Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada and the impact of the past on present and the future. Educators contribute towards truth, reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis.
Country-wide conversations of reconciliation and its implementation in the current curriculum has created a stronger foundation for First Nations culture to be taught throughout Canada. However, the ongoing process of reconciliation needs to be encouraged and further developed within all aspects of our communities, including our classrooms. As a Metis woman, I continually look for ways to further my own cultural understanding and how to successfully incorporate Indigenous history and culture in my own teachings. I think it is important that all educators work towards adopting a progressive cultural lens to successfully introduce components of First Nations culture in their lessons.
During my final 10-week practicum I worked to co-create a Social Studies unit centered on Indigenous culture. My students had recently learned about Canada, which provided them with a solid background understanding to engage with Indigenous centered content. I spoke with my school’s Aboriginal Education Worker, Mrs. B, to help with my endeavors to teach my class about aspects of First Nations culture. It was then decided that Mrs. B would come into the classroom on Monday afternoons and teach the students about the 7 Sacred Teachings and the importance of this in her culture of the Secwepemc peoples. Following each of Mrs. B’s teachings, I created extension lessons that aimed to further student understanding of a given topic and more insight to other Indigenous groups throughout Canada. The teachings from Mrs. B were very powerful as it provided students the opportunity to learn from someone deeply connected to their culture and engage in meaningful discussions and develop deeper understanding surrounding this topic as well as how it relates to them in their own lives. The extension lessons that I created, with the help and guidance from Mrs. B, helped to further student understanding of the diverse cultural groups of Indigenous peoples across Canada while also taking time to notice the similarities amongst us all as human beings.
I feel so grateful that I was able to work and collaborate with Mrs. B in order to create authentic, respectful, and enriching learning opportunities for my students. I have gained so much knowledge from this experience, and I hope to continue building relationships such as this to help enhance learning for other classes I teach. It is through education that we can all begin paving the road to reconciliation, and in doing so we help to create a society built on inclusivity, understanding, respect, and harmony.
