Truth & Reconciliation: WCDSB Called to Action

The introduction to the TRC’s final report summarizes the legacy of the Indian Residential School system and Canada’s violent colonization in no uncertain terms, stating:

“For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as ‘cultural genocide.’

“Physical genocide is the mass killing of the members of a targeted group, and biological genocide is the destruction of the group’s reproductive capacity. Cultural genocide is the destruction of those structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group. States that engage in cultural genocide set out to destroy the political and social institutions of the targeted group. Land is seized, and populations are forcibly transferred and their movement is restricted. Languages are banned. Spiritual leaders are persecuted, spiritual practices are forbidden, and objects of spiritual value are confiscated and destroyed. And, most significantly to the issue at hand, families are disrupted to prevent the transmission of cultural values and identity from one generation to the next.”

In its dealing with Indigenous Peoples, Canada did all these things.

There are numerous components to the final report, largely broken down into two categories: sharing the full, horrifying truth of the damage caused by the Indian Residential School system, and proposing, via Calls to Action, how best to move forward in a way that builds equity for Indigenous Canadians and begins the healing process.

There are 94 Calls to Action. Of these, actions 62 to 65 are dedicated to Education.

Education for Reconciliation: from the 94 Calls to Action

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

1. 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.
2. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.
3. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms.
4. 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:

1. 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.
2. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history.
3. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.
4. 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.

WCDSB in Action

The WCDSB is committed to the continuous process of Reconciliation. With our focus on TRC 63, we strive to fulfill the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action in Education. Our objective is to embed the following actions through our work in schools with staff and students, with Indigenous Community members and organizations:

• 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.
• Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and Aboriginal history.
• Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.
• Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.