The Durham District School Board acknowledges that many Indigenous Nations have longstanding relationships, both historic and modern, with the territories upon which our school board and schools are located. Today, this area is home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island. We acknowledge that the Durham Region forms a part of the traditional and treaty territory of the Mississauga of Scugog Island First Nation, the Mississauga Peoples and the treaty territory of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation. It is on these ancestral and treaty lands that we teach, learn and live.
Aanii! Miigwetch for visiting the D.D.S.B. Indigenous Education Website!
Welcome Note
One of our goals is to provide you with as much assistance as is possible, while The Durham District School Board rolls out the Indigenous Education Policy and Procedures.
You will find many resources that have been vetted through the Indigenous Education Department, but please remember many online resources can change and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to our department.
We call upon all Educators and Administrators to become familiar with the policy and practices, the TRC, and the UNDRIP documents, so that you can make critical decisions for your practice that will support the Indigenous Rights and Human rights of Indigenous Peoples, as is outlined in all of the aforementioned documents.
Rationale from Policy
The Durham District School Board adopts this policy in recognition that Indigenous Peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations, which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.
The Durham District School Board adopts the following as a foundational statement of our commitment to Indigenous peoples: "shall take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation with the Indigenous peoples concerned, to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among Indigenous peoples and all other segments of society." (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Article 15)
Rights and Responsibilities
3.0 Responsibilities
All employees must comply with the Indigenous Education policy and this procedure within their job duties and responsibilities, including recognizing biases, discriminatory structural barriers and inequities, responding to and addressing inequities, discriminatory structural barriers and actively engaging in anti-colonial approaches and practices within their sphere of responsibility, authority and influence.
4.1 Indigenous Rights
Indigenous peoples have the inherent right to the dignity and diversity of their laws, cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations, which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information. The DDSB "shall take effective measures, in consultation and cooperation with the Indigenous peoples concerned, to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among Indigenous peoples and all other segments of society." (UNDRIP- Article 15).
4.2 Indigenous Rights
Indigenous Peoples are the guardians and interpreters of their civilizations, traditions, and knowledge systems. They have the right to exercise, control, and protect their culture, intellectual properties, and knowledge (UNDRIP).
4.3 Indigenous Rights
The district is committed to providing services and workplaces that center human rights and equity and are safe, welcoming, respectful, inclusive, equitable and accessible, and that are free from discrimination and harassment under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Indigenous students have the right the educational services free from discrimination based on ancestry and other Human Rights Code-protected grounds.
5.0 Procedures
It is the expectation that staff will engage in ongoing learning and training to seek understanding of the rights of Indigenous peoples and recognize the deep impacts of colonialism and how it continues today;
Schools and other worksites will provide opportunities and foster healthy, reciprocal relationships with Indigenous educators, parent(s)/guardian(s), families, students and community members.
