Dear [student],
The issues you’ve brought up are incredibly disconcerting. As some of the most influential figures in the lives of young people, teachers have the responsibility and obligation to make sure that their students are being taught the right material. Treaty education is an incredibly important topic that needs to reach all students, irregardless of whether they’re Indigenous or not.
All Canadian students, including white people and all non-Indigenous cultural groups, need to learn about the treaties and the history behind them. It is vital to our society that the next generation has a solid understanding of the mistakes of the past and what is being done to make amends. Claire, a teacher featured in a video I’ll link for you at the bottom of this response, states to her class that it is imperative that all students know about the struggles faced by Indigenous students. By learning vital information about Indigenous peoples, students are able to learn to avoid offending Indigenous people in “subtle and unsubtle ways” such as by assuming they are part of another culture. Even if there is a lack of Indigenous students in the class or even in the school, all students still need to learn this material to gain a deep understanding and appreciation for the Indigenous peoples of Canada and their history.
As Cynthia Chambers discusses in her writing “We Are All Treaty People”, which I will also link for you, all Canadians are “treaty people”. What she means by this is that irregardless of whether a Canadian is European in origin or Indigenous or another ethnicity entirely, all Canadians are subject to the treaties. The treaties apply to all Canadians, not just Indigenous peoples, and as a result, all Canadians can be classified as treat people. This is yet another insight into why all students should be taught about the treaties irregardless of their ethnic background.
I hope you found this informative! I have linked my sources for you to take a look at if you would like:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RpFQAVShNlNLA9u6aXv7udGnzTGk5LNN/view
Best regards,
Amir Said
Hi Amir,
I love your response to this student it is very supportive an informative!I agree so strongly that it is the responsibility of all teachers to teach about indigenous history and the true history of Canada. In order for all Canadians to get along and work together we need to understand each other and how the history of our country effects all the people who take part in the society we live in and how our understanding of that society operates.
The only thing I would perhaps add to your response is the distinction that all Canadians are subject to the treaties because the treaties are an agreement between the people of Canada and the First Nations people who originally occupied this land. Anyone who is born or signs the papers to become a Canadian citizen is a part of those agreements. These agreements are living documents and it is all of our jobs to engage in the interpretation and crafting of these documents and agreements into the future. These documents apply to all of us and it is our job as citizens to shape how they will change and live on in the future.