Journey to Reconciliation – From ECS 101 :
When contemplating what topic I wanted my Journey to Reconciliation paper to be on, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the Residential schools and how it has so drastically affected the Indigenous culture. Throughout my first few months of university, this topic is something I’ve learned a great deal about, and my knowledge has been expanded beyond anything I knew before. That being said, I created the following picture to help illustrate my feelings on it. I wanted to create something that represents where the two sides of this significant cultural shift have collided. I wanted to show the emotion and trauma the Residential schools have caused the Indigenous culture. On the left side, you can see a girl who is in her Residential school uniform; she is crying and sad. This side of the image is colourless and dull. The other half is the same girl in her cultural identity; she is smiling, happy, and full of colour. I purposely made this side in colour versus no colour to emphasize the difference in cultural identities that are at war within the Indigenous nations. The vibrant and alive culture and traditions of the Indigenous peoples versus the trauma and pain that was afflicted on them in the forced attempt to drive that culture out of them, in the end, all it did was leave the survivors lifeless and dead inside. I think this aesthetic piece ties with what I’ve been talking about throughout this paper.
Research Paper – From INDG 100:
Researching this topic known as Residential Schools makes one feel sick in anguish for the Indigenous peoples, it is hard to believe the Indigenous peoples were forced into this and had no choice in partaking in these schools. The amount of trauma it has caused generations of families is absolutely heart wrenching to read about. The more research that is completed, the more unbelievable it seems to get. The data proves that Residential schools have caused catastrophic health problems to not only the students of the schools but to the generations who follow after them as well. It hurts to see our government acted in such ignorance and had a massive role to play in this travesty. The problem has been compounded by the fact they still have done very little to compensate for the tragic events. It hurts to know people are suffering, hurting and contemplating ending their life due to the pain they feel from the schools. The Residential schools were just this year recognized as a National Historic Event in history. It took from the year the last one closed in 1996 until 2020 for this horrible time in our national history to be recognized for what it is. The burden of pain the Residential School survivors feel today and they continue to endure the agony of having to deal with health issues due to the government’s idiotic decision to try and assimilate a culture. The Indigenous peoples need help, and clearly, the government is not willing to help in a meaningful way. In conclusion, the research conducted from the 4 articles reviewed for this paper clearly proves that the trauma related to theResidential schools have caused a multitude of health and mental health problems to the survivors, to the Indigenous peoples as a whole and to the generations who have followed.
Reflection Paper – ECS 101:
Focus Question 3: Indigenization Core Questions: I’m from a small town with about 6000 people. Near my town, we had one central First Nations reserve. However, we didn’t have many Indigenous students at my school. The first time I recall learning about the Indigenous peoples and their culture was probably not until grade 8 or 9. I knew a small amount of knowledge previously, for example, that the Indigenous peoples were the first people on the land, and I knew a small amount of experience about the Residential schools. In grade 8 or 9, I learned more about how the government governed the Residential schools, and I learned more about Indigenous culture. However, it was not until I was in grade 12 until I took Native studies that I learned the bulk of my knowledge; I knew about the trauma the Residential schools and government have caused the Indigenous peoples and intergenerational trauma. I think the reason I had a lack of Indigenous knowledge was because of the lack of Indigenous students. It wasn’t till I was in grade 11 that the school acknowledged every morning what treaty land we were on. And my high school has been opened for about 50 years. So for 48 of those years, it was never acknowledged. In my group discussion, we talked on the topic of the Indigenous population in our schools affected the knowledge we learned on the culture. A couple of people said they had little to no Indigenous population and little to no experience till they were in University. And some said they had a large number of the Indigenous community and did learn a lot about the culture. I think it also depends on the teacher as well. I learned a lot more about Canadian history and European history than ever learning about the Indigenous culture, which, in my opinion, is a huge part of Canada’s history. Throughout my university career, I have learned an abundance of new information about the indigenous culture than ever before. I am currently in INDG 100, where instead of it being a lecture, it’s more a discussion where all options and questions get voiced. The new understanding that I’ve learned is reconciliation; I had never heard of it before INDG 100 and this class. And after reading through the book we got sent, I have new knowledge. For my call to action, I would say that education is the uttermost important key element to end all types of racism, stereotyping, etc. Knowledge is also the simplest way to curing the hate towards the Indigenous peoples.
Reflection Paper – KHS 139:
Overall this course has taught me an abundance of key elements I will take with me in my teaching career. From the lesson planning to understand that every child has the ability to perform movements to their own capability. It’s really interesting to learn the depth of some subjects related to early learners gym class. And me being a future teacher, teaching the young students I am the start of them developing a healthy relationship with the gym, their body, and their mindset towards sports, movement and some games. It’s really important to understand everyone is different and to not single anyone out and give constructive criticism where it’s needed. And being at the forefront of these children’s physical health. The National Ballet School Introduction to Creative Movement course was a real eye-opener for not only me but for many of my classmates as well. It really showed me how to be a better teacher not only in the gym but in other classes I will teach as well. I can’t wait till I get to use this course in the future to teach a class of my own one day.