession where there had been none before!

Marie Ann Battiste has spent over 30 years working in Indigenous education. One of her most important contributions is helping to bring back the Mi'kmaq language in her home community of Chapel Island, Nova Scotia. She says that a conversation with her professor about the different ways to write the Mi'kmaq language sparked her interest in researching its history.

There are two main ways to write Mi'kmaq that are still used today: the Pacifique system, which is the most common, and the Francis-Smith system. The Francis-Smith system is a bit more debated because, as Battiste explains, it shows how English is now often used as a second language in many Mi'kmaq communities.

Throughout her career, Battiste taught at various schools in Nova Scotia. She also served as the Education Director and Principal on the Chapel Island reserve from 1984 to 1988. She is sometimes called a "guru" (meaning an expert or leader) in Indigenous education. She is also the academic director of the University of Saskatchewan's Indigenous education research centre. She has served on many different committees and even represented Indigenous peoples at a United Nations workshop about higher education.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Marie Ann Battiste has received many awards for her important work.

• In 2019, she was honored as an Officer of the Order of Canada, which is a very high award in Canada.
• In 2008, she received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now called the Indspire Awards) for her work in Indigenous education.
• She was named Woman of the Year in 1985 by the Sydney, Nova Scotia Professional and Business Women's Society.
• In the same year, she also received an Alumni Achievement award from the University of Maine Farmington.
• She has two special honorary doctorates: one from St. Mary's University in 1987, and another from the University of Maine, Farmington, in 1997.
• In 1992, she received the 125th Year Queen's Award for Service to the Community and the Nova Scotia Social Studies Curriculum Development Award.
• She was honored with a White Eagle Feather at the Eskasoni School Pow Wow in Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, in 1993.
• In 1995, the Mi'kmaq Grand Council honored her with an Eagle Feather on Mi'kmaq Treaty Day.
• In 2000, both Battiste and James (Sakej) Youngblood Henderson received the First Nations Publishing Award and the Saskatchewan Book Award for their book, Protecting Indigenous Knowledge.
• In 2013, she was given the Canadian Association of University Teachers Distinguished Academic Award.

Books by Marie Ann Battiste

Marie Ann Battiste has written several important books:

• Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision
• Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage: A Global Challenge
• First Nations Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds
• Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit