Indspire is undertaking a number of existing and future activities in response to the calls to action presented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in its report released in June.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the third annual National Gathering for Indigenous Education, hosted by Indspire in Calgary, November 13-14, 2015.

Through its K-12 Indspire Institute, Indspire is developing a number of new programs that address the TRC's call for Indigenous control of Indigenous education. One of these new programs is a series of 1, 3, and 5 day workshops about residential schools for teachers, child welfare workers, and others. The goal, as outlined in the TRC report, is to ensure that professionals who work with Indigenous youth are "properly educated and trained about the history of residential schools" and the impact on Indigenous youth today.

Currently, the K-12 Indspire Institute provides Indigenous educators with invaluable resources, including lesson plans developed by Indigenous educators, and professional development programs, such as peer-to-peer mentorship. Through its Nurturing Capacity program, Indspire supports communities to improve educational outcomes through the documentation and evaluation of their innovative practices. Through its Realizing Projects, Indspire works directly with Indigenous communities who want to design their own systems to enhance student success rates. Also, Indspire evaluates and shares proven educational practices with its national network of Indigenous education stakeholders.

Indspire also supports the TRC's call to ensure "adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education" through its Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards program. The primary goal of this program is to ensure that financial resources are not a barrier for Indigenous students to reach their full potential, but Indspire also aims to increase Indigenous representation in fields such as journalism, law, business, health care, and more. The success of this program is evident in a report released earlier this year, which indicates that 93% of students who received funding support from Indspire have graduated. In 2014-2015, Indspire provided financial support to 189 law students, 493 business students, and 613 students in nursing, medicine, and dentistry, to name a few.

"We are proud of the concrete steps we have taken to affect real change in the lives of Indigenous students," said Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO of Indspire. "Indspire's programs work because they are developed at the community level in collaboration with Indigenous educators, scholars, and community leaders. And they are made possible through the contributions of our partners and sponsors, who so generously support our work as Canada's premier national Indigenous charity."

The National Gathering for Indigenous Education is an annual conference for educators and others who work with Indigenous students to improve educational outcomes. Attendees share best practices and collaborate to translate theory into workable strategies.