Month: November 2021

My schooling revolved around a small-town farming lifestyle. It was a predominately white community and our education exemplified that perspective. We never were taught any other viewpoint but this except in the optional class of Native Studies 10. University has opened my eyes to so many more worldviews and multicultural education and how to implement all views in the classroom. To work against the biases my education taught me, I will continue to learn with my classes through the experiences of others and always inviting others to share the way they see/interpret things. Whether I’m teaching in a predominately white school or a school of predominately students of colour, I intend to make all truths heard, explored and matter. Even though my own education was biased by only showing one story, I will work against this by never ceasing educating myself and my students on all the diverse stories in the community, province, country, and world.

Before I came to university, I had never heard the term treaty people. As a white settler I never would have thought that I was a treaty person. We, as Canadians, are all treaty people. Being a treaty person means a commitment to each other, both the indigenous and settler/immigrant sides of the treaty relationship. As a teacher, we can use treaty education to ensure our students understand their responsibilities as a treaty person. As Claire said in her introduction, it is our duty to teach our students the “benefits and responsibilities of sharing this land and honouring its long history”. When you look at teachers who believe there is no point in teaching treaty ed to a student body with not many Indigenous students in it, you can see that they aren’t understanding that as Canadians we are all treaty people, and treaty education and FNMI content is essential to this relationship. Treaty and FNMI education/content is something that many Indigenous students may already be aware of or know some of the perspectives without it being taught in school, non-indigenous students would most-likely not. Which is why treaty ed is even more important to be taught to a group of mostly non-indigenous students. We all need to learn to value the vast history and perspectives that make up this country. We need to learn from it, not only to learn from the past, but to make the future of Canada an equal and fulfilling place for both sides of the treaty relationship. This we can not do, without the right education for our upcoming generations of treaty people.