In class, we received a text book called “Truth and Reconciliation: What is it About?”. In the text book, we were given honest accounts about Residential Schools from Indigenous children’s point of view. It was very impactful to hear what some of the children had to say and it created a sense of urgency within me to do something about it. The Indigenous People have endured many years of trauma and are unfortunately still suffering from it today. Their trauma has been passed from generation to generation, which is called intergenerational trauma. Unfortunately, this trauma is affecting the Indigenous children of our communities and their motivation to attend school, as well as their lives at home. It is our job as educators to make sure that we educate all children about residential schools. It is important that we do this so that we can learn from it and ensure it never happens again. Everyone deserves to feel loved, respected, included, and valued by the people who surround them.
I chose to do a drawing because I love to draw (even though I am not very good at it), and because I also thought it would be the best way to share my thoughts. In my drawing, you can see that there is a wall dividing us from reconciliation. What is seen as dividing us consists of racism, discrimination, bullying, prejudice, and neglect. These are all things that keep us from accepting one another. In my picture, I drew three different races breaking down the wall with the same axe. This represents how we must work together in order to break down the wall that divides us. To achieve this we must accept one another for who we are as people.
Therefore, my call to action is to make sure I consistently teach my future students the importance of acceptance and kindness. I will also make sure to teach about the history of the residential school system and emphasize why it was such a terrible part of our collective history. I am determined to begin helping create peace in our communities, through education. It takes one voice to speak out and be heard, but it takes a community to make a change.
