There is little doubt about the significance of functional literacy in the lives of Aboriginal Canadians. It is not simply a question of acquiring essential social and survival skills or of opening gateways to the broader vistas of enrichment provided by adult education opportunities to those newly literate. The opportunities that any literate society can pursue are exponential when compared to those where illiteracy flourishes. Foremost among these opportunities is the ability to participate more actively in a democratic society, where the ability to make one’s mark does not refer to an "X" in lieu of a signature. The primary objective in encouraging a functionally literate Aboriginal community in Canada is to create a democratic society where literacy is the key that opens the gateway to participation.

Within the sensitive arena of Aboriginal adult education few issues elicit as much controversy as literacy and the language in which it is acquired. Depending on the definition and the definer, an identical word, literacy, can represent, simultaneously, two value orientations and two methodologies producing two outcomes that are, frequently, in conflict. Without too stark a contradistinction, our research has determined that there are two schools of thought respecting the language of Aboriginal adult learning. The predominant orientation suggests that Aboriginal learners acquire functional literacy skills (reading, writing and numeracy) in the mainstream or dominant language, thereby dramatically improving both their economic and social prospects — although, some would argue, threatening the fragile cultural referents to their community.

Others argue that literacy must be an extension of the cultural values inculcated within each individual thereby demanding that one become literate within the parameters of one’s cultural experience. In other words developing, first and foremost, a facility in the reading and writing of one’s ancestral mother tongue, even if this sustains a continued isolation from the economic mainstream.

It was never the intention of this narrative research and analysis to support or advocate either approach. What has become abundantly clear, however, is that regardless of the language of instruction, be it Ojibway, Mi’kmaq or English, a familiar and culturally-relevant learning environment is the most significant factor in determining the longevity of the learning experience and the persistence of the learner as he/she pursues new horizons. Those programs that utilize a mainstream curriculum significantly enhanced by culturally-relevant materials both challenge the learner and speak directly to the personal history of the learner and her relationship to the community — both current and ancestral. Bluntly put, a learning environment that challenges and contradicts the negative, foreign and soul-numbing history of previous "education" experiences encourages the learner to overcome reluctance and suspicion and to flourish.