The Importance of Treaty Education

In my opinion, the importance of teaching Treaty Education to students in a primarily heterogeneously white classroom can be boiled down to this: it is how we will rid our province of racism against Indigenous people. Donald says “Canadian Canadians (settlers who have removed themselves from their European ancestry) see themselves as having no culture.” In the meantime, Indigenous students are seen as deeply cultural, to the point that their identity is seen almost as a learning disability. Donald says that Indigenous students are more likely to struggle in school, and it is because of the culture they are carrying. If we as predominantly white teachers see ourselves as having no culture, and Indigenous people as being intensely cultural, of course we will other them! Donald asks what kind of education you would have to have to see yourself as without culture. I believe it would have to be one that normalizes your culture as the default. If you are normal, you are superior. Other cultures are offshoots of yourself who have left behind the purity of being human which you possess. If we have received this sort of education, should we not prevent our students from suffering the same?

Teaching Treaty Education and FNMI Content and Perspectives is not just about adding a new curriculum; it is about removing a faulty one. If “we are all treaty people,” our students should know and embrace that part of their identity. As Kreuger says, we cannot just present the hard facts, we need to allow students to stew and feel the implications of this knowledge. Regardless of the opinion of some teachers that this is unimportant, it is in fact deeply important, and as Capello states, “This is not going to become less important. This is only going to become more important.” Kreuger added “If you aren’t teaching Treaty Education, you aren’t doing your job” and “Every year the accountability gets more intense.” This isn’t another “Indian problem” that is going to be gotten rid of. This is an important step forward to repair the problem of colonization. The people victimized by it have never been the problem.

Sources:

Capello, M. & Kreuger, C. (2017). ECS210 8.4- Q&A . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnPl9Xfd0Bw&feature=youtu.be

Donald, D. (2011). On what terms can we speak? . Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/15264558