SOCIAL JUSTICE
Canada is experiencing a renaissance of Aboriginal ways of life; encouraged by foundational documents as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC): Call to Action and the Association of Canadian Deans of Education (2010): Accord on Indigenous Education. Both documents are an acknowledgement of the atrocities committed against Aboriginal peoples by the Canadian government and a plan to reinstate Aboriginal ways of life as an essential part of Canada’s national identity. Aboriginal peoples are unveiling systemic discrimination in colonized curricula and governmental institutions; the result of European settlers’ attempts to eradicate Aboriginal culture and language in favor of assimilation into a privileged notion of a “superior” culture (Battiste, 2013; St. Denis, 2007).
Today, Aboriginal peoples are taking self-deterministic stances in revitalizing, reclaiming, restoring and vetting Aboriginal sacred knowledge, by creating their own regulatory bodies (e.g. AMEC); in some cases, as with the Metis (who had not officially negotiated treaties with the governmental body of the past), are doing this without governmental assistance – harkening back to racist and discriminatory sentiment implicit in governmental implementation of the “Indian Act” of 1876 that determined governmental aid by “grades of Indian.”
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Battiste, M. (2013) Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit
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St. Denis, V. (2007). Aboriginal education and anti-racist education: Building alliances across cultural and racial
identity. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(4), 1068-1092.
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
1. Claire and Her Grandfather (Author: Name, Illustrator: Name)
"The story of Claire and her Grandfather is designed to enhance young people’s awareness of some of the many contributions and inventions by Aboriginal people”(Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, 2011)."
Online: http://empoweringthespirit.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Claire-and-her-Grandfather.pdf
Suggested Grade Levels: 2-6
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2. The Gift of the Stars (Author: Basil Johnston)
“Stems the tide of extinction of the Ojibwe language by revitalizing it in literature.”
Suggested Grade Levels: 1-3
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3. This Land Is My Land (Author: George Littlechild)
"Littlechild takes us back in time to the first meeting between his Plains Cree ancestors and the first European settlers in North America."
Suggested Grade Levels: 3-5
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4. Secret of the Dance (Authors: Andrea Spalding and Alfred Scow)
“In Canada in 1935, Aboriginal cultural practices like the Potlatch were forbidden. This is the story of a child growing up in a time when the heritage of First Nations people was sought to be destroyed.”
Suggested Grade Levels: 4-6
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​5. Blood Upon Our Land: The North West Resistance Diary of Josephine Bouvier (Author: Maxine Trottier)
“The Métis want title to their land, but the government has delayed for years. Promises are no longer enough . . . and talk of a second uprising is in the air. Thirteen-year-old Josephine finds herself torn over her feelings about the Resistance”
Suggested Grade Level: 6
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6. A Coyote Columbus Story (Author: Thomas King)
“This is a retelling of the Christopher Columbus story from a Native point of view.”
Suggested Grade Levels: Grades 4 to 8
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7. Missing Nimâmâ (Author: Melanie Florence)
“Provides an opening for parents and kids to talk about loss, tragedy, and resistance, in this case in the context of missing and murdered Aboriginal women”
Suggested Grade Levels: 4-8
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8. The Mask That Sang (Author: Susan Currie)
“Forces readers to confront the ongoing impact of the mistreatment of Canada’s aboriginal peoples, yet at the same time it offers a hopeful and positive perspective, focused on healing and the importance of embracing one’s community and culture.”
Suggested Grade Levels: 4-9
LESSON PLANS & SCHOOL RESOURCES
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The Canadian government has been slow to react in supporting Aboriginal initiatives for equality; this is evident through various social justice campaigns enacted in Canada in recent years. Some of which are:
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1. Orange Shirt Day (September 30)
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“Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis' story of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually.”
