Treaty Education

Tânisi Intern,

I am so sorry to hear your struggles involved with teaching Treaty Education in the classroom. Sadly, this type of outlook on teaching treaties is far too often generalized and has become normal in many schools across the country. Treaty Education is apart of the curriculum therefore it is our responsibility as teachers to be teaching our students this knowledge.

I believe that listening to others opinions on Treaty Education would be very beneficial to you. Here are two different videos by Claire and Mike that will hopefully help you to understand your situation a bit more.

Claire Introduction

Mike and Claire

Claire who is an elementary teacher in Moose Jaw is very passionate about this topic and has dedicated lots of time towards creating a better future. Claire explains that teaching Treaty Education in the classroom will not be easy, you will make mistakes but it is being able to grow from these mistakes that make you a better teacher (Claire). Claire as well explains that Treaty Education is not about “just learning dates and history but about relationships, identity and owning mistakes to create a better future.” (Claire). Since she is a mother to two Indigenous girls she has a much better understanding of the hardships they face. It is not that these Indigenous students want more culture classes but instead they want their peers and classmates to understand what it is like to be Indigenous and be treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin. Your students may be making inappropriate comments because teachers in their past have placed this impression on their students that people of the Indigenous culture are of less importance. When teachers choose not to teach Treaty Education they are implying to their students that it does not matter. As sad as this may be you are still able to make a positive impact. I can tell that you are passionate about helping your students learn about Treaty Education and hope that your students will be able to see this about you. As Claire would say “we need to stop making racism apart of the underlying curriculum.” 

Another great resource you would find beneficial is Dwayne Donald’s “On What Terms Can We Speak?.” Dwayne deals more with the aspect of relationship between Canadians and people of Indigenous culture. He uses the notion of culture and explains it as noun that is stuck in the past, instead we need to think of it as a verb that is both in the present and future. As well, we need to make our Canadian students come to understand that they too have a culture as many believe they dont making it hard to connect to people of Indigenous culture. 

I hope that you can find some comfort in these resources and what I have said. You are already making a step in the right direction by teaching these kids the importance of Treaty Education when most teachers choose to skip this. It makes me so happy to know you have taken such an interest in this as I personally never had the opportunity to learn about Treaty Education therefore I am glad the future generation is. Since there are few kids of Indigenous culture it is even more important to teach them Treaty Education. Just some simple things that could be benefical is by hanging a treaty flag, map or even greeting the students in Cree. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to making your school a better place. Best of luck!

-Ireland South