As in other regions of the country, it has been relatively difficult to hold fast to a particular definition of ‘Aboriginal management’ in our sample of adult literacy and up-grading initiatives. In the NWT, the Friendship Centers in Yellowknife, Fort Providence, and Hay River, as well as the Native Women’s Association of the NWT are clearly Aboriginally managed organizations who run their own adult literacy and/or up-grading programs. But Aurora and Nunavut Arctic Colleges also have a territorial mandate to deliver or supervise, such programs in many communities. The Colleges themselves have a high degree of Aboriginal representation on their Boards and are responsive to requests from the communities in which they work. The extent of the Colleges’ involvement in local ABE activities varies considerably from place to place - from the establishment and operation of Adult Education Centers to a more minor role in program supervision and accreditation.

The dominant issue which emerges in both the Yukon and NWT, as elsewhere, is the struggle over resources and control of the small funds allocated to Adult Basic Education (ABE). In Whitehorse, the Ta’an have invested approximately $170,000 of Band moneys in computer equipment and software to offer the computer-directed "Pathfinders" program to their members. In Yellowknife, the programs continue to survive and grow, despite the stiff competition for students and funding dollars from other, larger institutions. Both base their success on the fact that are better placed to serve the needs and understand the particular obstacles to learning faced by an Aboriginal clientele.