Beal's Blog for FNMI Part 1

My Commitment to De-Colonizing My Practice and

Doing the Work "in a Good Way"

Just before the new PC government, led by Doug Ford, took over the Ontario Legislature, they began cutting programs in the quest to find "efficiencies", including a summer writing session with Indigenous knowledge keepers and educators. That they tried to do this surreptitiously on a Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. was problematic, and created a twitterstorm of reaction. Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, as well as the media, raised the alarm bells and questioned the new Minister of Education, Lisa Thompson, about the cancellation, which then became a postponement (although no information has come out yet about new sessions).

While all of this was happening, I was fortunate to be enrolled in an FNMI course with a great community of learners and a fantastic instructor, Colinda Clyne, the FNMI Lead for the Upper Grand DSB. Colinda had an active role in raising awareness about the cancellation of the writing session; she not only modeled how educators could use Twitter effectively, but also helped us understand how non-Indigenous educators could be a part of reconciliation - by doing the work "in a good way".

Previously, I'd read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action, and understood the significant role that education will play in reconciliation. However, most of the Calls to Action focus on institutional change or policy level change (see them below). Then, I saw Senator Murray Sinclair's tweet:

YES, government has a responsibility to make changes in accordance with the Calls to Action. BUT SO DO I. As Senator Sinclair points out, this is work that we, the people of Canada, need to do to reconcile the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. And so, I am making this a commitment to de-colonize my teaching practice. This website / blog represents some of the learning that I have done towards reconciliation, but I need to go even further. Please see my THEORY OF PRACTICE (on the Culminating Task page) which includes more details about how to decolonize my practice in a good way.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2009-15) made 94 calls to action or recommendations to help rebuild the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Ten of these calls to action were specific to education:

Education:

6. We call upon the Government of Canada to repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

7. We call upon the federal government to develop with Aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.

8. We call upon the federal government to eliminate the discrepancy in federal education funding for First Nations children being educated on reserves and those First Nations children being educated off reserves.

9. We call upon the federal government to prepare and publish annual reports comparing funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves, as well as educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with non-Aboriginal people.

10. We call on the federal government to draft new Aboriginal education legislation with the full participation and informed consent of Aboriginal peoples. The new legislation would include a commitment to sufficient funding and would incorporate the following principles:

i. Providing sufficient funding to close identified educational achievement gaps within one generation.

ii. Improving education attainment levels and success rates.

iii. Developing culturally appropriate curricula.

iv. Protecting the right to Aboriginal languages, including the teaching of Aboriginal languages as credit courses.

v. Enabling parental and community responsibility, control, and accountability, similar to what parents enjoy in public school systems.

vi. Enabling parents to fully participate in the education of their children.

vii. Respecting and honouring Treaty relationships.

11. We call upon the federal government to provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education.

12. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Aboriginal families.

Education for reconciliation

62. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:

i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.

ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.

iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms.

iv. Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.

63. We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including:

i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools.

ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history.

iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.

iv. Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.

64. We call upon all levels of government that provide public funds to denominational schools to require such schools to provide an education on comparative religious studies, which must include a segment on Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and practices developed in collaboration with Aboriginal Elders.

65. We call upon the federal government, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, post-secondary institutions and educators, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and its partner institutions, to establish a national research program with multi-year funding to advance understanding of reconciliation.

Implementation of the Calls to Action:

CBC's Website, "Beyond 94": "The site provides up-to-date status reports on each call to action, as well as extensive summaries explaining those status reports. It includes in-depth features and short video documentaries that tell some of the community stories behind the calls to action. It also features residential school survivors sharing their experiences."

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