When it comes to Treaty Education, unfortunately it is not often seen as being very important in terms of the incorporation of it in the classroom. This has been the case for a while now, being that Indigenous ways of knowing are often ignored or forgotten. Although, as we progress in education, we do see many improvements when it comes to Treaty Education. Within the readings and viewings, we can understand just how important it is to include these topics and forms of knowledge. This inclusion of Treaty Education and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) Content and Perspectives is necessary as a way of honouring the treaties today. In my past experiences in elementary and high school, there was often some kind of incorporation of Treaty Education, but the purposes of this were unclear to us at the time. We very rarely did a territorial acknowledgement, but if it was ever done, not many students knew the importance of it because it was just stated without any background information. The recognition of treaty territory and territorial acknowledgement is important not only for Indigenous people, but also for all of us who are settlers. This is why we, as educators, must make it a priority to efficiently deliver Treaty Education and Indigenous perspectives to all of our students.

This topic can be hard to approach, but the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed or FNMI Content and Perspectives where there are few or no First Nations, Metis, Inuit peoples is important to recognize if you are having a difficult time addressing this with students. In the video, “On What Terms Can We Speak” by Dwayne Donald, he describes how the situation we are in now should involve educators teaching Indigenous perspectives, but he states that teachers “are in a situation where they really don’t know anything about them” (Donald, 2010). This is only a small part of the problem seen today when it comes to Treaty Education. Donald also mentions how people rarely ever know what traditional territory they are on, which just emphasizes why there is the need to include these topics for the development of a better understanding. He says that there are still people who believe that Indignenous people need to “just get over it.” With this being said, there is also the “idea that aboriginal students don’t do very well in school because of culture” (Donald, 2010). This is because their success rates are often based on their culture. In the video, “ECS 210 8.2 – Claire Intro” by Claire Kreuger, she makes a similar point and says that “we need to stop making racism and colonialism our underlying curriculum” (Kreuger, 2017). It is as if there is the inability to comprehend Indigenous issues today. Upon understanding all of these problems that still exist in society today, Indigenous perspectives are seen as a curricular and pedagogical imperative. In this sense, it is important for non-Indigenous students to be aware of their position within it all as well. As explained by Kreuger, a majority of her students are white, so many educators took this as a way of avoiding Treaty Education because they didn’t see it as necessary if there were little to no Indigenous students, which is similar to what you are experiencing. I agree with Kruger, as she takes this situation of few to no Indigenous students as one that needs more effort into the cultural programming, teaching histories, and building relationships. With most of her students being settlers, they know very little about the concepts of Treaty Education, like your students. The Indigenous students are the ones who already have knowledge about their culture, so it becomes important for non-Indigenous students to understand this as well. This is something that you must do with great amounts of enthusiasm and detail to ensure students understand. This is the only way that we can see Indigenous peoples relations with non-Indigenous peoples progressing as we go forward, like Donald mentioned.

In terms of what it means for my understanding of curriculum that “we are all treaty people,” I see this phrase as holding a lot of importance. This statement is something that I have heard often in the past few years and it makes it clear that Treaty Education is not only important for Indigenous students, but it is important for everyone. It shows that we all have treaty rights and responsibilities which is what you need to introduce to your students. They must become aware of the role that they play in working towards a better future. It is important that you and I take the responsibility of understanding all aspects of Canada’s history so that as educators, we can continue to educate people on this topic. In regards to the curriculum, we cannot skip over the aspects that tend to Indigenous perspectives because instead, we must dive deep into it, no matter the cultural background of our students. In your situation, it is also important to help fellow educators understand the concept that “we are all treaty people” if they might have the wrong ideas to begin with. In the reading “We Are All Treaty People: The Contemporary Countenance of Canadian Curriculum Studies” by Cynthia Chambers, she states that “the treaties are a story we share” (Chambers, p. 29). I find this idea to be a good way of showing students how history and Treaty Education is important for us all to be aware of, being that it is something we share. Chambers mentions how we must listen to each other’s stories and learn from each other’s experiences to not lose the importance of concepts that are a part of Treaty Education. This is not only the history of Indigenous peoples, it is the history of all of us.

References:

Chambers, C. “We Are All Treaty People”: The Contemporary Countenance of Canadian Curriculum Studies, pp. 23-38, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RpFQAVShNlNLA9u6aXv7udGnzTGk5LNN/view

Claire Kreuger. (2017). ECS 210 8.2 – Claire Intro. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWY_X-ikmaw

Dwayne Donald. (2010, September 24). On What Terms Can We Speak? [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/15264558