How can we, as educators, honour survivors' stories and carry forward the process of reconciliation?
Introduction:
The question of how educators can help move the process of reconciliation forward is of utmost importance. Canada has an extremely difficult past in its treatment of Indigenous peoples with continual consequences today. It is the responsibility of everyone to work towards reconciliation. Educators, in particular, play an important role in this process since they are in the position of being able to include reconciliation within the educational system. This idea reflects Starleigh Grass’ vision of reconciliation including teachers recognizing students as “the next generation who represent the link between the past and the future” (Grass, 2015).
Summary:
To quote Murray Sinclair, “It was the educational system that has contributed to this problem in this country, and it is the educational system, we believe, that’s going to help us to get away from this” (Sinclair, 2020). Teachers can work towards reconciliation in multiple ways, including by upholding the 62nd and 63rd Calls to Action as proposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Act, actively seeking opportunities for on-going professional learning, incorporating resources into their classrooms that celebrate indigenous peoples' work, and by exploring historical perspective when teaching social studies related to colonization.
It is especially important for educators to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Act's Calls to Action, specifically Calls #62 and #63, since they are able to incorporate elements of reconciliation in their classrooms. The 62nd call to action is for educators to “make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students” (TRCC, 2015). Though this is made possible through policy and legislation, teachers are in the unique position of being able to both incorporate Indigenous peoples’ knowledge into their classrooms and to continually advocate for its implementation.
The 63rd call to action is divided into 4 parts, all being particularly important for educators to work towards. The first part of the 63rd call to action calls for “developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools”. The second part calls for “sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history” (TRCC, 2015). Again, educators can work towards these first two parts by carefully incorporating Indigenous peoples’ knowledge into their classrooms and to continually advocate for its implementation.
The third part of the 63rd call to action calls for “building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect”. This can be done both by incorporating resources into their classrooms that celebrate indigenous peoples' work and by exploring historical perspective when teaching social studies related to colonization. Lastly, the fourth part of this call to action calls for “identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above”(TRCC, 2015). This can be done by educators actively seeking opportunities for on-going professional learning related to Canadian Indigenous knowledge and history. In order for educators to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Act's 62nd and 63rd Calls to Action, it is crucial for them to actively seek opportunities for on-going professional learning, incorporate resources into their classrooms that celebrate indigenous peoples' work, and to explore historical perspective when teaching social studies related to colonization.
On-going Professional Learning:
In order for educators to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Act's 62nd and 63rd Calls to Action and to therefore to carry forward the process of reconciliation, it is important to actively seek opportunities for on-going professional learning. This could largely be done by educators seeking out OTF collaboration and consultation relating to expanding teaching and learning about Indigenous peoples. The OTF website provides educators with several resources for facilitating this process, including resources, webinars, and Teacher Learning Co-ops related to learning more about Indigenous education (OTF, 2020).
Marie Battiste reminds us that a central part of reconciliation within teacher education is to sensitize a “Eurocentric consciousness in general, and educators in particular to the colonial and neo-colonial practices that continue to marginalized and racialized Indigenous students” (Christou, 2019). In order for Canadian educators to help reconcile Canada's difficult past, we must make a commitment to ongoing professional learning within ourselves.
Incorporating Indigenous Resources into the Curriculum: In order for teachers to honour survivors' stories and to carry forward the process of reconciliation, it is crucial for us to incorporate indigenous resources that celebrate indigenous peoples' work. This includes the incorporation of Canadian Indigenous authors, artists, and activists. This could be done by seeking out student-level Indigenous peoples’ books, videos, and other forms of art. This could also be done by educators incorporating Indigenous peoples’ educational activities in their classrooms. Teachers may also explore such resources on the OTF website (OTF, 2020).
By incorporating Indigenous resources into the curriculum, educators are addressing Starleigh Grass’ vision of reconciliation through the ‘respectful representation of aboriginal people within the education system’ (Grass, 2015). Grass emphasizes the importance of this implementation by stating the importance to celebrate and honour the strengths of aboriginal people. As also mentioned by grass, educators can also help work towards reconciliation by incorporating the First people’s principles of learning (Grass, 2015).
Historical Perspectives:
Especially when teaching Canadian Indigenous histories, It is important for educators to honour survivors' stories and carry forward the process of reconciliation by including Indigenous peoples’ voices in their lessons, including testimonials from residential school survivors. This could be done by teachers by inviting elders to speak to their class. In doing this, educators will be able to further contribute to Starleigh Grass’ vision of reconciliation by ‘highlighting the strengths of survivors (Grass, 2015). Testimonials of residential school survivors can be found on the “Where are the Children” website.
Teachers can also explore historical perspectives through oral history education. This type of education can ‘provide a pedagogical site for teachers and students to challenge grand narratives that are still reproduced through the disciplinary techniques for doing history’ (Ng-A-Fook, 2017). Doing this affords teachers and students opportunities to see beyond the historical “events” that history curricula often still privilege (Ng-A-Fook, 2017).
Conclusion:
There are many ways for educators to honour survivors' stories and carry forward the process of reconciliation. In doing so, it is important for educators to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Act's Calls to Action, specifically Calls #62 and #63, since they are in a unique position of being able to incorporate elements of reconciliation within their classrooms. It is also important for educators to actively seek opportunities for on-going professional learning. This can in part be done through collaboration and consultation with OTF resources. It is crucial for educators to incorporate indigenous resources into their classrooms that celebrate indigenous peoples' work. It is also crucial that educators incorporate historical perspectives into the learning process. This could be done by including Indigenous peoples’ voices in their lessons.
References:
Christou, T. M. (2019). The curriculum history of Canadian teacher education. New York: Routledge.
First Nations Education Steering Committee, (2020). First Peoples’ Principles of Learning. Legacy Of Hope Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PUB-LFP-POSTER-Principles-of-Learning-First-Peoples-poster-11x17.pdf.
Grass, Starleigh, (2015). Reconciliation and Education: TEDx West Vancouver; ED. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu0aIw1vdiE.
Indigenous Foundations, (2020). First Nations & Indigenous Studies: The University of British Columbia. Retrieved from: https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/.
Ng-A-Fook, Nicholas, (2017). Reconceptualising Teacher Education at the University of Ottawa. Chapter 4: Doing Oral History Education Toward Reconciliation. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/32482480/Doing_Oral_History_Education_Toward_Reconciliation.
Ng-A-Fook, Nicholas, (2017). Reconceptualising Teacher Education at the University of Ottawa. Chapter 9: Reconciling 170 Years of Settler Curriculum Policies: Teacher Education in Ontario. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/34303229/Reconciling_170_Years_of_Settler_Curriculum_Policies_Teacher_Education_in_OntaReconciling 170 Years of Settler Curriculum Policies: Teacher Education in Ontario.
Ontario Teachers’ Federation (2020). Indigenous Education: Learning. Retrieved from https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/indigenous-education/.
Ontario Teachers’ Federation (2020). Useful Links for Indigenous Education: Learning. Retrieved from https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/resources/useful-links/indigenous-education/.
Sinclair, Murray, (2020).What Is Reconciliation. Trc. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/25389165.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). Calls to Action. Retrieved from: http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf.
Where are the Children (2020). Residential School Survivor Stories: Legacy Of Hope Foundation. Retrieved from: http://wherearethechildren.ca/en/stories/.