ECS 210 Week 4 Blog Post
It is no question in most people’s minds that the topics raised in this week’s readings are very influential and crucial to the growth of young minds. Actually, the issues that we have brought up here are incredibly scary and could very well lead to something very bad in both Saskatchewan and Canada as a whole. When it comes to Treaty Education in school systems, I believe that it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure that these young minds are being taught all of this information just as much as it is the responsibility for the students to absorb this knowledge to its full extent. Realistically, if we aren’t going to take on these roles at this time, who will? And how long until this topic slowly diminishes into nothing and to be forgotten about. Simply put, information relating to Treaties is incredibly important for everyone to learn about, whether you are from Aboriginal descent or not.
I am a firm believer of the phrase “In order to build our future, we must learn to understand and respect the past”. I believe this quote comes into play on the topic at hand here. This is because I think our future generation of adults need to learn about Canada’s past when it comes to Indigenous matters, so they don’t make the same mistakes that we seem to be making and what amends our society has been trying to make. In the Claire video that was provided for us, she mentions that this Treaty Education is imperative to learn in every school, no matter how culturally diverse that school is. She also mentions that the young indigenous Students at her school don’t want some big apology or to have their history mentioned in their school. They just want all students to understand what they understand and to be treated fairly by everyone in any situation. Realistically, is that too much to ask of our society? By learning this information at a young age, we are able to help everyone create a safe learning environment by not offending anyone in any way. Whether they actually intended to or not. A good example of how not to do things is the High School I went to when I was young. I went to a school where there was a vast majority of Caucasian kids. I never remember learning about one thing related to Treaty Education except in my one History 10 class. That is unacceptable because I seen our school system create people who have no knowledge of Indigenous people and their history which, in turn, leans towards racism. The point is, this information needs to be taught in school, regardless if your school consists of few or no Indigenous people.
In the reading that was provided for us “We Are All Treaty People”, Cynthia Chambers firmly states that everyone in Canada are considered “Treaty People”. Simply put, whether you are of Indigenous background or not, all Canadians are subject to treaties and have been affected by these treaties in one way or another. Relationships can only be built on trust and that is rightful so. Even though these treaties have been put in place to find “middle ground” between all parties. Now, while that is true, these treaties are riddled with loopholes and ways around certain aspects that just aren’t fair to both sides. A good example of this is something that Dwayne mentioned in his video. He said that, even though he comes from a reserve, his people were “protected” by the treaties but his reserve is almost all but gone. Because of city expansion and projects around those lines, the people of his old reserve have been forced to scatter into new places. This is very unethical and just not right. This is the main reason we need Treaty Education in our schools. To educate kids on this topic so they don’t make the same mistakes we seem to make over and over again. Us as teachers have the power to make change. It’s time for us to take charge!
Cynthia Chambers “We Are All Treaty People” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RpFQAVShNlNLA9u6aXv7udGnzTGk5LNN/view
Claire Intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWY_X-ikmaw&feature=youtu.be
Donald, Dwayne- “On What Terms Can We Speak?” https://vimeo.com/15264558
Jory, thanks for your response and for using the readings to support your arguments!
I found it interesting that you stated that a goal in the classroom would be “not offending anyone in any way.” I’m wondering if you think this is something that is possible. Also, thinking back to Kumashiro’s writing about learning in uncomfortable ways, I wonder if it’s inevitable that we will “offend” some students (probably those who have traditionally been privileged) when we teach them about the colonial history of Canada. Perhaps a better goal would be to create a place where students can engage in uncomfortable learning. If this is our goal, then it’s ok if some students are sometimes offended, because that is likely a sign that they are having their commonsense understandings challenged. What do you think?