Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 18/05) - Aboriginal residents of the Northwest Territories trail non-aboriginals in basic reading skills, according to Statistics Canada.

A study released last week found 69 per cent of adult aboriginals cannot pick basic facts from a text or integrate multiple pieces of written information.

The rate is nearly double that of non-aboriginals of the Territories, which concerns Education Minister Charles Dent.

"The difference is a concern," Dent said.

Cate Sills, executive director for the non-profit NWT Literacy Council, said there are several possible reasons for the lower scores.

Some residents of the smaller communities - which are predominantly aboriginal - have little formal education, Sills said. A government initiative to increase the number of grades offered in smaller centres - a project that has lead to higher graduation rates - is also relatively new, she said.

Also, the first language of many aboriginals is not English.

Dent expects to see better scores on national reading tests in coming years. This year marked the first time aboriginals in the Territories have graduated at the same rate as non-aboriginals - about 50 per cent. While education is important, people need to be encouraged to keep reading after graduation, Sills said.

"Developing literacy skills is like a muscle," she said.

"You need to use them to stay sharp."

The government has invested in new and refurbished libraries in six smaller communities and has several programs designed to promote reading, Dent said.

"It is always our goal to fund programs to better support Northerners," he said.

It's unlikely, however, that the department could afford to place full-time adult educators in every community.

Sills said the government program to boost reading skills, known as the NWT Literacy Strategy, has had its funding cut to $1.9 million from $2.4 million.

Overall, the Territories placed in the middle on the national reading tests. Forty-five percent of residents can complete moderate to complicated reading tasks.

"This is still not a great result," said Sills. "Literacy barriers limit the opportunities for too many in the NWT."

Twenty per cent of territorial residents demonstrated advanced reading skills. Readers from Nunavut scored the lowest, although the test only evaluated reading skills in French and English.