My essay entitled: A Journey, Not a Destination written in ECS 101 while attending The University of Regina
“The students that fill our classrooms will inherit the world from us, both the good and the bad that we have created” Ry Moran, Director NCTR (NCTR, 2016). With beginning my journey towards reconciliation upon reading these words I felt their weight. As an educator, what I teach my students has the power to impact their attitudes and decisions – the capability to change the landscape of their future’s. I have learned that in Canada’s past, this is exactly what transpired both in the residential and public schools. Lessons were taught that changed the course of our shared Canadian history forever – and not for the better. “While Indigenous children were being mistreated in residential schools being told they were heathens, savages and pagans and inferior people – that same message was being delivered to the public schools of this country” Justice Murray Sinclair, TRC Chairman (Reconciliation Education & FNUniv, module 8, slide 15). Here, I intend to explore significant entry points highlighted from researching reconciliation, which include the experience of a residential school survivor, treaty relationship and the Call to Action that I feel compelled to respond to as an educator.
Phyliss Webstad’s story behind ‘Orange Shirt Day’ is both heartbreaking and inspirational. As a six-year-old girl, Phyliss endured having her shiny new orange shirt taken upon arrival of her first day attending residential school – never to see it again (The Next Chapter, 2020). Phyliss notes in her story:
“It was a full school year that I was there. We could cry and cry — and no one would tend to us. There was no one hugging us. “There was no one telling us that it would be OK. We were just there and fed. No one to tend to our emotions or to our fears or to anything” (The Next Chapter, 2020).
Phyliss’s story really impacted me. As a mother myself (having also taken my children back to school shopping), I cannot fathom experiencing the intense pain and trauma that both Phyliss and her grandmother endured from that day on. Phyliss was forced to stay and attend residential school, stripped of her newly cherished orange shirt – intensely afraid. There was no one there to comfort her, hug her or explain to her what was happening. The experience that Phyliss had on her first day of school was horrible and not the kind of experience any child should have. “Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity to gather together in our schools and our communities to recognize residential school survivors and their experiences. . .” (Niessen, 2017, p. 107). Phyliss and her story about residential school has become one of the central elements of my aesthetic representation. The orange bow is symbolic of Phyliss’s story and the residential school students. It represents a cornerstone message of Orange Shirt Day which is that: ‘Every Child Matters’ (Orange Shirt Day). To begin in the process of reconciliation we must first acknowledge, listen and learn from the experiences of residential school survivors and their families – remembering the many lives that were taken and lost because of the residential schools.
A Wreath for Reconciliation
My aesthetic representation for the Journey to Reconciliation Assignment
Today, the city of Regina sits on Treaty 4 lands with a presence in Treaty 6. These are the territories of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda, and the homeland of the Métis/Michif Nation. Today, these lands continue to be the shared Territory of many diverse peoples from near and far. “Treaties were created with the intention to share the land equitably. Canada now controls nearly 99% of the land while Indigenous people own less than 1%” (Reconciliation Education & FNUniv, module 2, slide 19). This information clearly demonstrates an inequitable balance of shared land – indicative of broken Treaties. The Two Row Wampum Treaty is one of the oldest recognized treaty agreements (Reconciliation Education & FNUniv, module 4, slide 18). “The two purple rows symbolize two paths or two vessels traveling down the same river. One row symbolizes the Indigenous People with their laws and customs, while the other row symbolizes European laws and customs” (Reconciliation Education & FNUniv, module 4, slide 21).
“These belts are a reminder of the promises and a reminder of the relationship that first existed between first peoples and newcomers. A relationship of being equal, a nation-to-nation relationship. So, I think that’s what reconciliation is about, it’s about returning to that kind of relationship” Maurice Switzer (The Wampum Belt, 1:50).
Placed at the very top of my aesthetic piece is a representation of the Wampum Belt. It is included as an acknowledgement of traditional Indigenous lands, honouring treaty agreements and one of the very first treaties – The Two Row Wampum Treaty. This treaty signifies the original intended relationship meant to exist between Indigenous peoples and the European settlers since the beginning. Today it represents in part the work that reconciliation strives to recover: a path comprised of two different cultures maintaining in peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship with each other. Honouring treaty agreements is a central step in working towards reconciliation and renewal of this lost and original relationship.
Moving forward with reconciliation as a future educator I know that I must take steps of action which involves responding to the 94 Calls to Action created by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This work is significant in bringing healing and restoration to the many Indigenous Canadians who were deeply harmed by the residential schools. As a future educator I feel that I have a duty to respond to Call to Action #62, as follows: “Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students” (TRC, 2015, p. 11). Participating in reconciliation as an educator means ensuring that the true history of Indigenous Canadians is being instructed to my students. Educators united on this front can begin working towards decolonizing Eurocentric school curricula and instead put forward curricula constituting inclusivity – one developed for all students. Harold Johnson quoted: “You are seeing the story that you tell yourself . . . created by all of the stories that you heard” (2019, 14:12). As an educator I need to ensure that my students are hearing the right stories from me.
When considering what to create as my aesthetic representation for my journey towards reconciliation, I knew that I wanted to create something to resemble a ‘journey’. I decided to create a wreath because it is circular – housing many detailed, delicate and intricate parts. The path a circle presents in is continuous, never stopping – akin to the process of reconciliation. Reconciliation is something we all must continuously work towards, a process that we all need to partake in. “Reconciliation is a journey, not a destination. This journey will last for generations, and many things need to change along the way” Carey Newman, Artist (NCTR, 2020, 6:46). Collectively we all need to work together towards achieving reconciliation and in the process, we must conduct ourselves in love in order to survive and thrive – as indicated by the traditional Seven Grandfather Teachings (Cubello & Weber, 2012, p. 3). The abundant feathers encompassing the surface of my aesthetic piece serve to represent the many individuals comprising a community as they work together towards reconciliation. I am thankful to have heard stories from former residential school students such as Phyliss Webstad, identified misgivings resulting from broken Treaty relationships and learned about the 94 Calls to Action – ways in which our Canada can change course and bring about a process of truth and reconciliation. This journey has truly changed the story that I was seeing.