Blog #9:
Here would be my response to this email:
Regardless of whether a classroom has Indigenous learners or not, it is crucial to integrate First Nations, Metis, and Inuit content and perspectives into every single education environment. Teachers play a massive role in shaping how students view the world. If Indigenous cultures, worldviews, and teachings are not present in the classroom, the underlying curriculum of racism and colonialism will only continue (Kruger, 2017). Instead, when effort is “put into teaching Indigenous histories, cultural programming, and relationship building even if there is a low Indigenous population” students are trained to open their ears to listen and open their hearts to care (Kruger 2017). Ultimately, once relationships are built, Canadians are properly educated, and allyship becomes the focus, the “disconnect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples” can be removed (Donald, 2010).
A resource I would recommend would be reading 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph. This novel deals with serious, emotion provoking content that could aid students in unlearning racism.
Since we are all Treaty people, the Saskatchewan curriculum should be intertwined with the past, present, and future of the Treaties – specifically Treaty land and Treaty relationships. The Treaty land is “what sustains us all: it is the true curriculum, the one that calls us to renew our relationships with one another, that calls us to renew our commitment to what we have in common, to our stake in the world and its survival, upon which our own depends,” (Chambers, 2012). Therefore, the curriculum should teach the “benefits and responsibilities that come with sharing this land” (Kruger, 2017). Additionally, since we are all Treaty people the curriculum should be made to benefit all – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – through placing importance on learning multiple histories, exploring diverse cultures, and building strong relationships with the people of the land (OTC, n.d.).
Sources
http://www.otc.ca/pages/what_is_reconciliation.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RpFQAVShNlNLA9u6aXv7udGnzTGk5LNN/view?usp=sharing
One Comment
Mya Helgason
Hi Emma, thank you for sharing this great resource with us! I enjoyed reading your post. This quote in particular is one that really stands out to me: “If Indigenous cultures, worldviews, and teachings are not present in the classroom, the underlying curriculum of racism and colonialism will only continue”. I think that this is something that all teachers should understand and incorporate into the foundations of their pedagogical practices. Thanks for sharing, Emma!