• What is the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed (specifically) or First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) Content and Perspectives (generally) where there are few or no First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples?

We must teach Treaty Education to all students, as it is a part of Canada’s history. Treaty Education has been avoided for a long time in Canadian schools. There is a lot of shame in what happened to Indigenous people when Treaties were made, and even now, we still have broken promises. If we do not learn about our history and learn from our past, we are bound to repeat it. Whether you have Indigenous students in your class or not, it is still essential to ensure we educate students on facts and reduce some of the stigmas and stereotypes that students may hear from parents or others. 

•  What does it mean for your understanding of curriculum that “We are all treaty people”?

Before I started university in Regina, I had never heard anyone say we are all Treaty people. I didn’t understand what it meant, let alone that I grew up on Treaty 6 territory. Now I know that saying we are all Treaty people means much more. We are on land that was broken up and taken from Indigenous people. Everyone has been affected by the Treaties in one way or another. I am connected to Treaty land as I live in a Treaty area. Indigenous people are Treaty people as they were also affected by Treaties being made. We all live here on this land, so we must be respectful to the land and the Indigenous people who had their entire lives uprooted and often destroyed.