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Description: http://www.orangeshirtday.org/
Lesson Plans (Grades levels: K-12): http://www.mbteach.org/mtscms/2016/09/10/lesson-plans-and-resources-for-orange-shirt-day/
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2. Shannen’s Dream
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“Shannen Koostachin, a youth education advocate from of the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario, had a dream: safe and comfy schools and culturally based education for First Nations children and youth.Many First Nations schools receive less funding per student than provincial and territorial schools, and zero dollars for things like libraries, computers, languages or extracurricular activities. Many also do not provide a safe and appropriate learning environment.”
(First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada)
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Description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gy38grr35c
Lesson plan: Kairos Blanket Project
https: //www.kairoscanada.org/berc/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2015/12/Top-Lessons-Shannens-Dream.pdf
Book: Shannen and the Dream for a School by Janet Wilson
Study Guide: http://www.janetwilson.ca/study-guide-shannen-and-the-dream-for-a-school.html
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3. KAIROS Blanket Excercise
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“The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is an interactive learning experience that teaches the Indigenous rights history we’re rarely taught. Developed in response to the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples—which recommended education on Canadian-Indigenous history as one of the key steps to reconciliation, the Blanket Exercise covers over 500 years of history in a one and a half hour participatory workshop."
Description: https://www.kairosblanketexercise.org/about/
Lesson plans: https://www.kairosblanketexercise.org/resources/scripts/
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4. Jordan’s Principle
”Jordan’s Principle aims to make sure First Nations children can access all public services in a way that is reflective of their distinct cultural needs, takes full account of the historical disadvantage linked to colonization, and without experiencing any service denials, delays or disruptions related to their First Nations status.” (First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada).
Lesson plans and resources: https://fncaringsociety.com/jordans-principle-school-resources
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5. I Am Witness
“In a landmark ruling released on January 26, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that the Canadian government is racially discriminating against 163,000 First Nations children and their families by providing flawed and inequitable child welfare services ("FNCFS Program") and failing to implement Jordan's Principle to ensure equitable access to government services available to other children."
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Description: https://fncaringsociety.com/i-am-witness
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6. In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K to 3 Classroom
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Unit 7 offers plans for grade 2 to 3 students that discuss prejudice and discrimination using vetted Aboriginal books.
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7. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
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Description: https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1316530132377/1316530184659#un6
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Grades K to 2, Unit 6: Exploration of National Aboriginal Day, June 21st
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Grade 3, Unit 4: First Nations Communities – Reserves
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Unit 8 “The Imaginary Indian” – Demystifying stereotypes, misunderstandings and prejudices about what an “Indian” is.)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
LITERATURE​
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1. Teaching each other: Nehinuw Concepts and Indigenous Pedagogies
​This book gives teachers some suggestions to communicate with Indigenous students. It mainly introduces that being an educator accepting students' culture is a trend in education.
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Goulet, L., & Goulet, K. N. (2014). Teaching each other: Nehinuw Concepts and Indigenous Pedagogies.
Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
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2. Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives Into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities, and Challenges
The author combines theoretical analysis and practical recommendations to emphasize the need for fresh thinking and creative experimentation in developing curricula and policy. Amidst global calls to increase school success for Indigenous students, this work is a timely and valuable addition to the literature on Aboriginal education.
Kanu, Y. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives Into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities, and
Challenges.
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ARTICLES/JOURNALS
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1. Decolonizing Aboriginal Education in the 21st century
Authors give three examples of ways to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing within the 21st century framework curricula is heading toward.
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Munroe, E. A., et al. (2013). Decolonizing Aboriginal education in the 21st century. Retrieved from
http://mje.mcgill.ca/article/viewFile/8985/6878
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WEBSITES
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First Nations Education Steering Committee
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Authentic First Peoples Resources
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Alberta Regional Consortia
Empowering the Spirit
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"This website provides support for all levels within school jurisdictions to increase awareness, understanding and application of First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories, perspectives and ways of knowing for the purpose of implementing treaty and residential schools education and Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action for education."
Website: www.empoweringthespirit.ca
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Government of Canada​
The Healing Power of Cultural Identity
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