- What is 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, Inuit peoples?”
It’s important to include views of different cultures no matter what our students cultural background is. To teach Treaty Ed, and to look at stories and perspectives of Indigenous people is to teach our students about the Country they live in and that problems Indigenous people faced. As explained by Capello (2018) , to teach Treaty Ed is to change the harmful common sense ideas that Indigenous people face. To fix the story of our past and create a new generation where we can continue to work towards Truth and Reconciliation, and that begins with teaching proper Treaty Ed, and allowing many different perspectives to give to our students so that they become critical thinkers. A quote by someone unknown says “If we do not teach the past, we are bound to repeat it.”, which is also extremely important in teaching the past of Canada. Claire mentioned in her introduction that we as teachers impress ideas onto our students in “subtle and not so subtle ways”, what we teach gives our students a framework for their life and how to control the social aspect of their education.
- What does it mean for your understanding of curriculum that “We are all treaty people”?
We are all treaty people, we all live in Canada. Our ancestors or family have moved to Canada in hopes of living free of war, prejudice, misogyny and more, without the knowledge of the cultural genocide that has taken place, as Chambers says “My ancestors didn’t know the old stories, the ones that were here, in what is now Canada, before they arrived. They didn’t know and they didn’t ask”, they had no reason too as Canada held up a very pretty curtain called ‘Affordable Land’ to hide all the ugly behind it. The land we stand on has faced hardships and the people within as well. We are all witnesses to the injustice and the change that has happened for Indigenous people in Canada. We hold ourselves accountable for the actions taken and especially as educators we take this as a badge of honor with the idea that we will use our privilege (white in my case), and the power we hold to change the lives of our students as educators. In the curriculum this idea of us all being treaty people allows for conversation and accountability of our actions and others within the community.
I really enjoyed reading your response. You do a marvelous job of reflecting on the content for this week and connecting it with the questions. As educators we hold a powerful position in young, impressionable lives. We can use this position of influence to educate students of the past wrongs of Canada so they can reflect in the present and influence the future. It is vital that we teach students how to reflect on history in a meaningful way, because as you quoted, “If we do not teach the past, we are bound to repeat it.” History is a powerful subject that can be analyzed to greatly impact the future of Canada and create lasting relationships to heal and decolonize our society.