What are the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed (specifically) or First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) Content and Perspectives (generally) where there are few or no First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples? What does it mean for your understanding of the curriculum that “We are all treaty people”
Treaty education is still very controversial within schools today because many individuals don’t see this topic as being important. I believe that many people have these thoughts on treaty education because they aren’t properly taught or these students learn very little about these topics throughout their earlier years so they may not see the true importance of learning these topics. This negative reaction is the exact reason why these topics need to be taught in more depth and at earlier ages so students learn the importance of these topics and the history. Treaty education is meant for everyone to learn about Canadian history, students need to learn about this important topic. As a future elementary school teacher I plan on introducing this topic into my classroom in many ways; I will read books about their culture and language, develop activities, and teach their art and music.
Having an understanding of treaty education and understanding first nations peoples lives and their way of living is so important in understanding them on a deeper level. Every individual needs to know about the past to create a better future.
Hi Kelsey! I really enjoyed your blog and can connect to it in a few different ways. I believe that treaty education is very under taught in schools, especially the younger grades. As for me I did not learn much about any part of this till grade 11, where we had a “native studies” class. As I am also becoming an elementary school teacher I agree that teaching our students early will help create change in the future.!